Article: Urgent push on for rail crossing flyover at Bracken Ridge

[ozbob]

From Northside Chronicle click here!

Urgent push on for rail crossing flyover at Bracken Ridge

Urgent push on for rail crossing flyover at Bracken Ridge

   Chris Walker, Northside Chronicle
   From: Quest Newspapers
   August 26, 2011 5:00AM

RESIDENTS have teamed with Bracken Ridge councillor Amanda Cooper in urging the State Government to fund half of the costs of building a flyover at the notorious Telegraph Rd rail crossing.

Trevor Goodman, who has lived at Bracken Ridge for 26 years, said the problem could no longer be overlooked.

"It backs up right to the highway, and it can take 20 to 30 minutes to go just a few kilometres," he said.

"By four o'clock it's like a parking lot."

Bracken Ridge resident of 35 years, John Finglas, said he would like to see a commitment from the current State Government.

Cr Cooper said the crossing was the major way in and out of Bracken Ridge and claimed the State Government had dropped the ball.

She said council was willing to fund 50 per cent of the flyover costs, and put an end to the congestion and safety issues.

A spokesperson for Transport Minister Annastacia Palaszczuk said a review, to be finished later this year, would look at 21 open level crossings in southeast Queensland, including the crossing at Telegraph Rd.

She said CCTV cameras had been installed at Telegraph Road, and people caught doing the wrong thing faced hefty penalties.

LNP leader Campbell Newman promised to foot half of the $85 million bill for a flyover at the crossing, and half the $163 million Robinson Rd flyover at Geebung if he wins at the state election.

[brismike]

Quote "She said CCTV cameras had been installed at Telegraph Road, and people caught doing the wrong thing faced hefty penalties."

So all they are interested in is >>>> Revenue from Fines <<<< not making it a more safe, more easily negotiated, less congested place to be.  :conf  :conf  :conf

Typical useless State Labor Government ... but Kudos to BCC for agreeing to fund half of the cost with no qualms.  

Mike

[HappyTrainGuy]

No need to spend a sh%t load on a flyover. Just make tougher penalties for those that break the law.

[Stillwater]

The penalties should be widened to include the option of confiscating the vehicle involved in an offence for three or four days.  Taking their car away is the only punishment the hoons understand.  Third time caught -- you must attend the breaker's yard and watch your car being crushed.  (I'm in a lousy mood today.)

[brismike]

The two replies after my post have got it very wrong. Listen to what the residents said in the opening piece. They are concerned about the time it takes to get through the crossing and the congestion caused. They are not hoons. They are just normal people who have to put up with something very inconvenient. There needs to be a solution put in place to fix the problem. 

Yes I agree fine the arse off people who break the law by running the boomgates, and if you must, crush their cars. BUT This will not help the residents & motorists who have to endure the painful situation this crossing is causing that the State Government obviously dosen't care about. Why should they .. they have just installed cameras so they can do a bit of revenue raising. 

[SurfRail]

The penalties should be widened to include the option of confiscating the vehicle involved in an offence for three or four days.  Taking their car away is the only punishment the hoons understand.  Third time caught -- you must attend the breaker's yard and watch your car being crushed.  (I'm in a lousy mood today.)

Why even give them more than one chance?  If you are drive through boom gates and are found to be at fault, then you are stupid enough to justify losing your vehicle instantly.

You should also be disqualified from driving for a hefty period of time, say a year.  No exemptions for tradies, truckies, bus drivers or anybody else.

[somebody]

This crossing has grade separated alternatives via the Gateway, Murphy Rd, Hoyland St and some others.  Might be a bit inconvenient for those near Telegraph Rd/Norris Rd though.

[Jonno]

Yes let's spend 100,000's if not millions of dollars making a urban design blight just so locals don't have to wait to drive somewhere.  Sick of the "nothing should stop a car" mentality. It is killing our city upgrade by upgrade by upgrade.

[HappyTrainGuy]

Its either some dill hits the boomgates or someone complaining about how long they have to way because they can't drive any other way that the GPS doesn't say. Both of which I couldn't care about. What's stopping them from driving the extra few minutes along the Bruce highway or through Bracken Ridge/Taigum. By that logic Beams Road needs a fly over Gympie Road. Boo hoo I say.

[p858snake]

I used to drive that way to TAFE in the mornings from out samford way as a learner, And to be honest that crossing is a tad scary (when it isn't a peak/busy period) because the amount of space in between where your sitting in the next "safe" spot, I wonder if they could curve that road before the T intersection and link it back up and get rid of that T intersection using the empty land next to it... although I believe either QR or Energex owns that...

[HappyTrainGuy]

I wouldn't call it a scary crossing. Its just like any other T intersection. No different from when traffic has backed up on a road but instead the backed up traffic is a boomgate and a drawn line on the road.

[O_128]

Build it. And then put a toll on it.

[Fares_Fair]

I see the traffic lined up there every weekday on my commute into the city.
It's always backed up and around the corner as far as I can see.

I have friends there that we visit regularly and it is a dangerous 'shape' for a crossing.

Regards,
Fares_Fair.

[brad C]

It's great to be an armchair expert and either laugh it off or suggest circuitous routes (do you travel via kilcoy to visit the sunshine coast??), but is really time to end this bloody mindedness and advocate strongly for grade separation at this and other northside rail Xings.
Let's face it the volumes of both rail and road traffic are now such that the traffic delays are no longer brief.
Have other RBoT members actually witnessed the volumes of both revenue and non revenue movements through this crossing particularly in the AM peak.
With three tracks, and as many as three empties all up each other's backside in a matter of ten minutes, coupled with the new timetabling, delays at this crossing can exceed 20 minutes.
Is this acceptable to motorists??
With such myopic responses to this issue, one would imagine there would have been objections to the construction of the Albion Overpass.
The problem won't go away and frustrations won't abate until some sensible solution is approved.
Name me one other transport carrier that can have such an impact on the amenity of suburbia and not be held accountable for improvements. Grade separation in this area will also cease the practice of the endless sounding of train klaxons. Sorry folks but I am with the residents on this one!!

[somebody]

I don't see how it's an issue within RAILBoT's charter.

[SurfRail]

I don't see how it's an issue within RAILBoT's charter.

If anything we should be pushing for grade sepping at Zillmere, Geebung, Fruitgrove and Alderley first, all of which carry BUZ or trunk routes.  Telegraph Rd has no significance to the public transport network.

[somebody]

Zillmere is already grade sep'd.

Agree on Fruitgrove & Alderley.  Geebung only carries the 325. Be nice if this could run more frequently.

[Fares_Fair]

I don't see how it's an issue within RAILBoT's charter.

If anything we should be pushing for grade sepping at Zillmere, Geebung, Fruitgrove and Alderley first, all of which carry BUZ or trunk routes.  Telegraph Rd has no significance to the public transport network.

Hello SR,

It does only when some clown crashes through the boom gates on a quite regular occurrence, and causes regular delays to train services.
I'm pushing for hard rubber boom gates that can bounce back ... 

Regards,
Fares_fair.

[SurfRail]

Zillmere is already grade sep'd.

Yeah - for Zillmere, read "Carseldine", sorry.

[HappyTrainGuy]

The train line plays a part but its also the crappy planning around the area. Cars bumper to bumper preventing people from getting access to the highway which blocks cars going past, bumper to bumper on Beams road, dual lane to single lane. If they planed the roads right in the first place this wouldn't happen as much. Give a medal to the planner who approved a whole new massive property development area with a one lane each way road in and out between multiple bottlenecks with space for a 3 car EMU turntable in the middle

Locals have a choice to go multiple ways. Via Taigum which links up with Gympie Road at Chermside. Via Bald Hills/Bracken Ridge/Arterial which also links up with the end of the Bruce Highway/Gympie Road. Or via Telegraph road which after a few turn offs links up with the aterial/Gympie Road at Carseldine. The whole situation is no different than the traffic jam that is created at Gympie Road/Beams Road every day and yet no one is demanding a flyover there.

[Fares_Fair]

The train line plays a part but its also the crappy planning around the area. Cars bumper to bumper preventing people from getting access to the highway which blocks cars going past, bumper to bumper on Beams road, dual lane to single lane. If they planed the roads right in the first place this wouldn't happen as much. Give a medal to the planner who approved a whole new massive property development area with a one lane each way road in and out between multiple bottlenecks with space for a 3 car EMU turntable in the middle

Locals have a choice to go multiple ways. Via Taigum which links up with Gympie Road at Chermside. Via Bald Hills/Bracken Ridge/Arterial which also links up with the end of the Bruce Highway/Gympie Road. Or via Telegraph road which after a few turn offs links up with the aterial/Gympie Road at Carseldine. The whole situation is no different than the traffic jam that is created at Gympie Road/Beams Road every day and yet no one is demanding a flyover there.

That's probably because there isn't a busy rail crossing there.

Regards,
Fares_Fair.

[HappyTrainGuy]

How is it different from that intersection. What would you call having all the cars coming from the city mixing with all the cars leaving the near by schools, cars going to new nearby housing estates, mixed with the traffic of woolies/bws/shops on that corner, traffic coming off the highway/Strathpine etc all converging into one small intersection?

[Gazza]

They should sep it. A proper suburban railway has no interaction with road traffic, end of story.

[SurfRail]

They should sep it. A proper suburban railway has no interaction with road traffic, end of story.

I wouldn't say "proper", but "optimal".  Plenty of level crossings on suburban networks all over the world (including Perth), but clearly Sydney does not have the problems that we have.

I think that as a useful exercise, somebody should list all the level crossings on the QR City network in the area bounded by Gympie North and Rosewood and work out how many of those actually should be grade sepped given the funds available.  Certainly Fruitgrove, Bracken Ridge etc should be done, but I doubt some of the others justify the expense (eg west of Ipswich, the first one north of Holmview).

[ozbob]

Thanks Petey3801 for the list of level crossings.  Very useful list.  Split to --> http://railbotforum.org/mbs/index.php?topic=6859.0