Potential TOD sites

[#Metro]

Corinda seems a pretty good site for a TOD. Any others?

[ozbob]

Milton, Taringa, Bowen Hills/Exhibition, Nundah.  Woolloongabba. 

[Jon Bryant]

All stations/busways should eventually become a TOD as there are differnet scale and type (more or less commercial) but the location to start with first add Morningside, Buranda, Cooper Plains,  Mitchelton, Ferny Grove, Alderley, Petrie, Carseldine.  I am less familr with the Ipswich and Beenleigh lines.

I know that Coomera is also already taregted as are a number of the above.

I have not included Indooroopilly, Helensvale, Caboolture, Garden City, Strathpine, Beenleigh, Ipswich as they are Town Centres which are in their own right even bigger TODs. 

[#Metro]

I think there needs to be a formal TOD program.
Interestingly, there could be a domino effect- the money one receives from the successful completion and sell off of one TOD can then be put back to start another TOD project... a snowball effect.

Consideration for noise abatement through good design and potential future track or busway expansion should also be taken into account. I suppose potential problems would be interdepartmental / intergovermental turf wars between the BCC, Translink, State departments and NIMBYs that would scare off people who might want to buy there or private/third sector investors.
You know, things like Hale St turf war and buildings on South Bank turf war.

[ozbob]

Tramtrain, you seen this thread? 

Taringa, possible TOD?  --> http://backontrack.org/mbs/index.php?topic=1806.0

[#Metro]

Thanks Ozbob. I have, but was wanting to be more general than Taringa.

NIMBY groups do have a point about being afraid of big buildings, but then again there are places like St Lucia, Highgate Hill (single tall building) and even Tennyson that place dense buildings in suburban areas.

I guess that transport and traffic issues would at least be less of a concern as the development would be on top or near a PT station.

[Jon Bryant]

I would love to do a survey of the NIMBY groups to see how many have visited densley populated walkable cities and just rave about how much they love them.  yet when we plan to do they same here they are up in arms about the right to drive. 

I had a read of the BCC Urban Renewal Plans/Strategies the other day.  They are excellent plans.  Whilst the plans take about making the main street boulevards the proof is in the delivery.  I also like the plans including "High Streets". 

We just need to change the primary transport focus from tunnel, freeways and bypasses to rail lines, trams, busways, bikeways, etc and the tide will turn for Brisbane.

[ozbob]

You know this thread has caused me some reflections.  When I was child I lived in Prahran/Windsor in Melbourne for  a number of years. This had many characteristics of what is now called a TOD.  Being an older inner suburb of Melbourne housing density was relatively high, but still comfortable houses. Rail was laid on, we lived just down from Windsor railway station.  Chapel St  was well serviced by trams, still is.  We never had a car, who needed it?   Bicycle I had as most boys and used that to get around as well.  Everything was available.  

The mad spread of urban sprawl has just created massive transport problems.  It is little wonder that we are as a community starting to revert back to practical urban environments.  

The reality is that councils will move forwards with TODs.   People will adapt and will start to wonder what took them so long?


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Windsortram.jpg

Tram on Chapel Street, Windsor stopping at Windsor Station

[#Metro]

I was reading somewhere, I cannot remember exactly but it was some government report -perhaps it was the senate one on this site, but older suburbs which were established in the pre-car era (i.e. before 1960s) often still retained better transport access even today.

These "natural TODs" developed because there was simply no other alternative. You had to live next to the station- there was no car. The extension of a tram route often sparked development around the new line (for example Stafford/Everton Park).

Nowadays, people can substitute car travel for PT, and the previous role that PT linkages had in leading new developments have now gone to freeways- this may have been a good policy in the environment of the 1960s-2000s, but not now. Now rather than PT linkages preceding development, the opposite-expensive catch up- appears to be occuring (e.g. Springfield, Robina). The problem with placing PT after development is that so often land is not reserved, and houses are already established and NIMBY groups pop up.

There are some parts of the QR network that might be worthy of consideration- namely places along the Shorncliffe and Doomben lines. These lines have lots of spare capacity for new passengers, and travel where there is low, industrial or no development at all.

[ozbob]

I wouldn't be surprised to see the Doomben line extended to Hamilton and the new residential areas.  It can be put in a cutting to go under the roads.   The Doomben line may well have a a second coming ..

[Jon Bryant]

The Doomben Line extension is shown in the Hamilton Northshore ULDA plans.  Maybe it could even be connected to a loop linking Bulimba/NewFarm back to the city.

[ozbob]

Well that is good news Jon.  Using what we have already is part of solution.

[O_128]

If you go on google maps you can see that there is a reserved corridor for the track extension and a large block of land for a station all that is needed is the level crossign removed from KS Drive.

Also wynnum central is going to be a TOD and will be a great example as long as the station is upgraded in the process

[Emmie]

Bob - your reflections on growing up in Prahran with bikes, trains, trams and no car reminded me of something I read recently: that the people of New York City are amongst the least obese in America, because they use public transport as a matter of course, and far fewer own cars.  And the whole of NYC is essentially a TOD!

[Jon Bryant]

As an ex-toen planner It is interesting to note that our cities built before town planning existed are far more sustainable than those "planned". 

[#Metro]

Jon B, even the old Queenslander houses don't need air-conditioning.
I think the reason is that now on average, most people have more money to spend, so everyone can afford to be wasteful.

[ozbob]

That is an interesting observation Emmie! 

Walking to and from points of departure and arrival on public transport has its good points! 

[ButFli]

I think the reason is that now on average, most people have more money to spend, so everyone can afford to be wasteful.

And yet everyone thinks living is so much more expensive these days and baby boomers had it easy.