The Ordinary Nature of Rail Transport by Haowen Lu

Haowen Lu / s3678204

The Ordinary Nature of

Rail Transport Node

The Ordinary Nature of

ABSTRACT

With the rapid rise of the urban population in Melbourne, the demand of public transport service is going up, which lead to the construction of new transit transportation undergoing tremendous changes. The train system, as the most extensive and largest capacity public transportation in Melbourne, will be the main research of this paper. In addition, the new public transport space brings large number of people gathering in urban areas. It provides opportunities for residential services and commercial activities. The integration of rail transit stations and surrounding spaces would help for expansion of urban space, which on the one hand promotes the comprehensive development of cities, buildings and transportation. On the other hand, it provides improvement in walking, transit between transport and to public spaces, improving the overall pedestrian environment of the city.

Therefore, this paper considers evolution of Melbourne's rail transport nodes as the research focus, taking the graphical analysis and modeling analysis as the main study method. Based on the humanized demand, this research starts with the historical context of Melbourne’s transit transportation space, then it discusses the impact of transportation near-node space on urban pedestrian experience from the following three aspects. Improve the accessibility of pedestrian system, meet the basic needs of increasing number of people for convenient and efficient travel; interact with travel related function of city life; fit in urban landscape with healthy pedestrian experience. In order to provide a valuable reference and methodology for urban design and landscape design which could improve surrounding public spaces and pedestrian accessibility of transit transportation in the future. This research at every stage is maintained to be an essential link in the process of responding capacities for improving pedestrian experience.

Rail Transport Node

Key words: Rail transport node, Public space, Pedestrian experience

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AKNOWLEDGEMENTS

RESEARCH QUESTION

I would never have been to complete this portfolio without the guidance of my tutors, help from friends, and support from the University and my family. I would like to express my appreciate to my tutors, Dr. Ninsalam, Yazid for his excellent guidance, and providing me with the critical evaluation during this seminar.

How does the development of rail station affect urban pedestrian experience in the future?

Title: The Ordinary Nature of Rail Transport Node Author: Haowen Lu/s3678204 Tutor:Ninsalam, Yazid Publication date: 30/05/2019 Publisher: RMIT University 4

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1854 Australia's oldest metropolitan station and Melbourne landmark, built in 1854, is now one of Melbourne's busiest stations.

1.OBSERVATION In 1981, the city loop of Melbourne city was completed, after that Melbournian can now take the train directly go in and out of the city, besides three underground railway stations were built. Thirty-three years later, Changsha, a small provincial capital in south-central China, also owned an underground transportation system, which connected the rural areas and city central district.

1858

The Spencer Street Station is built,which is named Southern Cross Station now,connecting the melbourne to the other regions of victoria.

1919

Flinders Street Station transit as the main suburban railway terminal.

Nowadays, public transport in Melbourne city plays a significant role in many people's lives, and the open spaces around these transport nodes become active and comprehensive. However, Changsha's subway station is only used as a transit space, and there are not many people staying. What caused such differences, can the intervention of landscape architecture strategy bring changes? What is going to happen in the next 33 years?

city loop

1981

2025

The city rail loop completed, three underground stations had been built,which brings people directly to the northern and eastern part of CBD.

Metro Tunnel project has began, to increase the capacity on city loop. there will be two new transportation node uderground.

Futher

Fig 1. Evolution of Rail Station in Melbourne 6

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Fig 2. Observation in the City of Changsha

Strong sunlight,no shade,an 'i love cs'slogan,buses, taxis,motorcycles,shared-bicycles,few pedestrain,zebra crossing,a elevated traffic facility & some buildings 8

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Fig 3. Aircraft view Subway line 1

Subway line 2

The Wuyi Square Station 24.July.2017 04:04pm 37°c

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Fig 4. Observation in the Melbourne CBD

No sunshine,many columns,stairs and 2 chessboards,so many people who is thinking or watching,walking or standing,sitting or lying down & couples of birds.

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Fig 5. Aircraft view

The Melbourne Central Station 01.March.2018 03:04pm 26°c

oop

l City

oop

l City

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Figure 6.

Population Density Growth (20062016)

2.INTRODUCTION Melbourne's first urban traffic node appeared in 1854, called Melbourne Terminus, which is also the oldest city railway in Australia. It was located beside the Fish Market building on the south-west corner of Swanston and Flinders Streets(Davies, J 2008). From the beginning of only one platform, after a series of integration, expansion, the construction of surface buildings, and the redesign of the pedestrian passage, this station became the connection point between railway transport and city travel. This node space not only serves the locals but also becomes a famous urban landmark attracting many tourists. (Misiak, J 2006) Almost a century later, in 1981, the city loop of Melbourne city had been completed. Since then, travelers could take the train directly go to eastern and northern CBD. (Fouvy, C. 2004) These transportation nodes and the surrounding space have gradually become the busiest and most dynamic places in the city. The appearance of the station has injected new vitality into the surrounding commercial, entertainment, and office buildings while stimulating the development of public space and street life. Until today, despite the significant changes in urban street texture, urban landscape, and architectural form, Melbourne's railway traffic node space has not changed too much. Since the mid-1990s, Melbourne has maintained swignificant population and employment growth. Nowadays, the population of Melbourne is over 4.8 million, with an average day around 854,000 people use the city. The population density of Melbourne CBD is ranked at the highest place, 453 persons per km2, of the Australia cities (Australian Bureau of Statistics) . According to the report of Victoria State Government (2016), the population of Greater Melbourne is expected double to 8 million by 2050, which means that the rapid population growth will continue and more challenges are coming to the urban infrastructure of Melbourne.

2006

2011

4.9m

5.4m

6.1m

8.3m

2019

2025

2035

2050

Prediction

Cite from Population Density Map,Tableau Public

2016

Data from ABS Census of Population and Housing. Underlying map data Copyright Š The State of Victoria, Department of Environment, Land,Water & Planning 2017

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Figure 7.

The Network of Train in the Greater Melbourne

Melbourne CBD

Train Station Train Route Boundary Data from Public Transportation of Victoria

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Figure 8.

Figure 9.

The density of internal public space

The density of pedestrian(average weekday)

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Figure 7.

The Network of Train in the Greater Melbourne

Figure 10. Train Stations on the City Loop

Therefore, in the process of urban development and construction, the design strategy becomes more intensive and multi-functional, which is an effective method to adapt to the shortage of urban land and population expansion.

(City of Melbourne,2006) Furthermore, in recent years, the construction of underground space in Melbourne has been increasing, and the integration of above-ground and underground development has become one of the essential strategies to solve the problem of urban land use. The utilization of near-node space has become an important strategy for urban construction. Which providing opportunities for pedestrians to get better and more convenient travel. In response to these challenges, Melbourne city designers proposed the Metro Tunnel Railway project in 2017, claiming that it will transform Melbourne's crowded rail network, which is more than just an engineering project. It will shape Melbourne's future physical, social, and public image, consolidating the city's growth for the coming decades (Melbourne Metro Rail,2017).

Melbourne Central

Flagstaff

However, following the population rises and the city expands, the process of building a near-node facility which based on rail transportation transit has shown several difficulties such as the underground space lacks cellular connection with the above-ground space, inadequate infrastructure, and deficiency of landscape design. Some of these disadvantage facilities carried out some negative impacts on Melbourne's urban walking experience. Based on the integration of the near-node space of the rail transit and the surrounding areas of the city, this paper analyzes the impact of the nearnode space of rail transit on urban pedestrian space in the three aspects, traffic efficiency, functional layout, and environmental improvement. At the same time, through the spatial instance and theoretical analysis of the near-node space of rail transit, the spatial characteristics and modes of the near-ground space of rail transit are summarized, which provides theoretical support and suggestions for the spatial renewal and future redesign of the traffic nodes in Melbourne.

Parliament

Southern Cross

Flinder Street

Melbourne Central Station has high building density and small public space,where is a potential site to develop comprehensive railway station and urban space.

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3.CONCEPT Listed scenarios always appear in public space, such as people rushing in the subway station, people leisurely shopping in the street shops and people staying on the side of the road to talk with friends intimately, which reveals that people has different demand on urban travel (Fig 3). Physical and psychological needs determine the people’s behavior and travel experiences. Therefore, to explore the psychological structure of walking people and the organization of the walking system, researcher must first analyze and summarize the behavior of people.

According to Livet mellem husene,(2002) by Jan Gehl, Classification of outdoor activities, in the near-node space, human behavior is also divided into following three types.

Walking Experience

3.1 Necessary activity with priority of passing

Pleasurability

Walking Fluency

The necessary activities refer to the behavior that must happen with a sense of involuntary meaning. The necessary activities cover a wide range, including daily work and life(Jan Gehl. 2002). The necessary activities of people in the rail transit node can be subdivided into a series of ride and transfer behaviors related to rail transit, such as traffic, waiting, and others. Among these essential activities, walking is the most involved. The necessity of activities with certain coercion leads to the lack of choice for pedestrians.

Comfort Mobility Safety Feasibiliy

3.2 Spontaneous activity with priority of staying Spontaneous activities depend on people's wishes, it happens if conditions such as time, place and environment permit. In the near-node space of rail transit, spontaneous activities include shopping, entertainment, waiting, sitting down, enjoying sunshine and other activities which could make people happy (NĂŠmeth, J. and Langhorst, J. 2013). Spontaneous activities are only possible when appropriate external conditions and weather and the space environment is attractive enough.

Of course, mostly based on people's will. This means that the physical conditions of the external environment are particularly important, people prefer to walking slowly or staying in natural and relax circumstance.

Fig 11. Hierarchy Of Walking Needs

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3.3 Social activity with priority of communication Social activities refer to behaviors that generally occur in public spaces and rely on the participation of others, including greeting each other, talking to each other, children's games, and passive contact by listening to others. Most of the social activities are developed from the above two types of activities, so it is called "chain" activities. It can be imagined that in public, as long as people are active in the same place, it will inevitably lead to social activities, even the most basic face-to-face and rush. Based on this, the social activities of the nearterrain space of the rail transit cover a wide range. If the relationship between people and people is connected, they can be classified as social activities, such as observing others while waiting for a bus. Activities, such as greetings, conversations, and other acquaintance activities. This kind of chain reaction is very important for the planning and design of the space environment.

Although the physical environment has no direct impact on the quality, content and frequency of people's activities, the quality of the material environment can influence the opportunities for people to observe, meet and connect. Therefore, design that emphasizes space quality and environmental quality is a prerequisite for social activities.

Connection with Secondary Transport

BUS TRAM

1. La Trobe Street TrainďźŒTram & Bus 2. Swanston Street Tram only 3. Elizabeth Stree Tram only

4.THE COMPATIBILITY OF RAIL STATION TO AN URBAN EXPERIENCE

Connection with City Footpath

FOOTPATH

According to Urban Form (2001), Kevin Lynch proposed five indicators of the quality of urban spatial form: vitality, feeling, suitability, accessibility, and management. Urban space is the carrier of urban behavioral activities, and the vitality of urban space is reflected in the diversity of interactive activities. Rail transit near-node space, as a centralized urban space, is not only designed to solve travel problems, but also be asked to provide people with a variety of behaviors to improve the convenience and comfort of people's activities. Based on solving the basic functional layout, pedestrian travel, and transfer of the near-node space of the rail transit, how to improve the spatial environment to match the user's urban experience. Making the nearnode space indeed a dynamic city hotspot is what this paper will explore next.

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2.

3.

4.

La Trobe Street Swanston Street Little Lonsdale Street Elizabeth Street

Connection with Urban Public Space

ON-STREET OPEN SPACE OFF-STREET OPEN SPACE 9

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2 4

3

1 11

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Fig 12-14. Connections around the Station

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1. State Library of Victoria 2. Bowen Street 3. RMIT A'Beckett Urban Square 4. Old Melbourne Gaol 5. Eight Hour Reserve 6. Bourke Street 7. Exibition Street Reserve 8. Christmas Square 9. Carlton Garden 10.Victoria Market 11.Flagstaff Garden

4.1 Impact on basic pedestrian needs The first thing to be clear is that the fundamental and most significant duty of the rail transport node and the surrounding space is to ensure that people can reach their destination efficiently and safely.

In the existing rail transit nodes in Melbourne, pedestrians have not been given too many options, after leaving the gateway of a rail station. Ninety percent of the pedestrians returned directly into the city streets.

A series of actions are then carried out in the city's original transportation system, including the transfer to the secondary transportation system and the arrival of their destination by walking or bicycle. In the case of Melbourne Central Station, the original contracture of the station had three access points to the surrounding street network, with the main entrance at the meet point of Swanston Street and Latrobe Street, a secondary access at the meet point of Elizabeth Street and Latrobe Street, and a third little used access on the north side of Latrobe Street. These access points have been retained and incorporated into the Melbourne Central Shopping Centre. Because of a new access to Swanston Street through part of the shopping center, the length for pedestrians to walk was substantially increased, further the people coming to the mall and the people taking the train use these pedestrian passages and entrances at the same time, conflict happens, which reducing the capacity to adapt peak loads.

To better understand the impact of walking efficiency and guidance on pedestrian experience, this paragraph analyzes several excellent trail designs around railway nodes. The trail system is similar to the structural skeleton of the road, and it is equivalent to the skeleton in the near-node space. Once the trail system is determined, the three-dimensional shape of the nearnode space is basically established. The structural relationship between the three different levels of the trail, elevated trail, ground trail, and underground trail, reflect the relationship between other functional elements in the near-node space. Like a skeleton in the threedimensional space, the trail connects many destinations on a different level, which improves the efficiency of a pedestrian network. The high accessibility of the multilayer pedestrian transportation system can increase the frequency and value of the use of the entire near-ground space. Of course, the premise is to reduce unnecessary and excessive streamlines. According to statistics, in Japan's transportation node system, the underground walking system carries 40% to 50% of the number of pedestrians (H, Murakami, 2010). Except for the underground transportation network, there are elevated walking corridors and composite pedestrian network. For instance, the second-floor walkway in downtown Hong Kong and the Kyoto train station in Japan (composite type) illustrate enough strategies to form pedestrian access.

In addition, there is now very little signage provided at Swanston Street to indicate the location of the station entrance. In the past urban environment, the responsibility of these transportation facilities was single and straightforward, it still completed the work of transporting pedestrians. However, in the face of changing urban environments and upcoming challenges, more consideration needs to be measured in the type of pedestrian access.

Fig 15. Entrances of Melbourne Central Station

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4.2 Impact on selective pedestrian demand

4.3 Impact on pedestrian social interaction experience

According to the theory of urban catalysts and practical experience, rail transit will undoubtedly promote the development of the rail transport node and surrounding areas in the process of construction and development, which is reflected in the rise of the value of the land and the comprehensive development of the site. Rail transit has the typical characteristics of high population flow, if makes good use of the enormous passenger flow brought by rail transit, combining rail transit for integrated commercial development on the ground and underground will bring good commercial value.

In addition to meeting the functions of transportation, different spaces around rail transit will be equipped with functions such as office and residence and will be equipped with services such as business, service, leisure, and education according to specific conditions, to meet some life-related behaviors while traveling by rail. This phenomenon makes the pedestrian's transportation experience complicated and energetic. People come to these transportation nodes not only to take the train but also to complete various life needs is a tendency for an ultimate urban experience.

Human nature determines that they would feel pleasure in the natural environment when they act in public places (Cecily, M &Mardie, T. 2006) The intervention of soft elements such as lawn and planting can make the space more natural and softer, could attract more people to engage with space. At the same time, greening can also become a holistic and continuous link of the entire near-node space, which helps the continuous natural landscape and enables the public space to be integrated.

Returning to the urban environment of Melbourne, because of the lower urban density in the past, the rail transport nodes in the city did not have apparent signs of multi-functionality. For five stations in the city loop, two stations still only bear transport functions, Flagstaff station, and parliament station. The flinders street station and southern cross station are only equipped with few food plazas and grocery stores without any more complicated features. Melbourne Central Station is the only multi-functional transport node where has been built into an integrated center for business, dining, transportation, and entertainment. This train node has naturally become the center of activity in this area, serving for RMIT students, nearby employees, and the state library's visitors. As mentioned earlier in this article, although the construction of multi-functional traffic nodes provides an essential strategy for land shortage and population growth, it also creates conflicts in people flow. So how to develop and redesign such spaces, or to develop new integrated transportation nodes may become an issue that urban designers need to consider. Because reorganizing the functions of railway transport nodes would significantly affect the pedestrian experience

However, from the perspective of the green space distribution in the Melbourne CBD, there is a lack of connection between green space and railway transport nodes. Firstly, these green spaces are mainly distributed on the edge of the city, contrary to the direction in which pedestrians mainly move toward urban centers.

It means that pedestrians who want more fresh air and sunshine need to move in the opposite direction of their destination. Secondly, the entrance of the Flagstaff station and the parliament station is built next to the urban green space. However, the lack of corresponding functions, such as cafes, restaurants, etc. lead to that pedestrians often have difficulty interacting with these green spaces. Pedestrians from these two stations often ignore these precious natural landscapes directly.

It is a kind of waste for public natural resource in the rare condition of green space. Besides, there is some great public space around Melbourne Central Station and the Flinders street station. The lawn in front of the state library has become a space for many pedestrians to rest and communicate. Sitting in the afternoon to chat with strangers, watching chess, drinking a cup of coffee has become a habit of many people. This atmosphere is wonderful and it is the city experience that most Melbourne people want. However, such urban experiences are also being threatened because of the rising population, which causes the surrounding environment to be overcrowded.

5.CONCLUSION The near-node space of rail transit plays an important role in the shaping of the city. The layout of infrastructure and morphological environment are directly related to the efficiency and attractiveness of the node. As Melbourne is in an environment of rapid construction and rising population, the redesign and expansion of the near-node space of rail transit would provide more opportunities for the future development of the city. Among many rail transit nodes, especially those with higher density, the multifunctional and intensive design is a reasonable choice for urban development. Construct artificial sites to combine natural landscapes with artificial environments, creating a walkable paradise for pedestrian and centralizing surrounding social functions through many small-scale pedestrian spaces. This paper expects that the research could provide theoretical support and contribution to the redesign and expansion of rail transit nodes by studying the effect of near-node space on the pedetrian experience.

In the case of a shortage of urban space, the nearnode landscape designs in Japan may provide some inspiration. In the design of most near-node spaces in Japan, usage of greenery is highly valued, such as the station square in the Tokyo Station, using high wood, ground cover and wall greening to construct a green wall in front of the station, making the green area an increase of about 3,000 square meters compared to traditional greening. In order to provide a healthier and more interactive pedestrian experience.

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Fig. 16 Linage Map

R a i l S t a t i o n (Outer BOOK THEORY

Multi-Functional Place

(Inner City)

PREDICTION

“Urban Design Thinking A Conceptual Toolkit ”

“The Next American Metropolis: Ecology, Community,and the American Dream. ”

“Intensifying Places: Transitoriented Urban Design for Resilient Australian Cities”

"Reconsidering The Image of the City"

“Urban DMA”

“Transit-Oriented Development ” “Green Transportation Hierarchy"

“Connected City:Walking Plan” 2014-17

POLICY KEY THINKER INSTITUTIONS PROJECT TIME

Rail Station

City)

“1969 Melbourne Transportation Plan”

2013-17 2009-13 2005-09

“MELBOURNE CITY COUNCIL COUNCIL PLAN ” 2017-2021 Open Space Strategy PLANNING FOR FUTURE GROWTH

"Pedestrian Access as Place" "Activate Abandoned Rail Station"

Kim Dovey Peter Calthorpe Hiroshi Hara

Chris Bradshaw Vincent Ponte Kevin A Lynch

City of Melbourne City of Melbourne

YALE School of Architecture.

University of Tokyo

University of Melbourne

Victoria State Government

Victoria State Government

MIT I.M. Pei Architecture Firm

Elevated Green Space

City Underground Loop Melbourne Melbourne Central Shopping Centre Melbourne

Melbourne Central Station Melbourne Kyoto Station Japan

Metro Tunnel Melbourne

Underground Street Network Overpass Network

Underground City Montreal

1980

2000 32

2019 33

2050

Blelongs to City Council of Melbourne

Fig. 18 Claiming Ground

t

e Littl

tree S e rob La T

Exsisting Entrance Claiming Ground Green Space

t

e Littl

e Stre e l a d

s

Lon

Shopping Mall Underground Rail Station

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Fig 19. Management Assets

APPROACHS

CHALLENGES

BENEFITS

Upgrading Rail Station

Unsatisfied pedestrian facilities

Higher pedestrian mobility

Environmental benefits

Public image of the city

Diverse travel selection

Intensive urban land use Population Growth

Economical oppotunities

Long Term

Short Term

Crowded urban public space

Public image of the city

Reorganize Exsisting Space

Create New Space

Pedestrian access • •

Pedestrian access • • •

Widening path Remove obstacles Visual guidelines

Create underpass Create overpass

Progressing Transit space

Transit space

•

•

Utilization back-street into green space and shared space

Functional space

Functional space • •

• • • •

Separate roads and functional areas Use of fragmented space

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Sinked square Roof garden Commercial corridor Underground Street

•

Create network between several rail stations Vertically saperate the different transport

Fig 20. Further Outlook

- Short Term

Elizabeth Street

Little Lonsdale Street Shared Street

Exsisting Train Station

Short-term expasion

• •

Share vehicle zone to pedestiran Softing ground surface

Exsisting Entrance

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Swanston Street

Fig 21. Further Outlook

- Long Term Elizabeth Street

Little Lonsdale Street Street Square

Swanston Street

Exsisting Train Station

Short-term expasion

Long-term expasion

• • • •

Vertically and horizontally developing station public space Mulitiple access to trian station Large green space on the ground More retails and food square undergrond

New underground square

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Exsisting Entrance

Overpass

New entrance from underpass

Fig 22. Case Studies

Landscape Architecture

Highline,NYC

• • •

Pedestrian Priority High walkability Environmental Firendly

Sky Rail,Melbourne

7017,Seoul

Urban Planning

Ongoing in Melbourne

Montreal Underground City,Canada

Metro Tunnel,Melbourne

Tokyo Station,Japan Overpass System,Hongkong

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The Ordinary Nature of

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9.Facts and usage statistics about public transport in Melbourne, Australia, https://moovitapp. com/insights/en-gb/Moovit_Insights_Public_Transport_Index-2803 4.Jenny Davies, 2008. Beyond the Façade: Flinders Street, More than just a Railway Station. Publishing Solutions.

5.Jodie, Misiak,2006. Federation Square: Masterpiece or Publicly-Funded Folly? https://web. archive.org/web/20060920020257/ reviewed 01. May.2019 6.Fouvy, C., 2004. The Melbourne Region's Opportunity And Need For Rapid Transit. 1st ed. VICTORIA: MAAS. 7.Németh, J., and Langhorst, J., 2013. Rethinking urban transformation, University of Colorado Denver: Department of Planning and Design, College of Architecture and Planning.

8.H. Murakami, 2010. Underground: The Tokyo gas attack and the Japanese psyche.

9.Facts and usage statistics about public transport in Melbourne, Australia, https://moovitapp. com/insights/en-gb/Moovit_Insights_Public_Transport_Index-2803 10.Ignacio Barrón ,UIC Director of the Passenger and High Speed Department, History Of Stations 11.Ivers, B. Cannon (2018) Staging Urban Landscapes:The Activation and Curation of Flexible Public Spaces 12.Kim,D & Ian,W (2014）Intensifying Melbourne：Transit-Oriented Urban Design for Resilient Urban Futures 13.The Human Scale 2012, DVD, Madman Entertainment, directed by Andreas M. Dalsgaard.

Rail Transport Node

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The Ordinary Nature of Rail Transport Node