News & Discussion: O-Bahn

[bits]

What about a bunch of warning signs and an open pit the width of a bus that a standard car would find difficult to negotiate?

[Goodsy]

I bet it would be cheaper to buy a dedicated recovery vehicle that could drive on the O-Bahn rather than installing some boom gate system..

No matter how long the list of stuck cars is the list of successful cars would be longer

[Waewick]

I assume the cost of recovery is on the driver

If not, it should be, plus a massive fine.

[PeFe]

Victoria has constructed new bus shelters with solar panels on top....a great idea for the O-Bahn....Klemzig, Paradise, and Tea Tree Plaza would be a perfect location for this as well. Adelaide Metro take note....

From The Driven

'

Solar bus shelters deliver clean power for electric transport



The local Australian subsidiary of Spanish clean energy company Iberdrola has completed the installation of two solar bus shelters in Melbourne’s west, each spanning over 65 metres in length and with a combined capacity of 65kW.

Located at the Deer Park train station in Melbourne’s outer western suburbs, the two solar bus shelters are expected to generate 80,000kWh of renewable energy each year.

The bus shelter roof is constructed entirely from solar panels and paired with a water protection system and vandal-resistant cladding underneath.



Part of the renovations at the Deer Park Station being undertaken as part of the Victorian government’s Level Crossing Removal Project, the 65kW array feeds directly into the station building and is expected to offset nearly 4,000MWh of electricity over the asset’s lifetime.

Removing the level crossing included the construction of a new rail bridge, elevated station, with a new bus exchange and upgraded car parks.

Local construction company McConnell Dowell Constructors completed the level crossing removal on Mt Derrimut Road in Deer Park, while many of the sustainability features were carried out by South Australian construction company Built Environs.

As part of the sustainability measures carried out alongside the renovations, more than 50,000 trees, plants, and shrubs were also planted around the station.

https://thedriven.io/2024/07/16/solar-b ... transport/

[1NEEDS2POST]

So the exit of the tunnel meets with the exit point of the obahn.

It would be a bit more satisfying, but would it really save much time? Sure the buses slow a bit once getting onto the road, but they have a dedicated bus lane so would rarely get caught in traffic.

Looks to be around 1km between the two points. At 80km/h that's 45 seconds, at 60km/h it's 1 minute. A lot of infrastructure to save that short time. Would also need to pass beneath the Torrens, so would be hard to do as a cut and cover job.

I'd rather see a cut and cover tunnel along Grenfell and Currie Streets, with exits between Frome Street and East Terrace and between Morphett Street and West Terrace with the western end coming out into the Bakewell Underpass, include underground stations as part of this. At-least then if the O'Bahn is ever converted to rail, the existing tunnel won't seem so redundant as it will connect to further tunnelling along this strip. Also cut and cover would ensure this doesn't intrude on any further underground rail plans. Probably at-least a $5b project but considering bus public transport is our main offering in Adelaide and this is the busiest bus corridor, I'd say it's justifiable from a town planning POV and also time efficiency.

In the West, another O-Bahn could be built along Keswick Creek to connect with the airport. A tunnel in the city would make this even more attractive, but it could be built without the city tunnel. This would be much cheaper than the airport rail proposals and it re-uses the existing O-Bahn routes J1 and J2 that go to the airport anyway.

A Keswick Creek airport O-Bahn would have its entrance on James Congdon Drive. Believe it or not, there are no bus stops on James Congdon Drive near the HomeCo SuperCentre or Bunnings, so this is a public transport blackspot that could be fixed with an airport O-Bahn too.

[Waewick]

Perhaps in 2032 once we've expended so much on South Road some money for PT will become available and some actual plans can be considered

[Saltwater]

West Torrens Council is seeking feedback on converting some of the Keswick Creek corridor into an open space concept: https://yoursay.westtorrens.sa.gov.au/creekpark

I've very supportive as that area of the inner west has very little open space. If successful - and I don't see why it wouldn't be, any transport corridor to the airport will need to go elsewhere.

Furthermore, if you move the J1 / J2 along that corridor, you're moving it into an area with low density housing, away from Sir Don Bradman Drive / South Road where usage is much higher.

[Nort]

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.

[rubberman]

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.

Well, acquisition cost is minimised by using the creek alignment. That means other routes are likely to be more expensive, or use much more road alignment. That comes with problems of its own.

The reality is that with the Airport so close to the CBD, present services are more than adequate. Other airports need rail or Busways because of the remoteness of their airports. That's not a real issue for Adelaide.

We can talk about it, but there's no real reason for doing much.

[Listy]

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.

West of Hisense stadium there's a section that's only 5-6m wide with quite a few new subdivisions where houses have been built (and are still being built) right up against the boundary on both sides. I think that demonstrates that there's no real intention within the govt or West Torrens council to use the creek as a transport corridor (except perhaps as a shared pathway).

[rubberman]

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.

West of Hisense stadium there's a section that's only 5-6m wide with quite a few new subdivisions where houses have been built (and are still being built) right up against the boundary on both sides. I think that demonstrates that there's no real intention within the govt or West Torrens council to use the creek as a transport corridor (except perhaps as a shared pathway).

I'd go further and say that they have zero interest in any form of direct Airport to CBD connection than the existing bus service. It's better than most other cities anyway because the Airport is close to the CBD.

[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.

[rubberman]

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.

Yes, the bus stop could be better sited. However, a bus stop relocation is probably more likely to happen than an O-Bahn, tram, or heavy rail to the Airport in the next few decades.

It is possible that the O-Bahn could use trolleybuses, with wiring in the O-Bahn section and along Sir Donald Bradman Drive. Honestly though, I can't see much more of an improvement than that to the airport service.

[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.

[rev]

Would be a waste of money, whats the end result, hundreds of millions spent to move buses from one road to a guided busway with limited to no possibility to expand it beyond the airport?