News & Discussion: O-Bahn

[rubberman]

the buses that currently use the track wont be able to use north terrace anymore and the other routes that do will have a more congested and narrow thoroughfare due to the tram tracks

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So, why don't those other route buses run on the tram tracks? It's done elsewhere. Buses running on the tram lines, using the tram stops is hardly rocket surgery.

Unless the new platforms being constructed are side platforms, the buses won't be able to use the stops as the platforms won't be on the correct side for the buses.

The schematics are showing normal tram stops and not nutty centre islands. So buses can share the tram corridor. This is not only for buses and trams to share the corridor, but also if tram services are disrupted, substitute buses can use the same stops.

It is irritating to know that but for the centre islands, Port Road buses could use the tram reservation to the Entertainment Centre. The time saving for each bus in peak hours on Port Road would be about the same as for the $160m O-Bahn tunnel. Except for free.

[citywatcher]

How will this operate from a safety point of view

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[adelaide transport]

This idea is common in Europe where Trams and buses operate in the centre of the road to use the same (Tram) stop.

[Bob]

One of the options being considered is the possibility of running Bus Lanes in the Centre of Grenfell & Currie Streets with Super Stops east of Frome St, near Gawler Pl, immediately west of KW St and potentially one immediately west of Light Square. Each Super Stop would have platforms on each side, the rebuild of the roadway would include wider footpaths and increased street tree numbers along with street furniture, indented parking bays for Taxi Ranks & Loading Zones to fit within the scope of the Greening Adelaide City Masterplan.

Potential obstacles include the political sell that street parking will be reduced, right hand turns banned, and the cost of the redevelopment, which the ACC is not prepared to undertake alone, it already paid for Rundle Mall and the half-baked (far from finished) Victoria Square. With no Federal or State funds allocated the ACC will leave Grenfell – Currie Street untouched until Government funds in the future are allocated. In reality this translates to ‘expect nothing in the near future with this corridor outside a standard re asphalting of the surface which will be required in the next 2-3 years for safety reasons’.
The ongoing debate and differences of opinion between the State Government and the ACC is strangling what potentially could be a win-win solution, especially considering the unofficial expected passenger numbers using the OBahn will pass 10M annually within 3 years from the City Access Project completion. Chances are this number is conservative, once patrons discover peak travel time savings will exceed the ‘average 3.5 minutes per trip saving as part of the projects initial appeal’, in all likelihood peak hour savings away from the CBD between 1700 & 1800 will be 5- 8 minutes savings off current times. For comparison the Adelaide Railway Station today handles about 8-9M passengers annually.

Ignoring the obvious increased traffic congestion points about to unfold from the end of this year will not take the issue away, that issue being Governments at all levels will need to cooperate and agree upon the final plan and funding for the main east –west bus corridor through the city.

This will be further exasperated if Bus services from Norwood, Kensington & Burnside districts all use the same city corridor once the old RAH closes.

Taking the task head on now instead of the backroom chatter currently taking place, is the only way to sensibly tackle what is going to be a big project in the middle of the CBD sooner or later. He said, she said, is not a professional way to agree, plan and fund this critical transport corridor.

[bits]

Grenfell-Currie has a centre bus lane, right hand turns are banned along it basically everywhere already and there is close to no street parking between Pulteney and Morphett.

So the change would be removal of maybe a few more loading zones and maybe a wider footpath with trees?

[mshagg]

So it would effectively be Collins St but with buses instead of trams. Sounds amazing - along with the PT benefits I couldn't think of a better way to unify the retail and business parts of the CBD than getting rid of the 4 lane highway of single occupant cars that is Grenfell St.

Clearly too good to ever happen lol.

[adelaide transport]

As I have said previously cars should be banned from using these 2 street between 7am and 7pm on weekdays and make them a bus transit-pedestrian mall--allow bikes ,taxis and commercial vehicles(except between 7am and 900am and 300pm and 600 pm).Maybe North terrace bus routes should then only use Grenfell and Currie Streets and allow North Terrace for vehicular access and trams!

[Norman]

Banning cars will be impossible until they remove the multi-level car parks alongside it.

[claybro]

So it would effectively be Collins St but with buses instead of trams. Sounds amazing - along with the PT benefits I couldn't think of a better way to unify the retail and business parts of the CBD than getting rid of the 4 lane highway of single occupant cars that is Grenfell St.

Clearly too good to ever happen lol.

Probably more like Swanston Street

[mshagg]

Banning cars will be impossible until they remove the multi-level car parks alongside it.

Yeah impractical and probably not even necessary. The street just needs calming and prioritisng. The bus lanes were a good start although observance seems to have slipped over time.

[adelaide transport]

Banning cars will be impossible until they remove the multi-level car parks alongside it.

Yeah impractical and probably not even necessary. The street just needs calming and prioritisng. The bus lanes were a good start although observance seems to have slipped over time.

I think there is a huge difference with what there is at the moment compared with what is planned. There will be a lot more buses using the 2 streets, more and bigger bus stops-if we are to reap the benefit of the new $160 million O-Bahn tunnel and the trip savings it makes for the buses then more has to be done to reduce vehicular traffic in these streets-leaving it as it is now would be a total failure.

[arki]

So it would effectively be Collins St but with buses instead of trams. Sounds amazing - along with the PT benefits I couldn't think of a better way to unify the retail and business parts of the CBD than getting rid of the 4 lane highway of single occupant cars that is Grenfell St.

Clearly too good to ever happen lol.

Probably more like Swanston Street

For Grenfell Street, between KW and Pultney, the perfect set up would be like Collins Street; one lane of through traffic each direction with a central corridor for buses and potentially trams in the future with much wider footpaths on both sides of the road to allow a generous planting of street trees.

As someone who parks at Grenfell St carpark regularly I can tell you that a single lane of traffic will make it so much safer and easier to get in and out each day than having to cross a bus lane and dodge the buses weaving in and out of stops.

[Nort]

Banning cars will be impossible until they remove the multi-level car parks alongside it.

Also quite a few office buildings along the street have small underground carparks underneath them.

[Bob]

Judging from some of the reply posts to my previous post, I will articulate further for clarification.

The option in my previous post:

Does not intend to ‘ban cars from Grenfell St’. Access to Public Car Parks and Office Car Parks proposed to continue but with Left turn access only but does intend to improve traffic management of cars, buses and pedestrians to improve continual traffic flow.

Has no need to take into consideration any future Tram lines because the new Tram route of North Tce effectively will manage all future east west Tram movements in the northern half of the CBD, the proposed inner city Tram loop won’t happen in its current discussed (draft proposed) route but that is a different topic for different place - suffice to say West Tce onto Henley Beach Rd (via Glover Ave) would be the preferred connecting point west for trams not Currie Street, just as East Tce onto Rundle Rd would be the preferred connecting point east for trams.

Super Stops will allow the full implementation of ‘all doors loading’ coupled with Ticket Vending machines at same, progressing towards eventual removal of buying Tickets from Bus Drivers when boarding at Super Stops in the CBD and at the 3 Suburban OBahn Interchanges, to reduce timetable slippage thus allowing increased bus numbers with more accurate running schedules with the ability to increase capacity as demand increases for the foreseeable future along the OBahn route.

Central bus lanes proposed to run the entire length of the corridor from East Tce to West Tce, terminating before West Tce - bus routes continuing onward to Henley Beach Rd, or turning Left / Right onto West Tce, would resume their normal lane positions on the road from that point. Currie St & West Tce intersection is one of the critical points requiring lateral planning for an effective solution as grade separation is not possible.

Aside from the above I often refer to the ‘Greening Manual’, officially it is known as the ‘Adelaide Design Manual’ – hope I didn’t confuse anyone. One of the main intents is to get people and greenery back into the City, planning for future traffic management is the single biggest element of being able to make the ‘Greening’ part become a reality.

[citywatcher]

I like what they've done in bris. underground bus station under the mall and the buses travel through tunnels avoiding cbd traffic

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