Media statement: Green vision for transport in Brisbane's West

[ozbob]

http://www.translink.com.au/mediarelease.php?id=63

Green vision for transport in Brisbane's West

Friday 25 September 2009

Transport Minister Rachel Nolan today released a long-term sustainable transport vision for western Brisbane's transport network.

Minister Nolan said the Western Brisbane Transport Network Strategy would form a planning blueprint for all levels of government in creating an integrated transport network of rail, bus, road, freight, walking and cycling over the next 20 years.

"There is no shortage of transport infrastructure projects taking place across Brisbane but until this document there wasn't a unifying or underlying planning blueprint to tie it altogether in the western region," Ms Nolan said.

"This strategy gives western Brisbane a long-term, coordinated transport plan which embodies sustainable or 'green' transport principles.

"Sustainable forms of transport such as public and active transport feature heavily in the strategy but the plan also seeks efficiencies in the infrastructure we already have for environmental and economic reasons," Ms Nolan said.

"With the dual challenges of climate change and world-wide financial difficulties, we need to focus on getting the most out of current infrastructure even as we are designing and planning the next round of major projects.

"The strategy confirms the value of setting aside transport corridors for the future and builds on current projects in the South East Queensland Infrastructure Plan and Program.

"If transport corridors like these had been part of transport and town planning 20 or 30 years ago, we wouldn't now be resuming properties to build busways and we'd have billions of dollars of extra funding for services.

"We can't turn back the clock but we can ensure these corridors are part of the planning landscape for the next 20 years."

Ms Nolan said there were four key components to the strategy: rail, bus priority, active transport choices and a future north-south motorway.

"The strategy builds on the significant rail infrastructure projects occurring in south east Queensland in recent years," Ms Nolan said.

"For example, the rail track duplication from Mitchelton to Keperra has been completed to enable additional peak hour services on the Ferny Grove line."

Ms Nolan said the strategy would complement the Cross River Rail project (previously known as phase 1 of the Inner City Rail Upgrade), which aimed to increase suburban rail capacity and give Brisbane a modern underground rail network.

Ms Nolan said the two-year $19 million investigation was a large logistical exercise and an example of good consultation leading to good outcomes.

"The consultation work behind this strategy is unique in itself as it involved asking more than a million people for their input since 2007, receiving almost 4000 written submissions and 'in person' briefings with more than 3000 people," Ms Nolan said.

In relation to road transport, the Strategy supports the need for Brisbane City Council's proposed Northern Link tunnel and it proposes a longer term road connection from the Ipswich Motorway at Darra to the Bruce Highway, including a motorway tunnel linking Toowong to Everton Park.

"It rules out once and for all the much-talked about Western Brisbane Bypass," Ms Nolan said.

"Other projects in the strategy will be included in future updates of the South East Queensland Infrastructure Plan and Program.

"This is a long term, sustainable strategy based on key principles which make better use of existing infrastructure, prioritise transport corridor space and builds on current infrastructure programs."

Members of the public can view the Western Brisbane Transport Network Strategy by visiting their local State Government member's office and libraries in western Brisbane or by visiting www.transport.qld.gov.au/wbtni (after midday on 25 September 2009) or by contacting 3237 1111.

Ms Nolan said that many large-scale transport infrastructure projects already underway in Brisbane would make a large impact on the transport network as a whole in the coming years. These projects include:

    * $1.88 billion Gateway Upgrade
    * $4.8 billion Airport Link
    * $3.2 billion CLEM7 Tunnel
    * $1.7 billion Northern Link
    * $2.5 billion Ipswich Motorway upgrade
    * $800 million Darra to Springfield road/rail project
    * $910 million Pacific Motorway upgrade
    * $370 million Hale Street Link

"In five years' time, these projects will be completed or nearing completion and we will be well positioned to judge which projects will be the highest priority on this transport planning blueprint for Brisbane's western region," Ms Nolan said.

[ozbob]

Green road projects   

[#Metro]

Ms Nolan said there were four key components to the strategy: rail, bus priority, active transport choices and a future north-south motorway.

Yes. I understand now. Everyone is reading from the Wilbur Smith Plan 1965.
So now we are going to have an inner city road tunnel distribution network.

"For example, the rail track duplication from Mitchelton to Keperra has been completed to enable additional peak hour services on the Ferny Grove line."

Were there any additional services added? The other thing is, while a project like that is good, if it is only going to boost peak hour capacity, that is a bit of a shame. It should really be used all day with improved frequency of services all day, to get more passengers using the line and pay that piece of infrastructure off.

"If transport corridors like these had been part of transport and town planning 20 or 30 years ago, we wouldn't now be resuming properties to build busways and we'd have billions of dollars of extra funding for services.

Something eerily like the busway, complete with drawings, appears in the Wilbur Smith Transport Plan 1970.
Property resumptions are expensive, for the cost you could run light rail down the median and get 10 000 passenger/direction
without grade separation, higher if the designs is tweaked.

    *  $1.88 billion Gateway Upgrade
    * $4.8 billion Airport Link
    * $3.2 billion CLEM7 Tunnel
    * $1.7 billion Northern Link
    * $2.5 billion Ipswich Motorway upgrade
    * $800 million Darra to Springfield road/rail project
    * $910 million Pacific Motorway upgrade
    * $370 million Hale Street Link

Total: 16 Billion, about 2x the size of Cross River Rail

Spending huge amounts of money is not the only solution. A quick and cheap solution would be to simply increase the frequency of trains on the Ipswich line and link up feeder services to this, and introduce the BUZ 450.

[colinw]

What a remarkable press release that was.

Somehow, the following gets itself praised as a "Green Vision":

   * $1.88 billion Gateway Upgrade
   * $4.8 billion Airport Link
   * $3.2 billion CLEM7 Tunnel
   * $1.7 billion Northern Link
   * $2.5 billion Ipswich Motorway upgrade
   * $800 million Darra to Springfield road/rail project
   * $910 million Pacific Motorway upgrade
   * $370 million Hale Street Link

$16.16 billion dollars worth of projects, of which maybe $500 million goes toward one token rail line that won't even have all its stations built at opening.

"This is a long term, sustainable strategy based on key principles which make better use of existing infrastructure, prioritise transport corridor space and builds on current infrastructure programs."

Sustainable?  With $16 billion dollars worth of roads.  Better use of existing infrastructure?   Where?

I would argue that "better use of existing infrastructure" would have much higher frequency trains in place.

Building an extra track from Mitchelton to Keperra, or Caboolture to Beerburrum, and then not running any extra (or faster) trains is the opposite of "better use of existing infrastructure", rather it is "extracting minimum benefit from new infrastructure".

NOT GOOD ENOUGH.

[#Metro]

Gotcha ---> http://seqtion.googlepages.com/TheNorthernFreeway.pdf

North-South Freeway, here it is from the Wilbur Smith Plan 1965.
TransApex's 1965 equivalent is the Central Motorway.

[somebody]

Oh dear.

Black is white.

Should there be a press release to respond to this?

[ozbob]

For some reason missed this when it came out.  See what happens.

[somebody]

For some reason missed this when it came out.  See what happens.

Oh, it is from last year.  So the opportunity has passed.

[#Metro]

Friday 25 September 2009

[frereOP]

http://www.translink.com.au/mediarelease.php?id=63


    * $1.88 billion Gateway Upgrade
    * $4.8 billion Airport Link
    * $3.2 billion CLEM7 Tunnel
    * $1.7 billion Northern Link
    * $2.5 billion Ipswich Motorway upgrade
    * $800 million Darra to Springfield road/rail project
    * $910 million Pacific Motorway upgrade
    * $370 million Hale Street Link

Rail project - 5% of the total.  Says it all really!

[Jonno]

Yes I believe this is called a "Balanced Approach".  Hmmmmmmm

[Golliwog]

To be fair, it does say those are only the ones currently under construction.

Ms Nolan said that many large-scale transport infrastructure projects already underway in Brisbane would make a large impact on the transport network as a whole in the coming years. These projects include: ...

We have not got far past those I will admit, but it was only about 2 years before this release when the UQ green bridge was completed, and a bit after that they connected that to the SE busway.

[#Metro]

Yes I believe this is called a "Balanced Approach".  Hmmmmmmm

Yeah, balanced on a tightrope above a river infested with hungry crocodiles!