5 Comments

1. Clifford says:

   February 21, 2014 at 12:18 pm

   Transforming Alexandra Parade into a vibrant boulevard, from a heavily congested inner city arterial road, will not be possible until well after the east/west road tunnel is completed. Melbourne City Council say they are still considering whether to allow dedicated bus lanes in Victoria Parade due to concerns at the lack of alternative car parking (residential and office).
   Clifford

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2. Doris Tran says:

   February 24, 2014 at 1:04 pm

   Excerpts from Manningham’s rail submission: “with or without the provision of a rail service to Doncaster Hill, a grade-separation (tunnelling) of buses will still be required through the Hill”. “Without this, it is anticipated that road-based public transport services will fail to operate successfully over the coming years due to the delay and impact, primarily to buses, caused by ongoing development and increasing traffic congestion in the activities area”.
   “Council’s Doncaster Hill Parking and Traffic Review (as provided), which has been supported by VicRoads, clearly demonstrates that the study team’s assumption that development on Doncaster Hill will occur irrespective of rail, is flawed. VicRoads indicates that traffic conditions and bus service performance along Doncaster Road have already been optimised, and there is no identified opportunity to improve bus service performance through at-grade road (ground level) improvements”
   Where would the Bus tunnel start and finish and what would be the cost? Don’t forget a railway on Doncaster Hill, notwithstanding council’s current campaign, has already been ruled out due to the huge cost of tunnelling.
   If the bus tunnel is vital, irrespective of whether there is a railway to DH, why wasn’t it included in all the preliminary material and community consultation associated with the Doncaster Hill Strategy. Apart from recommending a grade separation for pedestrians at the intersection of Williamsons Road, GTA, the council’s traffic and parking consultant, makes no mention of it in any of its preliminary studies.
   Doris Tran

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3. David T. says:

   February 26, 2014 at 6:14 pm

   City of Yarra Council, who control both sides of Hoddle Street and the north side of Victoria Parade, along with the local community, were not consulted before premier Napthine announced the dedicated bus lanes last week.
   By way of background, the council had previously asked the State Government to consider reallocating road space so that buses are able to provide people with faster travel times than private car travel with the aim of encouraging people to shift from cars to buses, and hence reduce traffic congestion and improve journey times for motorists and public transport users. This reallocation of road space essentially entails retaining the kerb side parking and converting an existing traffic lane into a bus lane thereby reducing the number of traffic lanes available for cars. It is my understanding that City of Yarra are waiting to be briefed by VicRoads and PTV before consulting the community (especially traders) before preparing a report to be put before its councillors.
   David T
   http://www.yarracity.vic.gov.au/News/yarra-news/2011/6/catch-a-better-bus-proposal/)

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4. Synstrat. says:

   February 26, 2014 at 10:00 pm

   The City of Yarra bus lane strategy will create gridlock in the Hoddle Street/Punt Road route, the only practical option for all north/south vehicles crossing the city, if it is adopted. It might work in Victoria Parade with a light sequence for outward bound buses only, similar to the right hand turn priority out of Hoddle Street into Victoria Parade, (under Melbourne City Council’s jurisdiction), which gives buses a head start and a clear passage to the City.

   Synstrat

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5. Jill says:

   February 27, 2014 at 3:53 pm

   The State Government defended its decision to reject a bus lane on Hoddle Street to ease congestion.
   The Department of Transport recommended the move to give buses a peak-hour priority lane from the city to the Eastern Freeway.
   The Minister for Transport Terry Mulder says he had to balance competing interests in reaching his decision.
   He has told ABC radio he ignored his department in the interests of local businesses and car parking spaces.
   “I got advice from the Department and of course there are conflicting views in relation to what would be the best outcome for the clearways,” he said.
   “Quite obviously there would be a number of businesses affected by that, I guess you’ve got to sit back and make a judgement call.”
   The Director of the Bus Association of Victoria Chris Lowe says his group was in talks with the Government on the issue.
   He says he was not informed of the decision.
   “We thought discussions were still underway to be honest, we hadn’t heard the Minister had made any decision on the matter,” he said.
   “So from our point of view there were still further things to be discussed.”
   First posted Tue 3 Jul 2012, 9:47am AEST

   Jill

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