Integrated Transport Plan

An Integrated Transport Plan is a strategic document designed to coordinate the various types or modes of transport, such as private vehicles, buses, trains, cycling and walking, and ensure they work together efficiently to meet the needs of those that live, work and visit City of Prospect.

Integrated transport refers to a system where multiple modes of transportation - such as buses, trains, cycling, and walking - are efficiently interconnected to function as a cohesive network. This ensures seamless, door-to-door travel for individuals, groups and families, enhancing overall mobility and accessibility.

As City of Prospect continues to grow, we’re slowly experiencing the effects of this growth on our transport network, with more people and vehicles on our streets and roads and increasing competition for parking spaces.

To address these changes and challenges, Council is developing an Integrated Transport Plan that will deliver a cohesive transport network catering for our growing community by improving accessibility, reducing congestion, enhancing safety and encourage sustainable travel options. This will ensure that our community can continue to work, live, and play in City of Prospect.

The Integrated Transport Plan will provide a long-term framework for creating a safe, accessible, and sustainable transport system tailored to meet the community's needs now and in the future. This means improved mobility options, reduced congestion, and a focus on environmentally friendly transport solutions that enhance your daily travel experience, contributing to a more liveable and vibrant city for everyone.

It will also guide the Council’s decisions and investments in our transport network over the next 10+ years.

The Integrated Transport Plan will contain a clear vision, themes and strategies, an analysis of our current transport system, forecast of future demand across the various transportation modes (like public transport, cycling, and walking), and a 10+year action plan for implementation. The Integrated Transport Plan will also address safety and accessibility for all users and consider the integration of technology to enhance services.

The Integrated Transport Plan will take into consideration anticipated future demand and include strategies and actions to accommodate growth and emerging trends.

The Integrated Transport Plan will investigate ways to reduce traffic congestion by improving access to public transport, upgrading infrastructure to make it easier and safer to walk and cycle around the city and identify ways to implement smart traffic management solutions.

The Integrated Transport Plan will investigate parking demand and identify high-level strategies to address the parking pressure in heavily impacted areas throughout the city. In some instances, the Integrated Transport Plan will recommend further precinct specific investigations to determine the best solution for these areas.

The strategic framework includes the vision, themes, strategies, and actions.

The Integrated Transport Plan's strategic framework is built on a few key ideas to make sure our city's transport network works well for everyone. We've adopted a modified version of the ‘movement and place’ concept, which focuses on how easily people can get around and ensuring that the areas we live, work and play are great. This is combined with the principles of ‘living local’, which focuses on having what you need close by, and creating ‘places for people’, where our public spaces are designed for everyone to enjoy.

These ideas helped us focus on what you told us was important as part of Phase 1 of consultation. We heard that you want a transport network that’s:

• Safe and reliable
• Accessible and connected
• Dynamic and adaptive

To achieve this, we've developed a range of strategies and actions that all work together to create a smooth, sustainable, and flexible transport system that includes all the different options for moving around. This will support our city’s growth and improve the quality of life for our residents and visitors.

Think of movement as how easily you can get from one place to another – whether you're walking, cycling, driving, or taking public transport. Place is about the quality of the areas you pass through and spend time in, like our streets, parks, and shopping centres.

The idea of movement and place is about finding the right balance between these two things. We want to make it easy for you to travel around, but not at the expense of creating enjoyable, inclusive, and accessible spaces where people can live, work, and play.

For City of Prospect, this means recognising that our roads and streets aren't just for cars. They're also vital public spaces where people meet, businesses operate, and community life happens. Therefore, we need to think about how we design and manage them to support both movement and these important 'place' functions.

The idea of living local is all about making it easier for you to meet your daily needs close to home. This means having shops, services, parks, and other important amenities within a short walk or bike ride.

Our Integrated Transport Plan supports living local by making walking and cycling safer and more convenient options for getting around locally. By focusing on these local connections and improving public transport, we can reduce our reliance on cars and create a more connected and environmentally friendly city where you can easily access what you need in your neighbourhood.

The principle of places for people means that when we plan and build anything in our city – from roads and footpaths to parks and community spaces – we put the needs of people first, not just the needs of vehicles.

For City of Prospect, this means ensuring our public spaces are welcoming, safe, and easy for everyone to use, no matter their age, ability, or background. The Integrated Transport Plan will help us achieve this by prioritising improvements that make our streets more pedestrian and cyclist-friendly, create better public transport stops, and enhance the overall quality of our public spaces for everyone to enjoy.

The implementation of a five-tier road hierarchy (arterial, sub-arterial, major collector, minor collector, and local roads) helps prioritise and organise our city’s roads based on their function, capacity, and role within the transport network. This approach helps us make sure that traffic flows smoothly on the roads designed for higher volumes, like arterial and sub-arterial roads, while local streets are better suited for local access and quieter for residents. By clearly defining the purpose of each type of road, we can improve safety, plan appropriate infrastructure, and support the right kind of development in different areas.

By carefully planning the network, we're aiming to have fewer collector roads. This encourages a more even spread of traffic on local streets, which helps to minimise the impact of through traffic in residential areas and create safer, more pleasant local neighbourhoods.

The proposed actions for the ITP have been based on the extensive feedback received in Phase 1 as well as detailed analysis of data, research and a review of other strategic documents. Your input highlighted the importance of addressing congestion and parking, particularly on narrow streets, improving safety for active transport users (such as pedestrians and cyclists), and ensuring better connectivity. While the core vision of creating a more integrated, accessible, safe, and sustainable transport network remains, the specific concerns you raised have directly informed the development of the proposed strategies and actions we’re now presenting in Phase 2. For a full list of the actions, please refer to the fact sheets in the document library on this page.

Generally, these actions have been developed based on a combination of factors, including the feedback received from the community during Phase 1, our analysis of traffic data, public transport usage, and active transport patterns. We've also considered best practices in transport planning and aimed to align the proposed actions with our strategic objectives of enhancing connectivity, alleviating congestion, prioritising safety, and promoting sustainable transport options.

For specific details on the reasoning behind a particular action, please refer to the relevant fact sheet in the document library on this page.

Generally, we anticipate benefits such as improved traffic flow, increased safety for pedestrians and cyclists, better access to public transport, accessibility and connectivity and more sustainable transport options. We encourage you to review the proposed actions relevant to your preferred mode of transport and your neighbourhood and key destinations in the City on our Engagement Hub here, and consider both the potential positive and negative impacts when providing your feedback. Your local knowledge is invaluable in understanding these impacts.

We understand car parking is a key concern for residents, businesses and visitors to City of Prospect, this was evident in the Phase 1 feedback received. At this stage, we've developed a range of proposed actions to address various transport challenges, including parking pressures. Some of these proposed actions could involve some modifications to on-street parking in certain locations such as narrow streets, however, no final decisions have been made yet, and we want to hear your feedback on all of the proposed actions, including those related to parking. In some of our high-pressure areas we are proposing detailed investigations to ensure the best outcome for the area and the community.

The best way to understand if there are any proposed actions that might affect your street is to: 

• Review the fact sheet for 'parking' on our Engagement Hub here
• Explore the interactive maps on the Engagement Hub, which detail both city-wide and location-specific actions, including parking-related proposals
• Provide your feedback through our online tools, by attending an in-person workshop, drop-in session or pop-up, or via a written submission. 

Your feedback on the potential impacts of any proposed parking changes is crucial and will be carefully considered as we work towards finalising the draft Integrated Transport Plan. We encourage you to review the specific proposed actions for parking and share your thoughts and concerns, as this will directly help us develop the best possible plan for our community.

As part of the development process, we’re considering a range of potential actions. The actions presented in Phase 2 consultation are those we believe are the most feasible, effective, and aligned with the feedback received and our overall objectives for the Integrated Transport Plan. We've considered factors such as potential impact, cost-effectiveness, community acceptance, and alignment with our strategic priorities.

The implementation of the proposed actions will be staged over the next 10+ years, with some actions being prioritised based on factors such as safety, urgency, funding availability, and strategic impact. The draft Integrated Transport Plan, which we anticipate releasing in mid-late 2025, will outline a potential implementation schedule.

At this stage of consultation, we’re focused on gathering your feedback on the proposed strategies and actions themselves. The prioritisation and staging of the actions will be further developed based on this feedback and other considerations.

The detailed costings for each proposed action are still being developed. The implementation of the Integrated Transport Plan will likely involve a combination of Council funding, potential grant opportunities from State and Federal Governments, and other funding sources. We’re committed to ensuring that the ITP is financially sustainable and will be exploring various funding options as the plan progresses.

Following the completion of Phase 2 consultation in May 2025, Council will use the feedback received to develop the draft Integrated Transport Plan, which we expect will be completed by July 2025. Depending on the extent of the feedback received from the community through the Phase 2 consultation, Council will determine whether or not the draft ITP is released for a third and final round of community consultation in August 2025 or endorsed. If further consultation is required, we aim to have the final version completed and endorsed by Council prior to the end of 2025.

Integrated Transport Plans are typically reviewed and updated every 5 to 10 years. This regular review allows Council to address emerging priorities and adapt to changing needs, technological advancements, and evolving transportation trends.

Improved transport options resulting in better accessibility and connectivity can often make an area more desirable, potentially increasing property values.

We encourage you to provide feedback through the various channels available. You can use the online interactive Action Plans to provide comments, provide a written submission, or provide your feedback directly to our project team at our community workshop, drop-in sessions or pop-ups at local community events. For a full list of ways to provide our feedback, please visit our Engagement Hub here.

While we may not be able to address every single individual concern with a specific action, your feedback will still be valuable in understanding the broader community sentiment and identifying any potential gaps or areas that may need further consideration when creating the draft ITP.

Once the Phase 2 consultation period closes on 18 May 2025, all feedback we receive will be collated and analysed. We’ll then use this feedback to refine the proposed actions and develop the draft ITP, which will be presented to the Council for its consideration in July 2025.

Similarly to Phase 1 consultation, a comprehensive community engagement report summarising the feedback will be presented to Council for its consideration, and uploaded to our Engagement Hub here for public viewing.