How We Plan Future Works

Planning our future projects can be a complicated process. This page explains how and why we decide what projects are included in our Infrastructure Delivery Program.

Each year we have a limited amount of money, time and workers. We try to plan works so we get the best value out of our resources, and meet the current and future needs of our city.

Projects that are added to our Infrastructure Delivery Program can come from several sources, including community requests, long term planning, responses to emergencies or unexpected events, and regular inspections of the condition of our assets.

We've listed below a summary of the types of things we consider for some kinds of projects, to help us decide what to work on.

Transport projects

This includes on-street and off-street parking areas that are owned and managed by Council.

Things we consider when planning for car parks are shown below.

Consideration		Weighting
	Whether there are any other projects planned in the area, especially high priority projects, that would complement this work	High
	Nearby community land or facilities that would benefit from the car park	Medium
	Nearby town and village centres	Medium
	The SEIFA (Socio-Economic Indexes for Areas) score for the location. This indicates how advantaged or disadvantaged an area is compared with other areas.	Medium
	Whether the car park is (or would be) on a busy road	Low

This includes bike-only paths, separated on-road bike lanes and shared paths.

Things we consider when planning for car parks are shown below.

Consideration		Weighting
	The estimated cost	High
	Whether the cycleway is (or would be) near a busy road	Medium
	If the project would create links between other existing cycleways	Medium
	Whether the work would be eligible for grant funding	Low
	The SEIFA (Socio-Economic Indexes for Areas) score for the location. This indicates how advantaged or disadvantaged an area is compared with other areas.	Low

This includes any paths for pedestrians.

Things we consider when planning for footpaths are shown below.

Consideration		Weighting
	Nearby town and village centres	High
	Whether it would provide a missing link between existing paths	High
	Nearby schools or education precincts	Medium
	Whether it is close to public transport	Medium
	Whether it is near a busy road	Medium
	How many people live in the area	Low-Medium
	How long the path needs to be	Low-Medium
	Nearby community land or facilities that would benefit from the footpath	Low-Medium
	The SEIFA (Socio-Economic Indexes for Areas) score for the location. This indicates how advantaged or disadvantaged an area is compared with other areas.	Low

This category covers crash barrier systems to improve road safety for all users.

Things we consider when planning for road barriers are shown below.

Consideration		Weighting
	Whether it is near a busy road	High
	The speed limit and recorded travel speeds in the area	High
	The location's crash history (using data from Transport for NSW)	High
	The distance between the road and possible hazards such as trees or embankments	Medium
	What the severity would be if a vehicle crashed into nearby hazards	Medium
	Curves in the road	Low

This category includes upgrade or improvement work on existing roads. It does not include road renewals or new roads.

Things we consider when planning for road upgrades are shown below.

Consideration		Weighting
	If the road upgrade would improve drainage or stormwater issues	High
	Whether it is close to public transport	Medium
	Nearby schools or education precincts	Medium
	If the work would improve the efficiency or safety of our road network	Low-Medium
	Whether it is near a busy road	Low-Medium
	If the design supports pedestrian and cycling safety	Low-Medium
	The SEIFA (Socio-Economic Indexes for Areas) score for the location. This indicates how advantaged or disadvantaged an area is compared with other areas.	Low

This category includes things that support vehicles and people moving around, like roundabouts, traffic signals, pedestrian refuges and crossings.

Things we consider when planning for transport facilities are shown below.

	Consideration	Weighting
	The location’s crash risk (Potential Crash Risk and Recorded Crash History using Transport for NSW data)	High
	Recorded travel speeds in the area, and whether the planned work would help reduce speeds	Medium
	If the design supports pedestrian and cycling safety	Medium
	Nearby schools or education precincts	Medium
	Nearby town and village centres	Medium
	Whether it is close to public transport	Low
	Whether it is near a busy road	Low
	If the work meets disability standards for accessible public transport (DSAPT)	Low
	The SEIFA (Socio-Economic Indexes for Areas) score for the location. This indicates how advantaged or disadvantaged an area is compared with other areas.	Low

Floodplain, stormwater and water quality projects

Things we consider when planning for floodplain, stormwater and water quality projects include whether the work will support the aims listed below.

Aim		Weighting
	Better prepare us for major events and climate changes	High
	Upgrade our stormwater network to provide a better service and improve safety	Medium
	Protect our environment, including beaches, creeks and natural areas	Medium
	Complement other Council projects and provide opportunities to use our city's resources more efficiently	Medium
	Help to protect our city's assets and infrastructure	Low-Medium