Thu 31 Jul 2008
Time for a PT solution for the middle suburbs
Posted by chandral under Brisbane, metro, Public Transport
No Comments
Just about all the proposals I have seen for enhancing Brisbane’s PT network fall into 2 categories
(1) expand into new outer suburban areas (and if necessary enhance CBD capacity to cope)
(2) put something clever (e.g. light rail) up the inner city corridor between West End and the Valley.
I would like to put in a plea for those missing people. People like me who live in the middle suburbs, who are not far enough out to benefit from the suburban rail and busway networks as they currently stand, and are not high profile inner city ‘renewal’ areas. Instead we have to put up with congested roads complete with buses stuck in congestion.
This past Monday as my ”express” bus edged down in the inside lane of Musgrave Road in Red Hill I counted no fewer than 7 local buses stationary in traffic in the outside lane. Many of these buses had standing passengers.
These people are trying public transport but I fear that as road improvements (such as Hale Street Bridge and the Western Link) come on line, will switch back to car.
I’d like to make a special plea for this corridor. I believe that something has to be done to provide a dedicated public transport facilities for the Waterworks Road corridor. What I would love to see is a light-rail based solution. It would be expensive and would involve tunnelling, but I think it is needed. I rather fancy something like the SF “Muni” solution: light rail that runs in a tunnel in the city centre and where needed plus median running on the street where there is room.
Imagine it, something whizzing past and under traffic from Ashgrove Village, under Red Hill, down and around Latrobe Terrace Paddington and onto the City, the Valley, Newstead, maybe under the river to Bulimba. The possibilities are endless.
It’s not going to happen. The planners won’t buy it because we don’t deserve PT because we don’t live in high density housing units, and the engineers are too busy building road tunnels – supported by politicians who should know better.
Oh well…