News & Discussion: Trams

[ReallyBad]

I agree with using West Terrace as the corridor - just can't work out which is the best spot. I like Shuz' plan of the Southbound lanes, but then how does traffic turn left into the CBD? The median makes sense but it start getting too far away from the curb. Does anyone where it was originally located?

[Shuz]

The idea comes from an alignment I know of in Melbourne (Albert Park, right next to the Aquatic Centre) that works in a similar fashion.

Cars turning left into the city from the southbound lanes would either have to give way to trams on the left as well as giving way to the right, or the trams would simply have to go in sequence with the traffic lights, and are permitted to travel when north-south traffic flows (no turns).

[PhilM]

Tram to nowhere simply refers to a tram that actually stops before it gets anywhere, let alone is not part of a grander plan.

And lets not discuss their lack of suitability for this climate, or the fact they are too small!

If Rann and Conlon had said this was the first stage (going to the Marg and not finishing 400m too early) and the second stage to the Entertainment Centre and then to the Port, it would be going somewhere and it would be welcomed.

Instead Rann and his supporters mumbled and attacked those looking for some sense in all this.

Lets face it, it was gunna go up to North Adelaide, then it was gunna go to the University, Museum, Art Gallery and Royal Adelaide Hospital now it goes, well it goes to the city campus of our metropolitan University (and the skate park)!

Vision is something a bit bigger than that and extends beyond the next election!

[jk1237]

Um PhilM, most of us on here couldn't give a toss about state politics, and what govt is in power. What we care about is making our city better in terms of development.
This is not a labor versus liberal website. Who cares anyway, they are both the same, and it doesnt make any difference anymore of who is in power. Im sure there are many political website forums out there you can spread your liberal word. The liberals also once proposed the tramline extension. The only reason why they were against it is because they are in opposition - its politics and its all crap.
We are on here because we love our city and want it to better and better, and recently, we are starting to see the most exciting developments proposed in Adelaide for years and years, and I couldnt give a shit what party is overseeing it.

[jk1237]

and another thing on this wank vision, why on earth should the political parties, provide this "vision". Because if the labor develops this "vision", it will then change in 3 years (if the liberals come in), so we have a different "vision". The "vision" will then change again in another 3-6 years after that when labor get back in. End result, 10 different "visions", that will never happen.

May I sugest PhilM, you leave the "visions" to the various (non political) state departments who employ many highly trained planning experts, who have superior knowledge to any of us, rather than some puppet leader of the labor or liberal parties. Im quite sure each department would have its own plans for the future.

Thats it, no more talk on politics from me

[AG]

what people forget is that the tram links king william street to the train station. Years ago as part of the MATS plan they suggested a king william st subway, now we have something that is 80% as good, for a fraction of the cost.

Go to melbourne or Sydney and they have an underground city loop, we will never have anything like that but extending the tram line is a very cheap and effective alternative.

This is true. Most people really don't see past what the tram line extension is - a few rails with trams running on them. People always miss the point that transport infrastructure upgrades are provided to improve transport connections and to influence and encourage economic growth and investment. The results of the tram line extension are already becoming evident as we see more developers investing in new buildings along KWS south, and more recently towards the western half of North Terrace. The tram connects with train services as well as many bus services which do not pass through Victoria Square, including the many O-Bahn routes.

$31 million for a small extension with large potential benefits is an absolute bargain. The government could have well chosen to build train tunnels and stations to link train services with buses and trams under the CBD, but that would've costed hundreds of millions to build.

[Pikey]

Play nice kids, or this thread will go to locktown.

[frank1]

$31 million for a small extension with large potential benefits is an absolute bargain. The government could have well chosen to build train tunnels and stations to link train services with buses and trams under the CBD, but that would've costed hundreds of millions to build.

Not to sound like a jerk, but i think a project of that size would cost the government billions, not hundreds of millions.

[AG]

$31 million for a small extension with large potential benefits is an absolute bargain. The government could have well chosen to build train tunnels and stations to link train services with buses and trams under the CBD, but that would've costed hundreds of millions to build.

Not to sound like a jerk, but i think a project of that size would cost the government billions, not hundreds of millions.

That's still hundreds of millions isn't it? Just in the thousands of millions instead.

[PhilM]

Um PhilM, most of us on here couldn't give a toss about state politics, and what govt is in power. What we care about is making our city better in terms of development.

Therein lies the conundrum. If you don't have an effective Government that cares more for the State than it does for its own Political Agenda, and you have an opposition that doesn't quite know what it cares about (other than foxtel commercials), you end up with a State run by automatons that only care about their next RDO or promotion.

We need someone to stand up and say what the informed majority of this web site are trying to say but without political spin or good old Australian apathy.

We don't want half ar$ed projects that cost a paltry $34 Million yet have no real purpose in the long term. Wouldn't it be better to announce we are going to create a 2 Billion dollar transport system over the next 10 years starting with this. Noone in their right mind could forsee a tram to Noarlunga, especially one that overheats in the 1km extension and barely makes the corners!

We all want this state to move into the 21st century and it simply will never happen piecemeal.

Look at Perth and see what a planned road and transport system is like!

Be bold and ponder not only what might be, but why it should and how it can be!

[Paulns]

But anyway I say," here, here", to more trams in Adelaide!!!!

[Omicron]

But anyway I say," here, here", to more trams in Adelaide!!!!

I'll drink to that.

[PhilM]

Um PhilM, most of us on here couldn't give a toss about state politics, and what govt is in power. What we care about is making our city better in terms of development.
This is not a labor versus liberal website. Who cares anyway, they are both the same, and it doesnt make any difference anymore of who is in power. Im sure there are many political website forums out there you can spread your liberal word. The liberals also once proposed the tramline extension. The only reason why they were against it is because they are in opposition - its politics and its all crap.
We are on here because we love our city and want it to better and better, and recently, we are starting to see the most exciting developments proposed in Adelaide for years and years, and I couldnt give a shit what party is overseeing it.

Seems JK you don't represet "most of us here", Check out the thread suggesting Rann will remain till he is 65. It seems quite a few care a hole lot about state politics (unless the debate is being taken to them - then they quickly lose interest)

[jk1237]

most of the talk of state politics is due to you hijacking every thread and baiting us with political crap. You are so annoying!

[rubberman]

But JK, the problem is that Philm is right about the lack of planning.

It is NOT political because both parties are/were guilty of it in office. Further, neither party now seems to want to do any planning. The Government isn't doing it, and the opposition is not mentioning it as far as I can see. So where is the politics in Philm's post?

We are now suffering from water restrictions. Why? Because we have not increased water infrastructure since the late seventies when Adelaide was far smaller - the drought is something that could have been planned for, and was in the old days.

We are now suffering from a lack of sleepering along the suburban rail network. Why? Because nobody planned for it. You know if it had been on a plan somewhere that we would need a 100k or so sleepers a couple of years back, then we could have ordered some from the sleeper factories making sleepers for the Darwin rail line - there were two factories churning out sleepers - an extra order would have been cheap as chips.

If you look at the present extension of the tramline - the city stops only allow for one tram (or coupled set of h cars) at a time. So, if there is another line (the subject of this Article) then are the trams going to have to wait shy of the stop before they unload? If there is another extension to North Adelaide, are we going to see disruptions while they cut in points at North Teararse? You bet.

And don't get me started on South Road. I have no doubt at all that after they spend a few hundred mill on improvements along the road, that increased traffic will snarl it up again, and eventually they will have to build a freeway...which would make a lot of present expenditure on fifty year life assets, such a s bridges, useless after ten years or so.

Philm's comment about Perth was spot on. It is like comparing a twenty year old athlete with a seventy year old who has hardening of the arteries. It is so slow getting anywhere in Adelaide.

To fail to plan is to plan to fail. Adelaide's transport and water systems are a textbook case of this.