News & Discussion: O-Bahn

[ChillyPhilly]

I’m in Gold Coast at the moment and seeing their own light rail extension take shape, it makes you realise just how much easier it should be for Adelaide to get light rail extensions off the ground be it the airport or otherwise. It certainly shows a lack of interest from our own state government both in terms of their own contributions to such projects but also advocating for such things to federal infrastructure body, especially seeing as the federal government have contributed a sizeable portion to the GC light rail extension. Frankly, I’d hate to see an O’Bahn extension to AA, it will put more buses on the road and buses have less capacity for passengers.

I was there a few weeks ago. Their light rail is terrific, from the stops, to the positive impacts it's had on the roads and areas along its length. Will be a huge boon for tourists and visitors when complete - it will run from Coolangatta Airport to Helensvale, where it interchanges with heavy rail.

It's well-patronised, modern, clean, smooth and quick. And yes - the middle car has a surfboard holder!

Photos:

[Nort]

I think that it's a route where it would be best to test out if there is demand for a more expensive solution by maxing out the potential of the current link. Make the bus stop more convenient and obvious, and reinstate the J1X service (including the double decker buses) that still haven't come back since they were stopped when COVID-19 shut down travel.

There's a lot of easy wins there, and if a real push behind them leads to lots of use, helps make the case. If a really good bus service doesn't get maxed out then we don't need more right now.

[abc]

I’m in Gold Coast at the moment and seeing their own light rail extension take shape, it makes you realise just how much easier it should be for Adelaide to get light rail extensions off the ground be it the airport or otherwise. It certainly shows a lack of interest from our own state government both in terms of their own contributions to such projects but also advocating for such things to federal infrastructure body, especially seeing as the federal government have contributed a sizeable portion to the GC light rail extension. Frankly, I’d hate to see an O’Bahn extension to AA, it will put more buses on the road and buses have less capacity for passengers.

if its putting more buses on the road then it isn't an O'Bahn, its just a bus

[Saltwater]

I think that it's a route where it would be best to test out if there is demand for a more expensive solution by maxing out the potential of the current link. Make the bus stop more convenient and obvious, and reinstate the J1X service (including the double decker buses) that still haven't come back since they were stopped when COVID-19 shut down travel.

There's a lot of easy wins there, and if a real push behind them leads to lots of use, helps make the case. If a really good bus service doesn't get maxed out then we don't need more right now.

This would be a good start. Move the bus stops to closer to the airport terminal entrance / exits, provide a cover, and a bit more than a glorified bus shelter, and it's already way ahead of current arrangements (where the red carpet is rolled out for car pick-up / drop-offs, with PT being an afterthought).

[Spotto]

This would be a good start. Move the bus stops to closer to the airport terminal entrance / exits, provide a cover, and a bit more than a glorified bus shelter, and it's already way ahead of current arrangements (where the red carpet is rolled out for car pick-up / drop-offs, with PT being an afterthought).

Easiest and cheapest solution would be move the bus stop 80m east to the very end of the drop off lane where a large permanent shelter already exists (next to the Taxi zone).

That bay is already physically separated from the drop lane by footpath and kerb, so the only real cost is picking up and moving the bus stop sign, and maybe adding some more benches.

[abc]

once the South Road upgrade is finished the trip from the airport to/from the city will be much quicker for buses as that intersection at South Road/Bradman is currently the main obstacle to traffic flow

[Patrick_27]

I’m in Gold Coast at the moment and seeing their own light rail extension take shape, it makes you realise just how much easier it should be for Adelaide to get light rail extensions off the ground be it the airport or otherwise. It certainly shows a lack of interest from our own state government both in terms of their own contributions to such projects but also advocating for such things to federal infrastructure body, especially seeing as the federal government have contributed a sizeable portion to the GC light rail extension. Frankly, I’d hate to see an O’Bahn extension to AA, it will put more buses on the road and buses have less capacity for passengers.

if its putting more buses on the road then it isn't an O'Bahn, its just a bus

Well, not really…. The buses that feed our current O’Bahn come from somewhere, up until the tunnel was built they were piling out onto Hackney Road and now Grenfell Street.

[Saltwater]

once the South Road upgrade is finished the trip from the airport to/from the city will be much quicker for buses as that intersection at South Road/Bradman is currently the main obstacle to traffic flow

Correct, and if the southern side of Sir Don Bradman Drive through that area is going to be reconfigured for the NSM, I don't know why they don't expand it now to improve traffic flow. Currently it's two lanes heading West, and traffic gets banked up trying to turn onto South Road (another option is to just run airport buses through to Grote Street)

[dbl96]

The bus to Adelaide Airport does work, but if there is a a service that can deliver more people, quicker, then this is only a positive improvement.

The current airport bus stop is a slap in the face to anyone who uses it.

I don't doubt any of that, but when taxpayer's funds are limited, there's plenty of higher priority projects to fund. Almost all of the other tram extensions, for example.

It's true to some extent, but the airport tram link was always intended to run along Henley Beach Road, which would substantially increase its patronage. Its not just about providing a point-to-point link between the Airport and the city, but more about extending access to fixed-link rail transport into a whole district which currently lacks that kind of service.

The Henley Beach/Airport Rd alignment would probably be simpler to execute (technically and politically) that some of the other Adelink routes. The road corridors are relatively wide (especially Airport Rd), and the tram lanes could be added without the level of perceived disruption to motor vehicles as along routes like Prospect Rd or Unley Rd. The biggest issue would be how to deal with the Bakewell Underpass and whether it runs along Grenfell/Currie. But in the short term, it should be possible to avoid all of that by just linking it to the tram line along Port Rd at the James Congdon Drive intersection.

[ChillyPhilly]

The bus to Adelaide Airport does work, but if there is a a service that can deliver more people, quicker, then this is only a positive improvement.

The current airport bus stop is a slap in the face to anyone who uses it.

I don't doubt any of that, but when taxpayer's funds are limited, there's plenty of higher priority projects to fund. Almost all of the other tram extensions, for example.

It's true to some extent, but the airport tram link was always intended to run along Henley Beach Road, which would substantially increase its patronage. Its not just about providing a point-to-point link between the Airport and the city, but more about extending access to fixed-link rail transport into a whole district which currently lacks that kind of service.

The Henley Beach/Airport Rd alignment would probably be simpler to execute that some of the other Adelink routes. The road corridors are relatively wide (especially Airport Rd), and the tram lanes could be added without the level of perceived disruption to motor vehicles as along routes like Prospect Rd or Unley Rd. The biggest issue would be how to deal with the Bakewell Underpass and whether it runs along Grenfell/Currie. But in the short term, it should be possible to avoid all of that by just linking it to the tram line along Port Rd at the James Congdon Drive intersection.

Agree with all of this. The median of Airport Road is clearly a reserved corridor, and there is sufficient width in the Bakewell Underpass for a light rail corridor. There also seems to be some reserved space on the eastern side of James Congdon Drive north of Henley Beach Road, presumably for road widening but this can include light rail.

Ideally, I think an airport light rail link would meet a restored light rail corridor along a narrowed West Terrace. Unsure about sending light rail down Currie/Grenfell as this is better suited to being a semi-transit mall for the O-Bahn corridor in future, but the more, the merrier.

[Nort]

once the South Road upgrade is finished the trip from the airport to/from the city will be much quicker for buses as that intersection at South Road/Bradman is currently the main obstacle to traffic flow

Correct, and if the southern side of Sir Don Bradman Drive through that area is going to be reconfigured for the NSM, I don't know why they don't expand it now to improve traffic flow. Currently it's two lanes heading West, and traffic gets banked up trying to turn onto South Road (another option is to just run airport buses through to Grote Street)

I'm not aware of any substantial changes to SDB planned?

[Saltwater]

Nothing substantial (for now at least), but based on the indicative maps the property on the SW corner of Sir Don Bradman & South Road will have to go, to make way for the cut & cover tunnels for the northern TBM, so if space isn't as constrained it may make sense for them add some new east-west lanes.

[Nort]

Nothing substantial (for now at least), but based on the indicative maps the property on the SW corner of Sir Don Bradman & South Road will have to go, to make way for the cut & cover tunnels for the northern TBM, so if space isn't as constrained it may make sense for them add some new east-west lanes.

Don't know if it would make sense to add lanes there though. I believe the acquisition doesn't go further than the On The Run, so it would only be a very short distance with extra EW lanes and likely cause more trouble as they quickly merge into the existing 2.

[[Shuz]]

It's better to get extra traffic through an intersection than have it backed up. If they can fit 3 lanes, they should.

[1NEEDS2POST]

Keswick creek also isn't wide enough along a lot of it for more than one lane, so it would either have a relatively low max frequency as the direction swaps over, or would need a bunch of expensive and unpopular land acquisition.

Consider that cheap infrastructure is more likely to be built. So a one track O-Bahn is more likely to be built and it can easily cope with the existing J1/J2 frequency. No stops on the airport O-Bahn after Mile End because that adds cost and would slow it down. The length of the one track section would be 2.5 km at most, at 60 km/h that's 2.5 minutes, so the corridor could support a five minute frequency. An airport O-Bahn wouldn't need to support the same frequency as the existing O-Bahn because only J1/J2 buses would use it and the existing O-Bahn has many routes on it. If the airport O-Bahn floods, buses can just drive on Sir Donald Bradman Drive.

Trams on Henley Beach Road or Sir Donald Bradman Drive wouldn't be an improvement on existing bus routes. They would get stuck in traffic and cost more to build than a one track O-Bahn.

Why focus on the airport? Because a grade separated route already exists in Keswick Creek drain and coincidentally it can stop at HomeCo SuperCentre and Bunnings that are public transport black spots. There's no equivalent for Henley Beach Road or Sir Donald Bradman Drive.