Parramatta set to burn as trees engineered out of city design

There is a fresh call for groundbreaking temperature reduction targets to be set across western Sydney to tackle rising urban heat and turn stifling concrete jungles into green, liveable cities. So what can western Sydney learn from Los Angeles when it comes to sustainabillity and tree growth?

Has Parramatta passed the point of no return when it comes to its trees?

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There is a fresh call for groundbreaking temperature reduction targets to be set across western Sydney to tackle rising urban heat and turn stifling concrete jungles into green, liveable cities.

Western Sydney Business Chamber director David Borger says trees have been “engineered out” of CBDs including Parramatta, which is struggling to hit its green CBD targets.

“It’s frankly outrageous that we’ve got some streets in Parramatta which have no trees,” Mr Borger said.

“Church St auto alley is probably the worst, but there are a lot of other candidates where trees have also been engineered out.

“Parramatta Council has a target of 40 per cent tree canopy by 2050, and they are at 33 per cent now. But in the CBD, they are at 10-15 per cent, which isn’t good enough.”

The former urban planner said councils in the west should follow the lead of Melbourne and Los Angeles, where they are to aiming make other cities green with envy.

“LA has a target to reduce the temperature by 1.7 degrees in urban areas by 2025 and 3 degrees by 2035,” Mr Borger said.

Concrete jungle: An aerial of Parramatta CBD.

“We need a similar target for Parramatta and other western Sydney councils. We need to get our skates on because we’re going to double the number of people using the city (in Parramatta) over the next five years.

Western Sydney Director of the Sydney Business Chamber David Borger. Picture: Joel Carrett

“I’d say Parramatta Council, for example, needs to double its tree budget to $1 million each year, with a specific focus on the CBD.”

In a visionary pitch, he also urged councils to put in more water features in CBDs, including fountains.

“What they’ve done in Parramatta at the Church St Mall is brilliant. We need another five of those water features around the city centre,” he said.

“I just think we need to get developers and council engineers to work towards these goals, because a 2 or 3-degree temperature reduction can make a big difference on a hot day.

“Trees need to be first priority on the list and everything needs to be designed around them.”

A world-first study is already under way to provide the “real” temperatures across the west.

Researchers are collecting data this summer from 340 sensors across the Parramatta, Cumberland and Campbelltown LGAs to provide real-feel readings at CBDs, parks, industrial sites, as well as tree-lined and barren streetscapes.

Satellite imagery provided by Nearmap showing development in Parramatta. Parramatta CBD, NSW Oct 2018

Parramatta Council says tackling urban heat is one of the 13 goals identified in its environmental sustainability strategy.

It has commissioned studies with Western Sydney University and the University of NSW to set “appropriate targets and, importantly, provide realistic actions to meet said targets and reduce urban heat”.

“Initial findings (from 2018) show that local air temperature varies substantially across Parramatta’s LGA — even from one part of a street to another — and that ambient air temperature is different under different species of trees,” a council spokeswoman said.

“We have also identified that design of our streets, buildings, infrastructure and services may contribute to reducing the impacts of urban heat on our community.”

Through the city’s Public Trees Program, council last year planted more than 1000 “substantial” trees, with 800 trees on streets and 287 in playgrounds.

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