PRO: Port Adelaide Tramline | $260m

[RayRichards]

Nor should there. Park and Rides are indications that your public transport system is failing to serve parts of the community.

Mate, this is Adelaide. Public Transport is always going to FAIL to serve the community. If there is going to be a park/ride at the entertainment centre, whats the difference in moving it near the Bowden station as well?

[RayRichards]

They should carry it along West Street Bowden and connect it to the Train station and use it as a interchange. While part of the land was still empty after clearance. Major spot for a park and ride. Instead of using the useless Entertainment car park. Why the conlon's liver they put bloody channel 7 there in the corner.

Cheers.
Ray.

Do you have any idea how narrow West St is?

I do yes. If the government were serious, they would change the surrounding building driveways to make it happen. The whole point of Trams I thought, is that they can share a road with cars, trucks, buses and lycra wearing cyclists? If thats too much drama. How about Ann Street? The next one over.

Cheers.
Ray.

[Norman]

There will be news regarding the extension later this year. All I can say at the moment.

[AtD]

Hey RayRichards,

Just a bit of housekeeping. I know everyone is full of ideas, but could you please keep these threads for discussion and updates for the actual projects at hands. This helps the threads stay on topic. We have over 60,000 posts here, so keeping a bit of order is important.

Feel free to discuss and develop your ideas to your heart's content in the Visions and suggestions subforum. It's where our creative sides can shine.

Cheers.

[Aidan]

They should carry it along West Street Bowden and connect it to the Train station and use it as a interchange. While part of the land was still empty after clearance. Major spot for a park and ride. Instead of using the useless Entertainment car park. Why the conlon's liver they put bloody channel 7 there in the corner.

I'm not quite sure what you're suggesting here. Do you mean Croydon station (which they're already planning to link, albeit in an unnecessarily expensive and complicated way)? Or are you suggesting looping back to Bowden station? If the latter, there's no point, as it only takes a minute to walk there from where the tram stop will be.

Far from being useless, the EnterCentre car park is useful for parking cars, and costs nothing because it's already there. Constructing a new car park would be expensive - unless of course you use car parks as a form of land speculation, and build over them when rail services improve. That tactic has been successful in London, but the parking was within walking distance of a major destination (Canary Wharf) and I doubt it would work so well for park and ride.

Why are you suggesting using West Street when there's enough vacant land to avoid having to resort to street running?

As for Channel 7, presumably it's because they paid for it! And surely it makes more sense to have television station locations determined by market forces than by the government?

[Port Adelaide Fan]

Few back Adelaide tram extension to Outer Harbor

PLANS to extend the city tramline to the western suburbs appear to have little traction with voters, a Sunday Mail poll has revealed.

A survey of public transport users found 58 per cent of respondents did not consider the State Government's policy of extending the tram system into the western suburbs and buying extra trams was a public transport priority up from 55 per cent on a similar poll last year.

In fact, those who were most strongly against the tram extension were people actually living in Adelaide's western suburbs who would benefit from the new trams with two thirds saying it was not at all important.

The Government plans envisage extending the city tramline down to Port Adelaide and to West Lakes.

The Sunday Mail public transport poll was conducted on Wednesday night, a year after the same poll was done in 2008.

Back then the multimillion-dollar tram extension received lukewarm support, while the city's bus services attracted a big thumbs up.

This year's survey involved 483 people polled randomly with 231 identifying themselves as users of public transport in the past three months.

Only 13 per cent of transport users saw the extension as being very important, with the most support coming from people living in Adelaide's southern suburbs.

Those who had caught a tram in the past three months, meanwhile, said they were either satisfied or very satisfied with the experience, up from 63 per cent in 2008, to 80 per cent this year. Other key findings of the June 24 survey were:

89 PER CENT of people who did not use public transport said it was because driving was more convenient (up from 73 per cent last year).

76 PER CENT of train passengers were satisfied or very satisfied with the service (up from 66 per cent in 2008).

83 PER CENT of bus commuters were happy with their service, on par with last year.

78 PER CENT thought that electrification of the metropolitan rail lines and the purchase of extra trains over the next 10 years was quite or very important (up from 75 per cent).

84 PER CENT rated the purchase of extra buses and the replacement of old buses as the top priority (up from 81 per cent).

The State Government is spending $118 million over the next four years on 160 new buses increasing the fleet by 40 vehicles.

People for Public Transport secretary Margaret Dingle attributed the lukewarm response to the tram extension to the fact that it was the least patronised mode of public transport. ``We need to really improve the bus and train system,'' she said.

``The Government is getting some new buses and there is a real problem with access in the outer suburbs, and even in the inner suburbs the buses are not adequate.''

Transport Minister Patrick Conlon said extending the tram line was important for the sustainable development of Adelaide.

``One thing I guarantee...when people look back on this in the decade (after the extensions are complete) they will know it's exactly the way Adelaide should have gone as a modern city,'' he said.

http://www.news.com.au/adelaidenow/stor ... 82,00.html

[Port Adelaide Fan]

Conlon denies scrapping Outer Harbor train

TRANSPORT Minister Patrick Conlon quashed rumours his department is planning to scrap the Outer Harbor train in favour of a dedicated tramline.
Three separate sources have told the Sunday Mail the Government is considering converting the Outer Harbor line into a tram-only service instead of running both trams and trains down the line as was promised in the 2008 Budget.

The plan would be consistent with calls by the Port Adelaide Enfield Council which has been agitating since 2006 for a dedicated tramline along the Outer Habor line into the heart of Port Adelaide and servicing Semaphore and Outer Harbor.

The paper also has been told the State Government has cancelled the purchase of hybrid train-trams which would have been able to travel on both the train and tram tracks because of cost pressures and because the technology was relatively untested.

A new tram maintenance depot would be built at Le Fevre Peninsula with the existing Glengowrie depot to act as a stabling yard.

But Mr Conlon told the Sunday Mail on Friday that South Australia's planned $2 billion transport ``revolution'' plan, including an electrified tram/rail system to Port Adelaide, had not changed.

``Design and planning for the Government's unprecedented public transport revitalisation continues,'' he said. ``We'll be looking at all different types of rolling stock for the next few years and we don't have any firm commitments for rolling stock now.''

Port Adelaide Enfield Council revealed a $247 million proposal last month for a tram service into Port Adelaide in a bid to revitalise the heart of the district.

``We're desperate to get the Port happening again and the only way we're going to get it happening is to do something like that down Commercial Road,'' Port Adelaide Enfield Mayor Gary Johanson said.

The Government is spending $100m on extending the tramline from the city's West End to the Entertainment Centre with work slated to finish by next April.

http://www.news.com.au/adelaidenow/stor ... 82,00.html

[Cruise]

There will be news regarding the extension later this year. All I can say at the moment.

How do you know?

[Xaragmata]

Pics from last Thursday...

Support pier for tram line extension under construction between the existing piers of the Port Road rail bridge:




Socket for high voltage stobie pole, a few meters east of the existing high voltage line:




High voltage power line along Port Road, which will be moved a few meters to the east to allow road widening:

[AtD]

Thanking you for the updates. I wonder how much extra it would have cost to underground the power lines, rather than just move them.

[Xaragmata]

Thanking you for the updates. I wonder how much extra it would have cost to underground the power lines, rather than just move them.

I don't know what the extra cost would be, but undergrounding that line (which terminates near West Tce with a cable to Hindley Street)
could have been coordinated with the planned underground cable to the new Keswick substation, which will be installed along Port Road also. At least the Glenelg treated water pipe is being laid in conjunction with the tram works (or appears to be).

[sarail]

In the Sunday Mail last Sunday, there was talk of the Hybrid order being canceled on account to the cost and an 'untested technology'. If thats the case, how's the 'Coast to Coast' theory going to work?

[rhino]

In the Sunday Mail last Sunday, there was talk of the Hybrid order being canceled on account to the cost and an 'untested technology'. If thats the case, how's the 'Coast to Coast' theory going to work?

Didn't Pat Conlon come out on Monday and debunk that rumour?

[sarail]

Must have missed that!

[Norman]

In the Sunday Mail last Sunday, there was talk of the Hybrid order being canceled on account to the cost and an 'untested technology'. If thats the case, how's the 'Coast to Coast' theory going to work?

Coast to Coast is still happening. That was confirmed by Rann.