Railway Square Observation

I have been travelling a lot to the CBD lately to do my city observation assignment in Town Hall. I usually travel to Central before moving North towards Town Hall along George Street. During my stay in Railway Square, I have observed a few things that I thought could be interesting to post on as an exercise for my city observation assignment.

The Railway Square precinct is an area with a rich history and a well-defined function as a transportation hub. Railway Square acts as a gateway into the CBD and this is represented in the built fabric of the precinct. As a result the buildings are relative low rise and step up towards the city. Wide streets and an expanse of open area at the main intersection create a funnel effect as you enter the CBD which feels much more confined.

I find that there are some shortcomings in the area in terms of pedestrian amenity in conjunction with high traffic movements and low pedestrian priority. A clear trend of very short lengths of time being spent in the area by visitors has given the precinct the identity of a thoroughfare rather than a destination that people want to stay in.

The transport orientated nature of the infrastructure in the precinct functions sufficiently for current usage but with increasing patronage of public transport and the potential for the introduction of light rail through the precinct in the future it is evident that existing infrastructure will not be able to cope.

Analysis of the demographics and consideration of numbers of commuters visiting the area has revealed several issues which need to be addressed. High levels of shared student accommodation and high unemployment in the area contributes to the definition as a growing region of lower socio economic development. These levels are directly related to the close proximity of large scale educational facilities and have shaped the usage of the precinct.

A high density of heritage buildings adds a unique sense of history to the area. Sandstone and bricks are visible cues to the past and form a rich pallete of textures which are placed alongside recent developments of glass and steel. This juxtaposition of materials and design styles helps to integrate the spaces and buildings with one another and forms a single character for the whole precinct.

Some parts of precinct have grown in scale to accommodate a growing student population and to capitalize on the close proximity to transport connections. However, consistently similar sized buildings reduces the impact of any single building as a landmark. This consistency has created an uninterrupted wall of buildings around a central space. The central space is interrupted by an architectural intervention of glass and steel. The railway square bus interchange is the heart of the precinct and facilitates the major transport and pedestrian movements of the area.

An underground link creates a link from Central station across Lee and George Streets to the bus interchange, the TAFE building and onwards towards Darling Harbour. This vertical layering of amenity allows for separation of modes of transport increasing safety and creating a unique pedestrian experience.

There is very little street furniture in the area provoking people to resort to resting on stairways and contributes to the identity of the area as a thoroughfare rather than a destination.

Generally speaking, the precinct is characterized by tertiary educational uses with UTS, TAFE and the transportation terminal. The area is bookended by hotels located on the northern and southern ends of the site. The buildings of educational use are located on the western side of George Street with retail on the ground floor. The office buildings are clustered near the entrance to Central Station to the East.

The precinct is an overlapping space of many different uses but there is a change of dominant function throughout different times of day and different days of the week. Central Station and the Railway Square bus interchange dominate the usage of area especially at the peak times of the day; between 8 - 10 am in the morning and 5 - 6pm in the afternoon. Generally, working days are busier than weekends. In the morning and evening, transportation usages dominated this area, however at noon, retail and plazas become more dominant.