Eastern Downs Land Use / Transport Study

This project was commissioned jointly by Queensland Transport and EDROC, the Eastern Downs Regional Organisation of Councils. The study was the second stage of an overall land use - transport study; for which the first stage examined strategic land use futures. As a consequence, the study utilised two transport analytical techniques, an accessibility based model and a conventional derived demand model for detailed network examinations.

EDROC contains 10 member Councils, and a critically important element for integrated road network planning was to develop a single approach to road hierarchy planning. Veitch Lister Consulting proposed a functional hierarchy that embraced Queensland Transport's major roads and local government roads. It went on to identify how the hierarchy should be defined and the relationships between the proposed and other hierarchies. The approach was presented to and obtained endorsement from the Regional Transport Group.

The study went on to propose a number of road network improvements and a network development strategy that was tested and evaluated using a conventional model, modified to address the rural issues of freight and rural trip making.

Finally, the study used an accessibility based model to examine a desirable land use strategy for the region. The conclusion of the study generally reinforced the strategic direction of Stage 1, but suggested that alternative strategies for South Toowoomba would be beneficial.