Kingsford Smith Drive upgrade ALP against

[ozbob]

Brisbanetimes --> Rod Harding challenges Graham Quirk to Kingsford Smith Drive debate

Labor lord mayoral candidate Rod Harding has challenged incumbent Graham Quirk to a public debate over the planned $650 million Kingsford Smith Drive upgrade before any construction contracts were signed.

Mr Harding, who has promised to scrap the project, said it was a live election issue.

With the Brisbane City Council election a little more than five months away, Mr Harding said it would be irresponsible for the council to enter contracts for a project that could be scrapped shortly after the March 19 poll.

A similar situation occurred in last year's Victorian state election when the incumbent Liberal Napthine government entered into contracts to build the East West Link tunnel.

The Daniel Andrews-led Labor opposition campaigned against the project and tore up the contracts when it took government, which cost taxpayers $339 million in compensation payments.

"With Cr Quirk due to sign these contracts any day now, this clearly is a matter of urgency," Mr Harding said.
Labor's would-be lord mayor Rod Harding.

"The people of Brisbane deserve for this issue to be debated openly in a public forum.

"The Lord Mayor needs to have the courage of his convictions.

"He needs to explain to Brisbane residents why he believes a $650 million gold-plated upgrade of Kingsford Smith Drive is a more important than priority congestion busting projects in the suburbs."

Mr Harding proposed the debate be held in City Hall, with an independent moderator under terms agreed to by both parties.

But a spokesman for Cr Quirk said the Lord Mayor would decline Mr Harding's debate offer.

Instead, he said Labor councillors would be able to make their case in the council chamber.

"Lord Mayor Graham Quirk is delivering on a longstanding commitment to upgrade Kingsford Smith Drive by widening it to a six-lane road with new separated off-road bikeways and pedestrian walkways," he said.

"In 2013, Labor opposition leader Milton Dick called Kingsford Smith Drive a car park that the Lord Mayor needed to fix.

"Since then traffic numbers have grown by 14 per cent from 54,365 vehicles per day to 62,135, the second most heavily used corridor in the council network.

"The contract for the upgrade project will be publicly debated and voted on by elected representatives in the council chamber before the end of the year."

Labor has committed to not proceeding with the project if it won the 2016 council election, instead spending the $650 million on suburban road projects.

The RACQ, which opposes the Kingsford Smith Drive upgrade, has also called on the Quirk administration not to enter into any pre-election contracts with road builders.

As recently as last week, Cr Quirk insisted his administration would push ahead with the project, despite it being an election issue.

[ozbob]

Twitter

Rod Harding ‏@Rod4Bris 3m

I'm challenging @Team_Quirk to an urgent public debate before contract signed on $650m gold-plated KSD LNP upgrade http://twitdoc.com/4WBH

[ozbob]

Brisbanetimes --> Labor could bypass tender process for Kingsford Smith Drive plan: Harding

[ozbob]

Twitter

ChartingTransport ‏@ChartingTrnsprt 37m

Blogged: Public transport use has grown ~7 times faster than car use in Australian cities

http://chartingtransport.com/2010/01/08/evidence-of-mode-shift-in-australian-cities-bitre-data/ ...



==================
Twitter

Robert Dow ‏@Robert_Dow 3m

Robert Dow Retweeted ChartingTransport

. @Rod4Bris @BenPennings @Team_Quirk More roads? #qldpol #bccvotes

>>   https://twitter.com/ChartingTrnsprt/status/688586843579781120

^

Twitter

Robert Dow ‏@Robert_Dow 10m

. @Rod4Bris @BenPennings @Team_Quirk Kingsford Smith Drive is an insane waste of public funds ... #qldpol #bccvotes

[ozbob]

Sunday Mail--> Graham Quirk's $650m Kingsford Smith Drive upgrade gets lukewarm response from voters

PLANS to spend $650 million to upgrade Kingsford Smith Drive have divided Brisbane, with almost half of people wanting the cash spent on other projects.

Exclusive polling for The Sunday Mail shows just over a third of people want the project to go ahead, 45 per cent want the money spent on other projects, while the rest are uncommitted ...

[ozbob]

Sent to all outlets:

6th March 2016

Call to scrutinise Kingsford Smith Drive 'Car Rapid Transit'

Good Morning,

It is no surprise to us that Team Quirk's signature Kingsford Smith Drive (KSD) upgrade project is an expensive white elephant.  There are far higher priorities, and it seems the citizens of Brisbane are starting to realise that.

See the Sunday Mail--> Graham Quirk's $650m Kingsford Smith Drive upgrade gets lukewarm response from voters

Even the RACQ considers the KSD upgrade funds could be spent better elsewhere.

Both the ALP and Greens have far more mature and future visions for Brisbane than the present LNP administration, clearly.

The failure to properly enable Legacy Way for buses as promised is a signature failure of the present LNP Council Administration. Can they really be trusted with respect to KSD?

For interest this is what we said in 2011 about the KSD  ....  still relevant (below).

Little wonder it is not only the wheels on the rubber tyre ' pie in the sky ' Metro  that are falling off the Team Quirk bus it is?

Best wishes
Robert

Robert Dow
Administration
admin@backontrack.org
RAIL Back On Track http://backontrack.org

===================

http://railbotforum.org/mbs/index.php?topic=5743.0

Media release 6 April 2011

SEQ: Call to scrutinise Kingsford Smith Drive 'Car Rapid Transit'

RAIL Back On Track (http://backontrack.org) a web based community support group for rail and public transport and an advocate for public transport commuters calls on Infrastructure Australia to scrutinise Kingsford Smith Drive Car Rapid Transit. Other cost-effective solutions including public transport-only options should be considered.

Robert Dow, Spokesman for RAIL Back On Track said:

"RAIL Back on Track notes that 'Kingsford Smith Drive upgrade is now back on the agenda' (1,2).

"All options presented for capacity expansion on Kingsford Smith Drive so far have focused solely on Car Rapid Transit – the fast movement of single occupant vehicles. The cost of the most expensive option is an eye watering $3.2 BILLION dollars, equivalent to three Gold Coast Light Rail projects, with money to spare!"

"The modal choice of Car Rapid Transit needs to be independently scrutinised by Infrastructure Australia against Bus Rapid Transit (BUZ in peak hour T2 lanes), Rail Rapid Transit (Doomben Line upgrade), more frequent ferries and de-congestion pricing, all of which are are likely to cost a lot less than $3.2 BILLION."

"There has already been a duplication of the Gateway Motorway, while a tunnel will connect to Brisbane Airport as part of the Airport Link Car Rapid Transit project. It seems that the real purpose of this Kingsford Smith Drive road upgrade project is to relieve congestion encouraged by people rat-running off the so-called 'Inner City (Congested) Bypass (ICB) to access the Gateway Motorway and avoid tolls. It would be prudent to wait to see the effects of the Airport Link tunnel before spending billions."

"RAIL Back on Track has written extensively on the simplicity of upgrading the Doomben railway line as providing increased transport capacity in this area (3,4,5). Public transport upgrades can proceed separately from, and independent to, any road upgrade for Kingsford Smith Drive. Public transport upgrades and road upgrades are logically separate projects and it is not necessary for improvements to public transport to come mandatorily pre-packaged with road upgrades. We would like to see decent 'public transport only' options. The Doomben line duplication was planned and initial works done in the 1950s. In light of increasing congestion, it's completion is surely due now, not in 20 years time if the community is lucky."

"RAIL Back on Track again calls for the total abandonment of 'balanced transport' and a shift to 'rebalanced transport' based around walking, cycling, buses, ferries and rail. Incentives for public transport must be combined with disincentives for driving because any other combination is self-defeating. 'Car Rapid Transit' is a low capacity, high-pollution, expensive-to-construct, high-toll mode inappropriate for mass transit purposes. Looming peak oil crises are going to precipitate a transport crisis of major proportions. Now is the time to properly prepare."

"The unblocking of the Sunshine Coast rail line for example (which is at capacity) could do more for national freight objectives and passenger transport than more redundant expensive road projects."

"RAIL Back on Track also does not understand why, after boasting about making a $300 million dollar saving on Legacy Way, $50 million dollars could not be found for a bus interconnection to the busway to allow Council's own buses to use the Legacy Way (Northern Link Tunnel) (6). Another 'non-core' promise or just badly managed obfuscation? Either way, it is certainly reflective of the appalling transport planning generally in south-east Queensland, and why the 'locals' cannot be trusted as they are obsessed with car rapid transit!"

Contact:

Robert Dow
Administration
admin@backontrack.org
RAIL Back On Track http://backontrack.org

References:

1.Kingsford Smith Drive back on agenda
http://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/queensland/kingsford-smith-drive-back-on-agenda-20110404-1ctha.html

2. Kingsford Smith Drive upgrade
http://www.brisbane.qld.gov.au/traffic-transport/plans-projects/transport-projects/Kingsford-Smith-Drive-Upgrade/index.htm

3. SEQ: Car Rapid Transit money better spent on Real Rapid Transit
http://railbotforum.org/mbs/index.php?topic=5492.0

4. SEQ:  Doomben Line upgrade required
http://railbotforum.org/mbs/index.php?topic=5469.0

5. SEQ: "Car rapid transit" is NOT the only option for Kingsford Smith Drive
http://railbotforum.org/mbs/index.php?topic=5166.0

6. Express bus mooted for western suburbs
http://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/queensland/express-bus-mooted-for-western-suburbs-20100920-15jmr.html

[ozbob]

Couriermail --> Lord Mayor says Kingsford Smith Drive upgrade 'vital' but Labor's Rod Harding says it's a 'dud deal'