Melbourne hook turns aren't so bad... and can help alleviate traffic problems, e.g. ever watch someone trying to turn right from king william onto north terrace after 6:30pm on a friday night? they usually don't get anywhere until the light turns red anyway, yet all the while whilst waiting they've manage to block the right lane up fustrating the drivers behind them.
Once you get used to hook turns they just become a natural driving habit in the city.
COM: Glenelg Tramline Upgrade
The damaged tram will be shipped back to Germany, and the other two will arrive 5 days later than expected, as the trams will now be unloaded at Fremantle and possibly moved by rail to Adelaide.
Tram images:
Note: The new trams have auto-PA installed on them. eg. "The next station is stop 9, Black Forest." There are other announcements programmed in as well.
Tram images:
Note: The new trams have auto-PA installed on them. eg. "The next station is stop 9, Black Forest." There are other announcements programmed in as well.
Thankfully that one will be covered from view by a very attractive 6 level office block.chris wrote:It's ironic that some would oppose the destruction of heritage character, yet are all for filling the city with 10 storey lumps of steel and concrete for parked cars.
Has anyone seen the latest one going up in the southern half of the city? My god
AG wrote:My god councillor Ann Moran is such a whinger. She is against the tram line extension because it would mean overhead wires and bitumen and concrete in place of the central green median strip. Not only that, but she claimed that the trams would cause more congestion because the northern half of King William Street is narrower than the southern half. That is absolute bull. Some of the councillors really have no clue. Ann Moran is just a pompous waste of space.
Just to add to the story, here is an article from the Advertiser:
Concern over streetscape
31oct05
ADELAIDE City Council will be asked tonight to take a formal position on the dramatic changes trams will bring to King William St.
Councillor Anne Moran will seek information on the median strip and flag poles.
She questioned "whether we have got the true picture" on overhead power lines, with artists' images not making it clear. With no vote taken, she said Lord Mayor Michael Harbison had expressed a personal view of the scheme. "I just think there's going to be jaws dropping when people realise what visually it's going to make King William St look like," she said.
Did anyone see the HORRIBLE ten-second photoshop job in the 'Tiser today? They took King William Rd just in front of the cathederal and poorly photoshoped rails and a tram (which look nothing like the Adelaide Metro ones) and just published it. Didn't even add overhead wires.
There's lots of Bullshit going around that was printed to fill a gap in the newspaper. All it does is confuse people.
There's lots of Bullshit going around that was printed to fill a gap in the newspaper. All it does is confuse people.
Read the letters to the editor today. All the letters opposing the tram line extension are pretty much all from motorists with concerns of their own. It is also obvious that most have absolutely no clue that there are likely to be further tram extensions around the CBD and inner city, beyond North Terrace and North Adelaide. Mr Rann himself has even said that he has thought of extending the tram lines further.
Playing devil's advocate here. This article was not aimed at Adelaide but is still relevent.
___________________________________________
Trams more damaging to the environment than cars
Thursday, 23 January 2003
Trams are the least 'green' form of transport, and even trains produce only slightly less greenhouse gases than cars, an Australian study has found.
The study by researchers at Melbourne's RMIT University, shows that - over the long term - trams produce the highest amount of greenhouse gases, followed by trains, cars and buses. Trams are also very expensive to make and cause major traffic problems.
"The problem is low occupancy," Dr Ed Boyapati, a senior lecturer in engineering who led the study, told ABC Science Online.
The research compared greenhouse gas emissions from the public transport systems and private cars in the Melbourne metropolitan area. The team counted the number of passengers and the length of their trips, and averaged the result against the amount of greenhouse gas each vehicle produced.
They found that trams emit approximately 0.74 kg of carbon dioxide (CO2) per passenger kilometre. Buses showed the least impact, generating just 0.04 kg of CO2 per passenger kilometre, with cars and trains fairly equal at 0.25 kg of CO2 per passenger kilometre and 0.23 kg CO2 per passenger kilometre respectively.
But the findings do not mean we should abandon public transport in favour of cars, according to Boyapati. The solution is to increase the 'loading factor', or number of passengers, using public transport.
The reason for the surprising disparity is that cars always have a passenger in them (the driver), whereas public transport runs at an average of only 25 to 30 per cent capacity. "If we can increase them to between 80 and 90 per cent it will help, but even then trams will be inefficient," Boyapati said.
But increasing the number of passengers on public transport will not be an easy task, he added. "Public transport can't provide the level of service. If we increase the frequency, then we reduce the loading."
Reducing the number of carriages on trains and offering dramatically cheaper tickets at off peak periods might also help.
While trams on their own are inefficient in greenhouse gas terms, they also have a multiplier effect on emissions by other vehicles. When they stop to pick up and drop off passengers, "up to 40 cars [can] backed up behind a stopped tram," Boyapati said.
After conducting a life cycle analysis of each form of transport, trams were found to add about 80 per cent more greenhouse gas as a result of these flow-on effects. In addition to the high capital cost - about six times that of buses - trams carry about the same number of passengers.
"Trams are definitely a lost cause," Boyapati said. "Around the world, they are being replaced by buses."
The study was inspired by a discussion between tram enthusiasts at RMIT in late 2001, where a state government transport expert noted trams appeared to create a lot of flow-on effects, Boyapati recalled. "Then the question was asked how we know that even buses are efficient, and we decided to pursue that aspect," he added.
Boyapati presented his group's findings at the 8th International Conference on Energy and Environment in Cairo, Egypt, earlier this month. He commented that in Cairo, public transport is run at 120 to 130 per cent capacity, which is better for greenhouse gas efficiency - if not so good for passenger comfort.
Danny Kingsley - ABC Science Online
http://www.abc.net.au/science/news/stories/s768017.htm
___________________________________________
Trams more damaging to the environment than cars
Thursday, 23 January 2003
Trams are the least 'green' form of transport, and even trains produce only slightly less greenhouse gases than cars, an Australian study has found.
The study by researchers at Melbourne's RMIT University, shows that - over the long term - trams produce the highest amount of greenhouse gases, followed by trains, cars and buses. Trams are also very expensive to make and cause major traffic problems.
"The problem is low occupancy," Dr Ed Boyapati, a senior lecturer in engineering who led the study, told ABC Science Online.
The research compared greenhouse gas emissions from the public transport systems and private cars in the Melbourne metropolitan area. The team counted the number of passengers and the length of their trips, and averaged the result against the amount of greenhouse gas each vehicle produced.
They found that trams emit approximately 0.74 kg of carbon dioxide (CO2) per passenger kilometre. Buses showed the least impact, generating just 0.04 kg of CO2 per passenger kilometre, with cars and trains fairly equal at 0.25 kg of CO2 per passenger kilometre and 0.23 kg CO2 per passenger kilometre respectively.
But the findings do not mean we should abandon public transport in favour of cars, according to Boyapati. The solution is to increase the 'loading factor', or number of passengers, using public transport.
The reason for the surprising disparity is that cars always have a passenger in them (the driver), whereas public transport runs at an average of only 25 to 30 per cent capacity. "If we can increase them to between 80 and 90 per cent it will help, but even then trams will be inefficient," Boyapati said.
But increasing the number of passengers on public transport will not be an easy task, he added. "Public transport can't provide the level of service. If we increase the frequency, then we reduce the loading."
Reducing the number of carriages on trains and offering dramatically cheaper tickets at off peak periods might also help.
While trams on their own are inefficient in greenhouse gas terms, they also have a multiplier effect on emissions by other vehicles. When they stop to pick up and drop off passengers, "up to 40 cars [can] backed up behind a stopped tram," Boyapati said.
After conducting a life cycle analysis of each form of transport, trams were found to add about 80 per cent more greenhouse gas as a result of these flow-on effects. In addition to the high capital cost - about six times that of buses - trams carry about the same number of passengers.
"Trams are definitely a lost cause," Boyapati said. "Around the world, they are being replaced by buses."
The study was inspired by a discussion between tram enthusiasts at RMIT in late 2001, where a state government transport expert noted trams appeared to create a lot of flow-on effects, Boyapati recalled. "Then the question was asked how we know that even buses are efficient, and we decided to pursue that aspect," he added.
Boyapati presented his group's findings at the 8th International Conference on Energy and Environment in Cairo, Egypt, earlier this month. He commented that in Cairo, public transport is run at 120 to 130 per cent capacity, which is better for greenhouse gas efficiency - if not so good for passenger comfort.
Danny Kingsley - ABC Science Online
http://www.abc.net.au/science/news/stories/s768017.htm
The Glenelg tram line is rather trouble plagued lately. The pantographs of a set of trams flipped yesterday as the trams reached Jetty Road near Glenelg East. Yet more trams out of service. They really do need to be retired from service ASAP. The average tram sees about 25-40 years in service. The H Class have been in service for more than 75 years.
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