Article : $55m on planning and what have we got ?

[Fares_Fair]

Story in the Maroochy and Caloundra Journals today.
http://maroochy-journal.whereilive.com.au/news/story/55-million-on-planning-and-what-have-we-gotr/

A thank you to Robert Dow for highlighting the issues we face.

Regards,
Fares_Fair.

[ozbob]

From the Maroochy Journal click here!

$55 million on planning... and what have we got?

$55 million on planning... and what have we got?

FIFTY-FIVE million dollars - that's how much the State Government has spent on transport feasibility studies over the past 15 years on trains and buses that have never arrived on the Sunshine Coast.

Now the Sunshine Coast Council wants to throw an extra $80,000 into another transport study, this time into rapid transit.

That money will come in the form of the $20 transport levy placed on ratepayers.

Since 2001 the State Government has spent the $55million on research into public transport solutions, including CAMCOS (Caboolture to Maroochydore Corridor Study), CoastConnect Maroochydore to Nambour Public Transport Corridor Study, CoastConnect Maroochydore to Noosa Public Transport Corridor Study, and CoastConnect Caloundra to Maroochydore. The CAMCOS railway corridor has sat dormant since its inception in 1999.

Since that study, the population on the Sunshine Coast has grown from 247,200 to more than 330,000 higher - than the original CAMCOS study predicted.

And there were plenty of studies prior to CAMCOS: In 1995 the State Government released the SEQ2001 Regional Framework for Growth Management plan.

The outcome was for the region to be serviced by high quality public transport.

And in 1997, they released the Integrated Regional Transport Plan, which proposed investigations for strategic transport corridors to be carried out.

Then in 1999 the State Government undertook CAMCOS, which was completed in 2001. It noted the need for a public transport network to be integrated into the Sunshine Coast within a 10-15 year period.

It was criticised because no funding for that infrastructure was earmarked until 2015 that funding has now been pushed back to 2026.
The Multi-Modal Transport Corridor from Creekside Blvd, Currimundi, to the Sunshine Motorway is another future corridor from Caloundra Rd to the Sunshine Motorway.

The Caloundra South development throws another spanner in the works, as it is not aligned with any of the original major plans.
Division nine councillor Vivien Griffin, who holds the transport portfolio, said the council's new study would look through the CAMCOS corridor, particularly from Beerwah to Maroochydore.

"Light rail or bus rapid transit may very well be needed there. If we wait for the State Government to decide our destiny we'll be waiting a long time,'' she said.

And wait the Coast may any use of that transport corridor would still need to be signed off by the State Government.

Last week State Transport Minister Annastacia Palaszczuk called for nominations on yet another Public Transport Advisory Group. She said the group would input into major decisions affecting public transport users with a particular focus on improving people's experience when using services.

Rail Back on Track spokesperson Robert Dow said it was time to stop spending money on studying and time to start spending money on transport.

"Let's do it, let's not waste any more money, let's just convert the money on studies into something we can actually use which is the track infrastructure which is desperately needed,'' Mr Dow said.

He said the duplication of the railway track between Beerburrum and Landsborough, which he said should have been completed by now, was a high priority.

"It's actually a major issue in terms of increasing train frequency. It limits the number of trains that can be run from a commuter perspective, but also freight trains as well. CAMCOS can't even really begin until it's upgraded to Landsborough."

Mr Dow said the Coast would always have Brisbane commuters and ignoring the fact was a failure.

"The Bruce Highway can't cope. Why should the Sunshine Coast be the poor transport cousin to the Gold Coast?

"Rail is at least 40 times safer than driving a car. And the Bruce Highway costs enormous sums of money in road trauma,'' he said.

There have been 53 fatalities on the Bruce Highway between Brisbane and Noosa in the past 10 years.

Dr Matthew Burke, from the Urban Research Program at Griffith University, said it might be voting patterns that are to blame for the lack of transport infrastructure.

"The marginal seats around Redcliffe led to a strategic decision to prioritise that corridor,'' he said.

"Many observers are looking at the decisions to fund the Redcliffe rail, announced during that federal election campaign, thinking targeting those marginal seats is quite a pragmatic political solution."

[Stillwater]

Channel 7 local news tonight featured item about commuter traffic clogging up Landsborough.  Local businesses say they are losing customers because people can't find a parking spot to attend their shops.  And the problem lasts all day, with commuters filling all available parking spots by 9am and the cars stay there until evening, when the commuter trains bring people from Brisbane back to the Coast.

[ozbob]

Channel 7 local news tonight featured item about commuter traffic clogging up Landsborough.  Local businesses say they are losing customers because people can't find a parking spot to attend their shops.  And the problem lasts all day, with commuters filling all available parking spots by 9am and the cars stay there until evening, when the commuter trains bring people from Brisbane back to the Coast.

Same story over most of SEQ.  The present policies simply don't work.  We have suggested solutions --> http://railbotforum.org/mbs/index.php?topic=532.0

[#Metro]

Is the parking "free" parking?
Charge for it.

[Gazza]

Either that or put in shorter limits to stop people staying all day where they aren't wanted.

[Sunbus610]

Most of this has been spent of investigations and feasibility or EIS studies, so nothing too much has unfolded in a practical sense unfortunately !!!

[Fares_Fair]

Is the parking "free" parking?
Charge for it.

that wouldn't solve the problem..
besides where would the lean, green, energy conscious, make good use of PT commuters park then ?

Regards,
Fares_Fair.

[#Metro]

Put on a bus.

If something is in short supply, you put a price on it.
Then people make choices: move, park elsewhere or get the bus.

Of course, the government has to actually put more buses on...

[Fares_Fair]

Put on a bus.

If something is in short supply, you put a price on it.
Then people make choices: move, park elsewhere or get the bus.

Of course, the government has to actually put more buses on...

Unfortunately, I think we just hit a snag ...

Regards,
Fares_Fair.

[HappyTrainGuy]

people can't find a parking spot to attend their shops.

Simple fix. 3 hour parking around the businesses..

[Stillwater]

Regarding the $55 million in studies of the transport situation on the Sunny Coast (all esentially saying the same thing over and over again -- how often has government to be told?  After all, it commissions the advice.)

Governments always want to be SEEN to be doing something.  It knows that the duplication of the track to Nambour and CAMCOS to Maroochydore will cost, together, some $8 billion.  What to do?  The thing you do to be seen to be doing something is to commission another feasibility study or engineering report.

Produce a document, Connecting SEQ 2031 that postpones the fix until 2031, long after your government has been voted from office, and spend yet another few million on yet another study.  Studies are cheap in comparison to actually building something on the ground.

When the poor hapless voters asks 'when are you going to do something', the government's response is: "It would be irresponsible of us to proceed to do something without getting updated costings and having all the facts.  The situation has changed since we last looked at this issue (changed because we did nothing then and did nothing since) that we need to have all the information at our fingertips.  Then the Minister will be in a position to make a swift and informed decision."

That excuse usually lasts until after the next election, then the whole silly cycle begins again.  To the government's eye, it has 'saved' $8 billion by spending another million or two on yet another study.  Phew! ... dodged that bullet.  However, as FF has demonstrated, the construction costs are escalating all the time.  In two or three year's time, the $8 billion will be $9.5 billion ... and we spend another $2 million to 'have another look'.  Madness.