Pyrmont-Ultimo Transport Plan

Following community consultation in late 2023, Transport has finalised the Pyrmont-Ultimo Transport Plan.

Transport will work with other NSW Government agencies and the City of Sydney to continue to progress these initiatives. Each initiative will have its own project lifecycle in line with government funding and investment decisions.

A copy of the final Pyrmont-Ultimo Transport Plan and Consultation Summary Report is available under the Project Documents section on this page.

The Pyrmont-Ultimo Transport Plan has been developed to support delivery of the shared NSW Government and City of Sydney vision for the Pyrmont Peninsula which was outlined in Pyrmont Peninsula Place Strategy (Department of Planning, 2020).

The Transport Plan considers a staged 10-year horizon, while remaining cognisant of the 20-year vision for the Precinct. It identifies 55 transport initiatives to support the delivery of the vision for the Pyrmont Peninsula, a vibrant and diverse precinct which includes parts of neighbouring Ultimo and Glebe. 

We have worked with key stakeholders, including the City of Sydney, NSW Government agencies, local organisations and the wider community to ensure the initiatives included in the plan will:

• encourage more sustainable transport choices by improving public and active transport options
• increase local amenity for locals, workers and visitors
• support connectivity to the future Sydney Metro West Pyrmont Station.

Community consultation on the draft Pyrmont-Ultimo Transport Plan was carried out between 27 October and 26 November 2023. During the consultation period, Transport received over 700 pieces of feedback, which helped us better understand what is important to the community and shape the narrative in the final Plan.

We appreciate the level of detail included in the feedback received. While specific suggestions could not always be reflected in the final Plan at this time, all feedback has been shared with the relevant divisions within Transport and will be considered at the appropriate stage in the project development and planning lifecycle.

Information about how feedback has been considered in the final Plan can be found in the Consultation Summary Report (PDF, 2.96 MB).

Collaboration and consultation have been vital to the Pyrmont-Ultimo Transport Plan, and Transport remains committed to continuing this approach as we seek to implement the initiatives within the Plan. A lead and support agency has been nominated to progress each of the 55 initiatives in the short (within the next five years), medium (within the next five to 10-20 years) and ‘Life of Plan’ timeframes.   

 

The initiatives and actions identified within the Pyrmont-Ultimo Transport Plan require further investigation and consultation before any investment decisions and relevant approvals. This may include progressing the initiatives in a staged approach aligned with government funding and investment priorities.

The map below summarises the initiatives proposed in the draft Pyrmont-Ultimo Transport Plan.

What is the Pyrmont-Ultimo Transport Plan?

The Pyrmont-Ultimo Transport Plan provides a clear action plan for how Transport for NSW will work together with the City of Sydney and other NSW Government agencies over the next 20 years to meet the future transport needs of the Pyrmont and Ultimo communities.

The Pyrmont-Ultimo Transport Plan outlines 55 transport initiatives to be investigated and considered over short, medium to long-term and ‘Life of Plan’ timeframes to make it easier for locals and visitors to get to, move around and enjoy all that the Pyrmont-Ultimo precinct has to offer. 

These initiatives will inform future investment priorities, with a strong focus on improved travel outcomes and mode choice and embedding Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people’s culture and narrative into the design of the built environment.

Why is the Pyrmont Ultimo Transport Plan needed?

The NSW Government’s Pyrmont Peninsula Place Strategy and sub-precinct masterplans established a framework for changes in land use and major investment in transport, infrastructure and place on the Pyrmont Peninsula to deliver a 20-year vision for future growth in the peninsula, with up to 23,000 more jobs and up to 4,000 new homes. The opening of the Sydney Metro West Pyrmont Station will change how people travel to and from the Pyrmont-Ultimo precinct. 

The Pyrmont-Ultimo Transport Plan has been developed in response to these changes and a need to continue providing attractive and efficient public and active transport options that will support sustainable, connected, safe and productive communities in the future.

More detailed information about the context of the Pyrmont-Ultimo Transport Plan can be found in Section 2 of the Plan.

What is the vision for the Pyrmont Peninsula?

The Department of Planning, Housing and Infrastructure (formerly the Department of Planning and Environment) released the PPPS in 2020. The PPPS includes a place-focused vision for the future of the Pyrmont-Ultimo precinct and supports the delivery of development that is of place, employment, creative and cultural significance.

The Pyrmont-Ultimo Transport Plan builds upon this vision led by the NSW Government in developing the PPPS to support the significant uplift in population and employment. It leverages opportunities created by committed and planned transport and place investment in the precinct.

For more information about the Pyrmont Peninsula Place Strategy, visit the Planning Portal or email Pyrmont.Peninsula@planning.nsw.gov.au

What does the Pyrmont-Ultimo Transport Plan aim to achieve?

Together the initiatives in the Pyrmont-Ultimo Transport Plan will provide a sustainable, multi-modal and safe transport network for all people and communities.

The initiatives are grouped around three main objectives:

• Encourage more use of sustainable transport modes by providing better walking, cycling and public transport connections. 
• Balance movement and place on key corridors by investigating opportunities to reallocate road space and increase local amenity for residents, workers and visitors.
• Support connectivity to the future Sydney Metro West Pyrmont Station by providing safe, convenient and attractive pedestrian connections and integrated public transport options.

How has the Pyrmont-Ultimo Transport Plan been developed?

Transport developed the Pyrmont-Ultimo Transport Plan collaboratively with key internal and external stakeholders using the NSW Government Movement and Place Framework.

A draft of the Plan was developed through a series of workshops with a Project Working Group which included the City of Sydney, Department of Planning, Housing and Infrastructure (formerly Department of Planning and Environment), Government Architect NSW and Greater Cities Commission.

The PWG workshops focused on reviewing the vision and objectives of the Pyrmont Peninsula Place Strategy, understanding the needs of movement and place on the peninsula, and investigating and prioritising potential actions and initiatives (including those identified in the PPPS). A number of individual briefings with these stakeholder and consultation with Infrastructure NSW and Create NSW (Powerhouse Ultimo) were also held to develop the draft Plan. 

The wider community and stakeholders were invited to provide feedback during a public exhibition of the draft Plan in late 2023.

The Pyrmont-Ultimo Transport Plan was finalised following community consultation, and the final Plan was published in early 2024.

What is the NSW Government Movement and Place Framework?

The NSW Government Movement and Place Framework helps agencies work together to plan for and deliver a shared vision for the efficient movement of people and goods integrated with amenity and quality of places.

The Movement and Place Framework recognises that trade-offs may be required to achieve the most appropriate fit for outcomes. It is designed to ensure that these trade-offs are considered in informed conversations and collaboration with multiple disciplines and stakeholders.

For more information about Movement and Place, and the Movement and Place Framework visit movementandplace.nsw.gov.au

What community consultation was carried out?

The local community was invited to provide feedback on the draft Pyrmont-Ultimo Transport Plan between 27 October and 26 November 2023. Five in-person drop-in events were held during the consultation period for people to meet the project team and gain more information about the initiatives. An online information session was also held as part of Transport’s November Community Catch Up livestream.

As part of our place-based approach, Transport also invited team members representing nearby projects and other agencies to join the in-person events to provide an opportunity for the community to engage with other projects of interest.

What feedback did you receive on the draft Pyrmont-Ultimo Transport Plan?

During the course of the community consultation period, we spoke with more than 200 people across the five community drop-in sessions and received over 700 pieces of feedback.

This feedback helped us better understand what is important to community and shape the narrative in the final Plan. 



Six common themes were identified through analysis of the feedback:

• Active transport improvements
• Initiative timeframes
• Place outcomes
• Place-based planning and consideration of other projects
• Public transport improvements
• Traffic, road safety and network management

How has community feedback been considered in the final Pyrmont-Ultimo Transport Plan?

The level of detail included in community feedback helped us to update initiatives in the final Plan to reflect community sentiment, where feasible and appropriate.

The Pyrmont-Ultimo Transport Plan includes a high-level outline of the transport initiatives that are important to realising the long-term vision for the peninsula. We received many detailed suggestions relating to specific initiatives and potential matters for investigation in the future, and while these could not always be reflected in the final Plan at this time, all feedback has been shared with the relevant divisions within Transport and will be considered in more detail at the appropriate stage in the project development and planning lifecycle for the relevant initiative.

A summary of the feedback received about each of the six common themes can be found in the Consultation Summary Report (PDF, 2.96 MB).

What are the next steps to implement the Pyrmont-Ultimo Transport Plan?

The list of initiatives has now been finalised and the Pyrmont-Ultimo Transport Plan provides a roadmap for realising the NSW Government’s vision for the Pyrmont peninsula.

Section 5 of the Plan explains how initiatives are grouped into three timeframes based on their current status:

• short-term (within the next five years),
• medium to long-term (within the next five to 10-20 years), and
• Life of Plan (whenever an opportunity arises within the 20-year lifespan of the Plan).

Each of the initiatives will become an individual project with its own lifecycle from investigation to development, consultation and potentially delivery (pending future investment decisions and approvals) to align with the expected timing of the transport or place-based developments they interface with and support. 

For example, initiatives required to support the opening and operation of the new Sydney Fish Market will be progressed in the short to medium-term, while initiatives that will support the future Sydney Metro West Pyrmont Station will form part of longer-term planning.

Transport will continue to keep the community updated about opportunities to provide feedback on initiatives in the Pyrmont-Ultimo Transport Plan when they reach the appropriate project stage.

Who is responsible for implementing the Pyrmont-Ultimo Transport Plan?

Collaboration and consultation have been vital in developing the Pyrmont-Ultimo Transport Plan and Transport remains committed to continuing this approach as we implement the Plan.

While Transport is leading publication of the Plan, a Lead and Support agency has been nominated to be responsible for progressing each initiative. Transport and the City of Sydney are nominated as either the Lead or Support agency for most initiatives. However, involvement from other government agencies and key stakeholders have been identified where required to ensure collaboration with all relevant parties.

How will improvements to ferry, bus and light rail services be prioritised prior to the opening of Sydney Metro West?

Transport understands that community may feel uncertain when considering some initiative timeframes in planning processes and documents such as the Pyrmont-Ultimo Transport Plan, and this was one of the common themes of community feedback, particularly for the medium to long-term initiatives relating to ferry, bus and light rail services:

• Initiative S29: Determine medium-term bus plan in the Precinct, investigate new bus routes within the precinct and bus priority on Pyrmont Bridge Road and Harris Street for future rapid bus routes.
• Initiative S30: Investigate locations of new ferry stops, such as Cadi Park, Pirrama Park, Rozelle Bay and new Sydney Fish Market.
• Initiative S31: Investigate increase in light rail service frequency.

While the complexities of place-based planning have influenced the delivery timeframes for these specific initiatives, this does not preclude other potential changes and improvements to public transport services in the precinct during the Plan's lifetime.

What other Transport projects are happening in the area?

Transport has established a place-based web portal as a central hub for information about transport projects in the Inner West, Pyrmont Peninsula and Bays West areas. You can easily navigate to each project site to find more information such as details of project status, project timelines, upcoming activities, contact details for the project team and copies of relevant notifications, newsletters, maps and plans. 

To find out more about what’s happening in the area, visit our Inner West Portal.

Why is Transport continuing with other projects that prioritise cars and contradict active transport plans, including Pyrmont Peninsula Place Strategy?

Transport appreciates that the community strongly supports a reduction of cars on local roads and a mode shift to more space-efficient and sustainable transport modes including public transport, walking and cycling.

Safety for motorists is a critical challenge for Transport. Sydney continues to grow and as a result, major transport corridors will need upgrades to meet this growth and road user demand. Road corridor upgrades improve network performance.  Other investments such as improving bus trip reliability support mode shift, making it easier for residents and commuters to get in and out of the area.

Transport is committed to encouraging long-term mode shift to more public and active transport projects, and will work with communities to understand the long-term requirements for transport that best serves this aim and the needs of communities.  

What other NSW Government plans and projects are happening in the area?

Bays West Place Strategy

Online: planning.nsw.gov.au/plans-for-your-area/state-significant-precincts/the-bays/bays-west

Email: bayswest@dpie.nsw.gov.au

Blackwattle Bay

Online: blackwattlebay.insw.com

Email: blackwattle.bay@infrastructure.nsw.gov.au

New Sydney Fish Market

Online: newsydneyfishmarket.insw.com 

Email: nsfm.community@multiplex.global

Sydney Metro West

Online: sydneymetro.info/west/project-overview

Email: sydneymetro@transport.nsw.gov.au

• Pyrmont-Ultimo Transport Plan, May 2024 (PDF, 30.59 MB)
• Consultation Summary Report, May 2024 (PDF, 2.96 MB)
• Pyrmont-Ultimo Transport Plan on a Page