COM: Glenelg Tramline Upgrade

[Algernon]

Did anyone read Anne Moran's comments

Nope.

[AG]

Haha, someone had a go at Anne Moran for getting her facts wrong in the letters to the editor section of today's paper.

[James Renfrey]

If the government was serious about light rail transport in the city, the line should be submerged at Victoria Square and run under King William Street and North Terrace. It could form the initial stages of a city loop which will be necessary one day.

When the Tonkin Government took office it abandoned just such a planned underground line along King William Street emerging onto reserved track through the parklands and out to Tea Tree Plaza in favour of the untried O'Bahn system which has proven to be a less than satisfactory alternative.

While buses keep up respectable times along the track, they are subject to considerable delays in traversing the streets to and from the CBD. They have also been subject to several accidents caused by the lack of proper light rail signalling and the necessity to have driver control restored at each station.

The cutaway model of the (in its very early stages) already commenced underground station in the block between Rundle Mall and Grenfell Street can be inspected by any visitor to the St. Kilda Tramway Museum.

We owe the fact that Adelaide could have had an underground connection in the CBD for some decades now, and also the abandonment of earlier attempts to electrify our heavy rail suburban system, to the lack of vision and an informed understanding of transport matters of previous generations of conservative politicians

It would seem that nothing has changed.

[AtD]

What an excellent post to introduce yourself to the forums with. Welcome.

[stelaras]

well said James

[bdm]

I think our friend James will find that the railway under KWS was first planned as a part of the MATS proposals (under a Lib govt, and abandoned under a Labor one), and not as another "blessing" of Dunstan. Dunstan and Bannon are the ones who pissed away our state finances on useless endeavours, ignoring the recommendations of the MATS plans (and sound economic and budgetary advice) and concentrating on flashy, populist projects.

The underground location for the NE Light Rail was due to complaints about an above ground light rail impacting negatively upon the CBD's aesthetics. There are countless other reasons why the light rail was abandoned, although the exorbitant cost is the most prominent. This project was far lower in scale than the MATS proposals for an underground railway.

If you're going to bash the "conservatives", at least know what you're talking about when you do. It is always Liberal governments that have had to clean up the mess that Labor has left for them to inherit, both in 1979 and 1993. Voters have amazingly short memories.

[Ho Really]

...Voters have amazingly short memories.

Or selective memories.

Cheers

[Will]

If you're going to bash the "conservatives", at least know what you're talking about when you do. It is always Liberal governments that have had to clean up the mess that Labor has left for them to inherit, both in 1979 and 1993. Voters have amazingly short memories.

I think that every person has a different interpretation to the word 'mess'. Dunstan made SA a proud state that was a leader and widely admired everywhere. And what happened to the State Bank was not entirely the government's fault. It was another indication of the world wide economic problems encountered in the late 1980s and 1990s. The bank would have still collapsed even if John Olsen had been premier.

For example some would regard the privatization of ETSA, the TAB, Modbury Hospital, and the many school closures as a mess.

However back to transport. I think that the two major political parties should stop playing games and have a bi-partisan approach to public transport; such as a state public transport plan that both parties support. This would give the state a long term vision, and eliminate the chances of important projects being cancelled due to political games.

[stelaras]

Will, great stuff and well said... There are plenty of examples all around the world in community/state and federal placed politics, that achieve much much more on infrustructure items when a bi-partisan approach is used.

Whilst im not advocating this happen in Adelaide, but there are examples in southern european municipalities that rule via a bi-partisan approach. This system when compared to other municipalities that dont rule in a bi-partisan fashion do much better financially/economically.

Infrustructure items such as utilities (gas/water/electricity) transports (light rail/bus/freeway) should be managed in a bi-partisan approach. The process may take longer, however, it will ensure that the projects get done and not scrapped

[crawf]

lol, someguy wrote this to the editor in todays tiser...

If we must have trams to the railway station, make them horse-drawn. Then they would be a really good tourist attraction and no ugly wiring required.

and send Adelaide back into the 19th century, which i believe many residents would love for that to happen.

[Will]

Howie, I read your letter in the City Messenger!

Well done on getting it published, and you raise a very good point.

[crawf]

Could someone please scan it

[crawf]

Go-ahead for $31m tramline upgrade
ANNA VLACH, TRANSPORT REPORTER
February 03, 2007 12:15am

THE controversial $31 million tramline extension will be operational by September, after it was officially given the go-ahead yesterday.

Transport Minister Patrick Conlon announced exclusively to The Advertiser he had received Development Assessment Commission consent from Planning Minister Paul Holloway, meaning that work could begin "immediately".

But city events including the Clipsal 500, Adelaide Fringe and recent Tour Down Under have resulted in an April starting date, Mr Conlon said.

The $31 million design and construct contract for the extension from Victoria Square to UniSA City West Campus has been awarded to Victorian company Coleman Rail.

"The major construction works will be undertaken in July as efficiently and unobtrusively as possible on weekends and at night to minimise the impact on city workers and motorists," Mr Conlon said.

A new sub-station to power the tramline would be installed in June, after which safety testing and tram commissioning would get under way.

Mr Conlon said he believed the project had a 70 per cent approval rating despite "hysterical misinformation" and "petty politics".

http://www.news.com.au/adelaidenow/s...006301,00.html

[Howie]

Howie, I read your letter in the City Messenger!

Well done on getting it published, and you raise a very good point.

Nicely spotted Will Thanks, that's all i could fit into an SMS so it had to be short sharp and to the point.

[mooshie]

They just won't let it go! from the AdelaideNow site today-

THE US inspiration for Adelaide's $31 million tram extension has failed to boost public transport or kick-start urban growth five years after it opened, a US economist says.

Randal O'Toole, a Portland resident and Adjunct Fellow of liberal policy think-tank the Cato Institute, has warned the State Government against following Portland's lead and building a "Disneyland ride" through the CBD.
The Rann Government is modelling its tram ambitions in part on the Oregon city's 9km tram and its light-rail system.

Premier Mike Rann was reported in April, 2005, as saying Portland's tram had increased passenger numbers and improved economic development in Portland.

But Mr O'Toole, an ardent light-rail critic who has 30 years' experience in urban planning and has lectured at Yale University and the University of California, said this had not happened.

He said a Portland Chamber of Commerce survey, sighted by the Sunday Mail, revealed that in 2005 just one per cent of the city's 80,000 workers used the tram to get to work – a figure that has not changed since the line opened in 2001.

And the survey showed since the tram began running the number of workers using public transport had dropped by 21 per cent in five years and those driving had increased.

Portland has seen a $2.9 billion development in apartments, shops and offices since 1997 when the tramline – which connects the city's north and south downtown districts – was first announced.

But Mr O'Toole said this would not have happened without huge taxpayer-funded tax subsidies and grants given to developers to encourage them to build along the tramline.

He said this week these subsidies had been at the expense of essential services such as police, hospitals and libraries which had experienced budget cuts.

And, in turn, the high cost of running the service had led to budget and service cuts in Portland's bus and light-rail schedules, he said.

"In short, the streetcar (tram) had nothing to do with the new construction, they could subsidise development without the streetcar line, really it's just a real-estate scam," he said.

`We are giving hundreds of millions of dollars to these developments and that's getting a lot of people angry, not counting the cost of the streetcar or the 10 years of property tax waivers the city routinely grants to new construction along the streetcar line.

"There are 80,000 downtown workers, less than 1000 use it to get to work.

"There is no reason to expect that the (Adelaide) tram will have any effect on the regeneration of the neighbourhood it serves, trams carry too few people to have an impact on property values."

Mr O'Toole said South Australian taxpayers should "hold on to their pockets", with Portland's city tram costing $114 million, or $16 million for every 1.6km of track.

He said the State Government should put more money into buses and operate existing rail lines as long as the infrastructure lasts and replace those with buses.

"Streetcars are not a transport solution, while they do not particularly attract new development they give cities an excuse to subsidise development," he said.

"It will, however, add to roadway congestion which could hurt retailers on the street."

I wonder if they sought this guy out for his negative views...
This is such a political game, note how they manage to have a shot at the Government and Rann's quote, never mentioning that it might actually work IN A TOTALLY DIFFERENT CITY!