Epping and Carlingford Travel

.2022 SURVEY

The 2022 Carlingford and Epping Neighbourhood Travel Survey closed at midnight Monday 5 December 2022. Thank you to everyone who participated.

We received 352 submissions and of those 264 were valid (some submissions were excluded for being outside of the defined study area or respondents being under 18 years old).

Results from the 2022 Carlingford and Epping Neighbourhood Travel Survey are as follows:

• Public transport use has recovered
• The proportion of respondents who walked for 10 minutes for exercise has remained largely consistent with 2021
• There has been a distinct increase in the number of participants who cycle overall +8%
• Recognition of tree canopy over footpaths was up by +4%
• Those of you who thought walking in the area is somewhat easy is up +11%
• And you thought cycling had become easier too +5%
• There was a higher awareness of upgrades in the neighbourhood. The ‘new pedestrian crossing and cyclist crossing in Midson Road at Wyralla Avenue’ rated the highest, followed by ‘upgraded traffic signals at Terry Road and Midson Road’. Of the three new upgrades listed this year, the ‘new uphill bike lane in Keeler Street’ achieved the most mentions.

Summary of findings from the four-year study (2019 to 2022) Carlingford and Epping Neighbourhood study are as follows:

Transport responses

• Modes of travel for work/ study have recovered – shifting back to public transport after falling away in 2021 (due to the resurgence of COVID-19 in June 2021 and the increased proportion of residents staying home).
• For travel to work/study, and for recreational/ leisure travel, driving their car alone remained the most commonly-used mode overall. However, travel by car has progressively decreased over the years.

Physical activity responses

• There has been a significant increase in the number of participants who cycle for any purpose, as well as those cycling to work/ study.
• Although there has been a slight positive increase in those who perceive cycling around their neighbourhood as ‘very easy’, and a matching positive decrease in those who perceive it as ‘not at all easy’ there remains a proportion who perceive it as difficult (or dangerous). This is largely driven by the absence of available dedicated cycleways.
• The proportion walking to and from work has increased significantly since 2021.
• Those who reported walking for exercise or recreation (for at least 10 minutes continuously to get to and from somewhere) has increased slightly since 2021 and 2020, and is much higher than at baseline levels (2019).
• While the median frequency of walking has remained unchanged in 2022, the duration of these walks has become shorter. Comparatively, while the frequency of other forms of exercise has doubled, the duration of these sessions has also shortened.
• Future short term walking intent has decreased since 2021, and more long-term intent or walking for exercise has levelled off or remained static.
• Perceived ease of walking around the neighbourhood has remained fairly similar over the years, as have the factors stated as likely to improve or detract from the experience i.e. primarily the quantity, quality and maintenance of footpaths.
• Overall, awareness of some infrastructure improvements has improved. However, many residents remain unaware of any recent or past improvements that would facilitate cycling and/or walking around their local area.

Social responses

• Perceptions of safety when undertaking a variety of activities during the day have dropped back down to 2020 levels, after seeing an improvement in 2021. However, feelings of safety when walking around at night have improved significantly.
• Residents showed an enhanced appreciation of the canopy cover in the local area and proximity to local shops.
• Most positive social connectivity indicators improved slightly, except for observation of their neighbourhoods’ diversity, and of children playing on the street.

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Background

In late 2019, City of Parramatta joined with Western Sydney Local Health District to launch the first of a four-year study into how people moved about their suburb (please see the map of the project area below).

To help guide future work in the area including footpath upgrades, tree planting, and improvement to the pedestrian and cycle network, we wanted to understand how you felt about your neighbourhood and to explore how travel affected your health.

What have previous surveys told us and what have we done to improve the neighbourhood?

Since our first survey in 2019, Council has used the information you’ve shared with us to plan neighbourhood improvements including installing just over 2km of new footpaths, planting 100 trees, creating shared paths and separated cycleways, improving pedestrian access, and upgrading local parks and green spaces.

To find out what we heard from your neighbourhood and to learn about some of the upgrades we have delivered in response to what you told us across the years, please read our newsletter in the resources section. The newsletter is available in English, Korean and Simplified Chinese under the 2022 Resources - NEW tab of the Resources section in this page.

Our Study Area

The focus of our project was in Carlingford and Epping - a study area bound by Carlingford Rd, Midson Rd, Marsden Rd, Pennant Hills Rd, Jenkins Rd, Moseley St.

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