Westmead Health and Innovation Precinct is a major investment by the NSW Government including 4 hospitals, 4 research institutions, 2 university campuses and the redevelopment of a swathe of Westmead and Parramatta North into a new mixed use precinct with a research focus, centred on rail, light rail and Metro investment.

A place-based transport plan identified key moves to support the growth in the area, and WSP were engaged to translate these into a series of specific, ‘actionable’ changes through a Detailed Transport Assessment. Sara and Marc (as WSP Cities) led the assessment of place integration including road space reallocation and walking and cycling networks.

The team brought in Vivendi Consulting to use the C-MAPS model to validate the walking and cycling routes and quantify the scale of uplift across the precinct, as well as specific interventions in question, such as a through-site link on Parramatta Marist High School, the subject of a planning condition. The project demonstrated both the overall growth potential for walking and cycling in the precinct, as well as the value of specific interventions such as the through-site link to support government investment and implementation.