COM: Glenelg Tramline Upgrade

[Waz]

If it's main intention was to never link parts of the city then I think you should read through all 44 pages of this thread. It's a waste of time and money, a white elephant in the making.

That's because most of the whinging in these 44 pages is from know-it-all's like yourself who don't realise that this tram extension is to benefit other people, not yourself. Just because there's very little benefit to you, doesn't mean other people aren't gaining out of this. It's only a small step, but it's a step in the right direction.

[jimmy_2486]

As the saying goes....Rome wasn't build built in a day.

This is the first stage to an unlimited future of our PT system.

Atm this will only benefit glenelg/ south west users, but if no one was to whine about it and give it a good reputation then they will consider making light rail system to branch out to every inner metro area eg Pt Adelaide, Modbury, Burnside etc.

If all the Negative Nancy's out there keep whining about it like a bunch of NIMBYs, they will reconsider the thought of making more extensions and only glenelg people will be able to enjoy it (ie me!! hehe)!!!!!

[sidler]

I work day in day out with the elderly and one thing that gives me the shits is that at least 90% of these people complain about the traffic delays that the new tram will cause and either they dont drive at all, or drive to the city once every 12 months. These are also the same people that have nothing better to do than to write into the Advertiser opposing this development.

The other group of people that give me the shits are the ones that use the city as a through route from one side to the other and expect a free flowing non stop ride. We are living in a capital city of over 1million people, if you want to get from AtoB with no interuptions move to Victor or use the ring route that has been designed for this purpose.

The rapidly growing population within the CBD also deserves a fast efficient PT system and like somone said just because one person dosnt benefit from this development dosnt mean that thousands of others will.

If i had my choice i would restrict all traffic within the CBD to private and emergency vehicles and open up the current entry roads for parking, as they do with Rundle St on the weekends. You could then run some shuttles/trams to transport people into the city. Curitiba in Brazil restricted traffic in their city centre to local traffic and has been massively successful.

One last statistic before i shut up, Adelaide CBD has 4 times the parking spaces of Sydneys CBD, so i think that sums up how much we are destroying our city centre with car use.

[jimmy_2486]

Gee I hate those kinda people....really do...

They should move to hobart if they dun like adelaides city.

[Norman]

I work day in day out with the elderly and one thing that gives me the shits is that at least 90% of these people complain about the traffic delays[...]

Hear Hear!
The idea about providing car parks on the entry roads is great, but I'm sure many carbeuters (sp?) will get very angry at the thought of that. The least I want to see is Hindley Street and Rundle Street closed to traffic, and only allow King William, Currie and Grenfell Street to buses (and trams).

[Will409]

On Friday before I left Adelaide for the weekend, I had a look at the prelim works before this weekend's activity (photos uploading now). Part of my flying visit (because I was pressed for time), I tried to ride the Beeline from Vic Square to the railway station. I say tried because at the first bus stop after Vic Square just before Franklin Street, the bus driver opened the doors to let some people off and then told everyone on the ground that the bus was packed. It looked like a sardine can with people pushed upto the door and standing beside the driving area. I headed off north on foot and tried to get on the bus at Rundle Mall after a sprint up King William Street. I got on but only just, even though it was not quite as full as it was before but it was still very very tight. I nearly tripped over 2 people trying to get to the door when I got to the railway station.

I have done a comparison between the seats on the current bus fleet and the Flexi. The bus has 32 seats where as the Flexi has 64. At 'crush capacity', the bus can take about 90 people where as the tram can take 170. Not only that but the tram can load and unload faster as well because the bus has 2 doors compared to 3 on the tram. The doors on the tram are slightly wider as well allowing for a faster load rate. Also, you will not have to put up with the constant lurching and swaying of the bus pulling into the curb. The accelaration and braking on the bus isn't as smooth as on the tram. The tram will have a dedicated right of way along the entire extension route and will flow largely uninterrupted with other traffic. The curves will have a smoother follow through. The ride quality will obviously be smoother as well.

As an additional note, I have found out that the curve from North Terrace to King William Street has been laid in a rubber booting to minimise noise.

[Will409]

Vic Square from the southern end of King William Street.



Work equipment in Vic Square.



New overhead support masts on the Franklin Street/King William Street intersection.

[duke]

The curves appear to be all done now. I believe this means there is only a short stretch to link it back into the old track. Its almost there!

I noticed this morning that they were starting to hang some of the cables above king William street near the Flinders street intersection also.

[jimmy_2486]

Wow....

Its a shame its exam time for uni students, hence I never dont have a chance to go past it anymore!!

Will have to wait till semester 2 starts in July/August!!

[Norman]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vxhOVQou ... ed&search=

Got this a while back, but just thought I'd share it with you all.

[Tyler_Durden]

There's a reason trams were removed in the first place, look at the traffic problems it's causing already.

Mass Transit systems don't cause traffic problems, cars do. Public transport reduces traffic congestion. Fact.

[skyliner]

Concerning the ramline extension - Just a small synopsis for all the whingers, whiners, moaners, groaners and nimby sympathisers -
!. Adelaide IS a CITY - not a time warp.
2.The CBD population is one of the fastest growing areas in Australia (See ABS site).
Increasing resi and office development in the city calls for greater mobility of more
people more often. This calls for action now.
3.Transport within the CBD will becpme more exacerbated over time due to the
increasing population.
4.Trams REDUCE traffic problems. If the Bee line is also going to be replaced there
will be fewer buses. THEY are a problem.
5.Every transportation system I know about had 'teething' troubles at it's inception.
Thus, judging the tramline on these parameters is faulty.
6.Think with vision, not at the 'end of the nose' so to speak. Personal anecdotal
evidences to the contrary carry little weight in my opinion due to the limited stand
from which they are stated.
7.Looking at the Le Cornu site I believe there is a bigger case for the extension into
North Adelaide.
8.MANY overseas cities are bringing in light rail/tram systems - it seems to speak ro
me of pertinent points we should consider here.
A GREAT VISION FOR A GREAT CITY!!!
STAY ON TRACK WITH THE VISION.

[Waz]

Spot on! Gret post!

[jimmy_2486]

Yeah well alot of the whingers are people who dont work 9 till 5 in the city and come into the city once a blue moon for shopping or something and have a whinge cos it takes them an extra 3 minutes to park their car!! whoppdy do...
Where as getting home 20 min quicker for someone who had got better PT and doesnt need to drive EVERY DAY at 5pm is a much larger concern. Im talking if tramlines get extended into inner-mid urban areas and can make a much better solution to buses which get stuck in traffic.

[Norman]

I got 2 pics today (I was in a hurry) which I will post later today or tomorrow. They are of Victoria Square's current development site.