Sensational-Adelaide.com

Shuz wrote:The Belair line should at least be extended to Bridgewater for standard suburban operations, with the track redirected between Lynton to travel directly to the Glenunga station, leaving the other stations to be serviced via the Woodcroft line as it services Aberfoyle Park, Happy Valley, Hackham etc.

Bulldozer wrote:It might be possible to pick up a second-hand TBM on the cheap from Brisbane when the NSBT is done. (Currently the biggest TBM's in the world.) I wonder how much it costs to do a metre of tunnel with one of those things?

Bus interchange bid
Chris Day
16Apr08

A NEW city bus interchange and providing more bus lanes should be considered to help reduce peak-hour traffic congestion, City Council chief executive Stuart Moseley says.

Mr Moseley this week said "everything is on the table" in the battle to cut travel times across the city.

He said better co-ordination of traffic lights, more bus-only turning signals, and encouraging more people to walk and cycle to work would also be investigated by the City Council and State Government traffic taskforce, set up last month.

"We need to think carefully about the best arrangements and maybe it's time we look at an off-street (bus) interchange," Mr Moseley told the City Messenger.

He said a central interchange would mean fewer bus stops were needed, speeding up journey times and improving traffic flow.

Mr Moseley had no site in mind for an interchange and said finding one would be a "major challenge".

More bus lanes were an option although they would limit kerbside access to delivery drivers and taxis, he said.

"It's very hard to see how we could achieve that but we have to look at it."

The use of more "scrambled" pedestrian crossings, where people can walk diagonally across intersections, will also be investigated.

"We are not planning the city road network just for traffic, pedestrians and cyclists also have to be considered."

Torrens Transit managing director Neil Smith welcomed the idea of a bus interchange.

He said Grenfell St the city's busiest bus route was the ideal location and it could be built underground.

Meanwhile, Mr Smith floated the idea of doubling morning bus fares in return for free early-evening travel, saying that eliminating ticket validations would save time during the after-work rush hour.

He admitted there were "some risks" with the idea as it meant one-way evening travellers would ride for free.

SRW wrote:They really need to just limit the amount of buses coming into the city in the first place by converting routes (where appropriate) to feed into the train network. An expanded tram system within the square mile would then ferry people about the city.

• Trains on long runs with limited stops in between
• Trams running down high density residential corridors interfacing with the urban fabric with many stops - on short runs only
• Buses covering urban sprawl and either delivering them to the nearest train station if the run into the CBD is long or delivering them directly to the CBD - ie on short runs only
• OBahns, where appropriate, replacing train long runs where the terminus and inter-run is servicing urban sprawl. (To avoid peak period transfers from bus to train)

monotonehell wrote:

SRW wrote:They really need to just limit the amount of buses coming into the city in the first place by converting routes (where appropriate) to feed into the train network. An expanded tram system within the square mile would then ferry people about the city.

Trains are good for transporting a LOT of people from one distant place to another. You can have a bus network feeding into that distant place, but feeding a lot of inner suburb buses into a rail system is a folly. Passengers get turned off if they need to make a transfer, especially if it's a short ride.

We need to use each kind of PT where it works best:

• Trains on long runs with limited stops in between
• Trams running down high density residential corridors interfacing with the urban fabric with many stops - on short runs only
• Buses covering urban sprawl and either delivering them to the nearest train station if the run into the CBD is long or delivering them directly to the CBD - ie on short runs only
• OBahns, where appropriate, replacing train long runs where the terminus and inter-run is servicing urban sprawl. (To avoid peak period transfers from bus to train)

monotonehell wrote: Trains are good for transporting a LOT of people from one distant place to another. You can have a bus network feeding into that distant place, but feeding a lot of inner suburb buses into a rail system is a folly. Passengers get turned off if they need to make a transfer, especially if it's a short ride.