No more cars in Melbourne CBD?

[parawolf]

http://www.theage.com.au/articles/20...590502659.html

CARS will be driven out of the city in favour of public transport and bicycles under a radical new council strategy that abandons plans for a multibillion-dollar cross-city tunnel and suggests slashing speed limits in the CBD.

Under Melbourne City Council's draft strategy, commuters would be "weaned" off cars.

But Lord Mayor John So has conceded that the strategy would work only if the State Government invests more in public transport and cycling alternatives. "The council does not want more cars in the city, but we recognise that people need better transport choices before they will give up the convenience of a car," Cr So said.

The council has also backed away from its previous interest in a multibillion-dollar road and rail link, proposed by the influential Committee for Melbourne last year, that would have connected the Eastern Freeway to the Western Ring Road at Deer Park.

The proposals in the strategy include several dramatic shifts in council policy, including:

■Cutting speed limits in the central city area from 50 to 40 km/h to "reduce pedestrian injuries and improve the walking and cycling environment".

■Opposing increased road access for cars into the city, arguing that "more road capacity would threaten the long-term viability of the city … (and) that the more space is devoted to private vehicles, the less space there is for people".

■Blocking any further removal of tram stops at city intersections to build "superstops" in the middle of city blocks because "tram speed cannot be improved by this initiative given the necessity to stop at each corner" at traffic lights.

The report recommends the council use its authority over roads in the CBD to introduce bus and tram-only lanes in several streets, as well as allocating more space to pedestrians and cyclists. The council's planning committee chairwoman, Cr Catherine Ng, said: "Like it or not, the car can no longer be king in Melbourne."

The council is also considering a plan to boost public transport patronage by offering city residents discounted fares in return for relinquishing parking permits, along with discounted tickets for shoppers.

The strategy calls on the State Government to invest heavily in improved train, tram and bus routes, including upgrading the city loop, as well as lobbying for off-peak tolls on roads such as CityLink to spread peak-hour demand.

An average of 640,000 people visit the city each weekday, with that number forecast to rise to 1 million by 2014.

Almost half of those commuters travel into the city by car.

The strategy is based on months of consultations with transport and business lobby groups. Most of the 232 submissions considered have been calls for better cycling, public transport and pedestrian access, with scores of complaints about current road policies favouring cars. The strategy will be on the council's website on Friday and finalised in June.

[max^power]

This shall be fun! Glad i'm moving interstate!

[brenx]

I drove in the city (CBD) last week. I was lucky if I did over 40kph anyway. On average the speed at which I travelled was 30-40kph

[parawolf]

First up - i'm glad they are cutting those damn "Super Stop" ideas... Worst ever contraption.

The report recommends the council use its authority over roads in the CBD to introduce bus and tram-only lanes in several streets, as well as allocating more space to pedestrians and cyclists. The council's planning committee chairwoman, Cr Catherine Ng, said: "Like it or not, the car can no longer be king in Melbourne."

Problem with this idea, is that they have done this with Bourke St Mall, and the extension up to Russell St. It fails for the cyclist because you are relegated to riding on the footpath because the only 'street' area is dedicated to public transport. I cannot see it being safe for cycle commuters to be doing 30km/h with pedestrians wandering about.

[4.9 EF Futura]

Originally Posted by brenx

I drove in the city (CBD) last week. I was lucky if I did over 40kph anyway. On average the speed at which I travelled was 30-40kph

Just what i was going to say!!! Im in melbourne CBD semi-regularly and seems like walking pace driving on lonsdale st is the going rate. Altho its like a highway compared to sydney...

[Casper]

I go to St Kilda Rd almost every weekday and its simply not worth driving in anymore. The traffic is insane, the parking expensive and the parking inspectors obviously train at Nazi stormtrooper camps.

That said, the train system from this side of town is maxed out and they simply refuse or cant put any more trains on at peak hour.

Catch 22 I guess.

Originally Posted by 4.9 EF Futura

Altho its like a highway compared to sydney...

Thats what I was thinking! I went to Melbourne a few months back and mentioned to the taxi driver taking me to Rialto, traffic seems good today... He went absoutly beserk at me saying it was a really bad day etc etc couldn't do the speed limit for more than 10 seconds etc etc the bloody government etc.....

On a typical morning coming in from where I live, 60kms to the city take around an 1 hour 45mins. Doing the trip at 2am in the morning, 40mins max. The speed limit is aorund 110 most of the time, but some sections are 80kms

[EFFalcon]

i'd be happy to use public transport if:
i felt safe leaving my car at a train station
if it didnt cost a fortune to travel to the city (i'm in zone 3)
if trains werent so god damn packed

improve public transport big time, then more ppl will use it.
i used it for the entire first year of uni, from then on i drove, and despite costing more, time saving and comfort comes at a priority.

[Fairlane]

You gotta love governments, instead of making public transport better and more convienent, they just make cars less convenient.

[FirstFord]

Originally Posted by EFFalcon

i'd be happy to use public transport if:
i felt safe leaving my car at a train station
if it didnt cost a fortune to travel to the city (i'm in zone 3)
if trains werent so god damn packed

improve public transport big time, then more ppl will use it.

Exactly. I'm west of the city. Only 25kms out (as the crow flies) but public transport is a joke. 20 minute minimum drive to the nearest station (imagine the length of the bus trip), and to park there you need to get there by 7am. Packed trains/trams, connections a joke, and constant cancellations. Governments solution - tax people who park in the city. That's fine, but first give us a world class, efficient, safe and reliable system (that doesn't shut down at midnight) with greater frequency and extends to all the newer areas of Melbourne (not just where the train lines were laid down 100+ years ago) and we might use it.

And those super stops - great logic. Less stops so the trams will run quicker. 1. They still have to stop at the intersections were tramstops used to be anyway (refering here to those in the CBD), and 2, by that logic, why not close all stops so the trams can run straight through, bu***r the passangers.

[Pilch]

So this is what I can look forward too? (all above posts) Brilliant :

[Bearman]

Originally Posted by Fairlane

You gotta love governments, instead of making public transport better and more convienent, they just make cars less convenient.

Exactly right.

The trains are mobile sardine cans at the moment. And who can actually sit on the seats? They're tiny!! No normal sized person can fit on them let alone a lardarse like me!!

I hate public transport and I hate the city with a passion. I work in the docks area but someday I'll be transferred to the city office. Doomsday approaches!!

More and more people are working outside the traditional work day hours and shift work is on the rise. Public transport just does not cater for such workers nor is it a safe option.

A bloke I used to work with was stabbed and killed on the trains around 7pm on a weeknight. Got on at Flinders St and was dead by Spencer St. This happened about 20 years ago. Will not catch me on public transport outside of peak hour!!

Would love a sea (or tree) change!!

[Psycho Chicken]

Originally Posted by au^ute

This shall be fun! Glad i'm moving interstate!

Amen!

I fail to see how they can possibly put more people on the public transport system. It's stuffed as it is.

But hey, Spencer Street Station is fancy as hell. Or whatever we wasted money changing the name to.

Perhaps this pontoon down the yarra for the Commonwealth Games will stay there and we can walk down it. I fail to see any other way it'll be worth the money.

[XR6HP]

Sounds like you guys are starting to get like Sydney..... Except your trains actually sound worse than ours!

[qwigybo]

Originally Posted by Bearman

A bloke I used to work with was stabbed and killed on the trains around 7pm on a weeknight. Got on at Flinders St and was dead by Spencer St. This happened about 20 years ago. Will not catch me on public transport outside of peak hour!!

#1 reason i won't use public transport in melbourne fear of death it's lunacy down there u look at someone for a second and all of a sudden ur "eyeing" them off :ticking:

[Mechan1k]

It's all well and good to get rid of cars in the CBD ... but they will think against it when companies will get the ИИИИs when couriers can't get into the CBD to deliver companies.

Clover Moore was going to do something similar to Sydney (adding another toll to enter the CBD) .... then the larger courier companies made a mention on how do government departments get deliveries sent in and out of the city ... they threatened to boycott deliveries in and out of the city.

The NSW government quickly axed that plan.

Instead they put the let the Cross City tunnel to nowhere through ... it's still quicker for me to go the old way than it is to used the Cross Crappy tunnel. And cheaper ... LOL

[max^power]

Yeah i've heard some BAD stories about train rides. Particularly the line i catch, it's very dangerous at night, particularly friday/saturday evening. I still get the train, but not very often.

[pauljh74]

Originally Posted by Mechan1k

It's all well and good to get rid of cars in the CBD ... but they will think against it when companies will get the ИИИИs when couriers can't get into the CBD to deliver companies.

The extra time travelling into the city to deliver goods will be factored in and costs will rise as a result - flowing onto the consumer.

Typical government - lets not spend money on a cross city tunnel, but instead do our best to discourage motorists without spending money. The issue of reducing speed limits to reduce pedestrian injuries is typical of the governement's "blame the driver for everything" mentality. The main cause of pedestrian injuries in built up areas such as the CBD is pedestrians. Many walk where they please without looking for cars.
Until they spend serious money on improving public transport - especially peak hour capacity, public transport won't be a viable option for many over cars. It only works if you are a short walk to the station or bus/tram stop and your final stop is close to your destination. This works for many in the middle ring of suburbs near a rail line if they work in the CBD 9-5 Mon-Fri. For the rest, people who work shifts or in industrial areas, public transport isn't an option. It's inconvenient and unsafe - even for men.

[parawolf]

Public transport is pretty ordinary. I only travel a short distance (9.4km) from an inner north suburb to the CBD on the one tram line. If I am not on the tram by 7:50am I cannot get a seat (i'm two stops from the start of the line). It takes 45 - 60 minutes to do that 9.4km. By the time the tram is at the top of Brunswick St, it is always full - and i'd suggest that 50% of the people on the tram have not validated a ticket or bought a ticket because they either cannot get to the validator, or they cannot get to the ticket machine (or they are just legitimately fare evading daily as the chance of being caught that far down the line is minimal).

More trams would help.

I got so sick of it, that I decided to save my $6 a day that a Zone 1 ticket was costing me, I now ride a push bike. Takes me less than 25 minutes to do the same 9.4km that the tram does (bicycle path/lane right next to the tram line). I regularly pass 3 full trams on the ride in.

I also agree with most of the accidents are pedestrians fault. The number that jay-walk through the CBD, and start this by standing between cars, usually in the cycling lane annoys the heck out of me. Were these people not told as kids that the safest place to cross a road is from a corner, never to stand between cars, and to use a pedestrian crossing wherever possible (not as if the CBD is short on pedestrian crossings).

In my experience, public transport and Melbourne CBD is a fairly safe place. I have walked Melbourne's city late at night for years going to nightclubs, or even walking all the way home (when I spent my taxi money on booze) and have never been confronted. I have seen fights spill out of clubs and pubs, but never been involved, or nearby enough to be involved or concerned for my safety.

Then again I stay away from known 'problem' areas of King St and Russell St as much as possible as well.

[chief]

Well that sux for all you Melbourneites. Sorting of getting like Sydney. How about you guys get a cross city tunnel? I wonder when we will become like America and build a road on top of another road.