KSD/Australia Trade Coast/Port of Brisbane

[#Metro]

Website http://www.australiatradecoast.com.au/
This is the site map of the precinct click to enlarge http://www.australiatradecoast.com.au/aboutus/precinct_map

Other significant developments in the area include the NorthShore Hamilton redevelopment http://www.ulda.qld.gov.au/01_cms/details.asp?ID=32


Existing PT options:
Buses- interterminal bus, some DFO and aviation precinct buses, great circle line. 2 railway lines- Airport and Cleveland line border the precinct, rail lines both to the port and extending from the Doomben line (not used for passengers).

PT is a bit of a black hole- Doomben line not frequent, mixed bus/rail operation. Bus frequency not good along KSD beyond Portside. Some paths in the area not continuous. Gateway motorway and BNE Airport access cause high traffic levels on KSD. New CityCat stop to go into the area. Proposals for widening or tunnel to carry traffic.

Ideas?

[Golliwog]

Disconnect KSD from The Gateway Motorway....

[#Metro]

What should happen to the Doomben line? Should it be re-opened to Pinkenba?
Understandable that extension to NorthShore Hamilton is wanted too- but both?

[#Metro]

Streetview shows clearly that the dominant mode of transport is the car:
Arcadia Street- whole left lane is parked out
http://maps.google.com/?ie=UTF8&hq=&hnear=Brisbane+Queensland,+Australia&ll=-27.430171,153.082654&spn=0.001728,0.006008&t=h&z=18&layer=c&cbll=-27.430135,153.083765&panoid=nEDwjpZC2Wn6tdRrM8TN6g&cbp=12,79.85,,0,2.23

Lavarack ave
http://maps.google.com/?ie=UTF8&hq=&hnear=Brisbane+Queensland,+Australia&ll=-27.430999,153.099582&spn=0.000874,0.003004&t=h&z=19&layer=c&cbll=-27.430999,153.099582&panoid=PbZaxIiqg3Dqq5P9_zbTXw&cbp=12,107.77,,0,6.45

[#Metro]

From the ULDA Plan- we are effectively looking at another SouthBank, complete with high density. A little difficult to imagine now...

http://www.ulda.qld.gov.au/01_cms/details.asp?ID=143

The Northshore Hamilton UDA is the most significant waterfront development opportunity in Brisbane since Expo 88 and Southbank. The Northshore Hamilton UDA is larger than the Brisbane CBD, and its river frontage is greater than the river edges of Southbank and the CBD combined. It possesses remarkable locational advantages, being within 6km of the city, with outstanding views and adjoining Hamilton, one of the most sought after residential addresses in Brisbane.

[#Metro]

There are a few scenarios for PT.

I'm leaning towards a busway/bus solution down KSD simply because if you want to connect the CBD to this area via KSD the idea
of laying tracks all the way from the CBD to this area would be highly expensive and time consuming (although total costs of ownership
and operation over the life of the system and land use/TOD attraction impacts, not just initial capital costs should be guiding here).

IMHO However using only buses as the sole solution is probably not the best solution either, and a wasted opportunity because:

Heavy Rail
* There is existing rail track that can be leveraged off, dramatically reducing capital construction costs to just a short section of track from Doomen Station to Macarthur Rd.
* Although the rail line looks indirect, travel times between the Doomben Train (19 minutes) and Route 300 bus to Bretts Wharf (20 minutes) are almost identical.
* A rail line would allow seamless passenger integration with the QR network and all the other destinations on the CityTrain network.
* An extension of the Doomben line would mean an increase in frequency for people at Doomben, Clayfield, Ascot and Hendra stations
who currently to have unacceptably low frequency services and a confusing rail-or-bus timetable.
* Through running on the QR network would be possible
* Rail stations have the potential for huge TOD impact. While costly to build, they also attract high levels of $$$ for development.

Light Rail
Same as for heavy rail, but:
* The use of high floor vehicles could mean that services could use existing high floor rail platforms.
* The use of dual mode vehicles could mean that the train track could be retained and be compatible with the high voltage overhead wiring of the QR network also.
* This would allow a short section of surface running track to run into the precinct via Theodore St & Barcham Street and then down Macarthur avenue to terminate at the end.  This would allow up to 3 stops to be constructed rather than just one with the heavy rail option) that are integrated into the street. The distance between the end of Macarthur ave and Barcharm street is ~750 m, which is a bit of a walk. An extra stop at the end of Macarthur ave would reduce the walking distance to about ~400 meters.

Under any circumstances, I wouldn't like the idea of the Doomben line being ripped up or converted to "SE busway style" busway IMHO.

Bus
* A bus solution would be good for reaching into the rest of the Trade Coast area beyond Doomen. While rail stations beyond Doomben could be opened all the way up to Pinkenba, this would split the rail frequency of service into 2.

* The construction of new platforms and stations for heavy rail stations all the way to Pinkenba could also be quite costly vs simple bus stops in the street for these areas. The tradecoast area is highly industrial- so TOD is probably not going to be so big for stations beyond Doomben (excluding a station at NorthShore Hamilton).

* Buses would be able to go over the Gateway to connect to the other half of the TradeCoast precinct such as the port and connect the rail service to the Cleveland line stations on the other side.

General

Not sure what ideas other people might have. But if this tunnel thing/widening of KSD goes ahead, then it might be possible to use reserved bus lanes/almere style busway to connect and have an extended heavy rail option as well. Light Rail is possible along the Doomben line, but if considered would IMHO be better for replacing the busway along KSD rather than along to Doomben line.

In any case, buses will be important in this area IMHO. I'm seeing a heavy rail extension + busway as the goer, no LRT. What do others see?

IMHO someone should ring up and tell Doomen Racecourse that they are sitting on a TOD goldmine!

[#Metro]

The Brisbane Racing club has TOD plans of its own:

Brisbane Racing Club announces $1.2 billion development of Eagle Farm, Doomben racecourses

http://www.couriermail.com.au/news/queensland/brisbane-racing-club-announces-12-billion-development-of-eagle-farm-doomben-racecourses/story-e6freoof-1225699280400

Housing key to racecourse renewal

http://blogs.news.com.au/couriermail/publicproperty/index.php/couriermail/comments/housing_key_to_racecourse_renewal/

Transforming a spare 13 hectares of land around the Eagle Farm and Doomben racecourses into a residential and shopping precinct is the key to successful redevelopment of the city's racecourses.
It is money raised from developing underutilised land into sites approved for shops, offices, hotels and apartments that will pay for $400 million in improvements earmarked for the racecourses.

http://masterplan.brc.com.au/Master_Plan_Fact_Sheet.pdf

Development will facilitate and encourage increased patronage of existing rail infrastructure.

[ozbob]

Development will facilitate and encourage increased patronage of existing rail infrastructure.

Hallelujah!

[colinw]

Development will facilitate and encourage increased patronage of existing rail infrastructure.

Not with an hourly service, it won't  

If all Cleveland line trains extended to Doomben it might stand a chance.

Incidentally, this line would be very easy to duplicate, as most of the work was already done in the 1950s.

[ozbob]

From the Courier Mail click here!

Northshore Hamilton affordable housing development to choke Kingsford Smith Drive

    * by Ursula Heger
    * From: The Courier-Mail
    * November 15, 2010 12:01AMl

THE state's affordable housing solution in Brisbane's inner north will significantly worsen congestion on one of the city's biggest arterials, new traffic modelling shows.

Data released by Brisbane City Council shows the Northshore Hamilton development will result in an extra 29,300 vehicles on the already choked Kingsford Smith Drive strip by 2026, increasing the road's daily load to about 88,000 cars a day.

The council said the development will add 2200 vehicles every hour during the morning peak and a further 3000 vehicles an hour in the afternoon to Kingsford Smith Drive – equivalent to adding an extra two lanes of traffic.

The development, overseen by the State Government-backed Urban Land Development Authority, will house between 10,000 and 15,000 residents when complete. The first stage of development will be finished as early as 2012.

The modelling shows within 16 years, one in three trips on Kingsford Smith Drive would be to or from Northshore Hamilton, sparking concern the area could struggle with traffic chaos if the upgrade is not funded.

This month The Courier-Mail revealed the five options the council was considering to upgrade the arterial, which range between $255 million and $3.2 billion for a double-decker tunnel built into the river.

Lord Mayor Campbell Newman said most of the options for the upgrade would need at least partial funding from the state and federal governments to be viable.

"This proves that all levels of government, not just Brisbane ratepayers, have a responsibility to help fix this big traffic problem, which is why we'll continue to push for funding from the Federal Government for this upgrade," he said.

"The state-run UDLA, which is putting a significant number of new residents in the Northshore Hamilton area, will also have to help fund this work."

The State Government yesterday said the road needed upgrading regardless of the Northshore Hamilton plan.

"Traffic growth would have occurred in this area had the original use of the site remained port oriented," Infrastructure and Planning Minister Stirling Hinchliffe's spokeswoman said.

"However, developments in the Northshore Hamilton precincts will make contributions through infrastructure charges and, where appropriate, with land to accommodate future road upgrades."

Use the railway!!

[#Metro]

Why is there nobody questioning the role of the ICB in all of this? There is a direct line from the ICB spewing traffic into KSD, that's why its busy. This is freeway creep! The ICB will spew even more traffic on to it once NorthLink is connected to the ICB. ICB is like some giant traffic sprinkler gets all the cars just at the border of the CBD and then sprinkles them all over the inner suburbs.

http://www.ptua.org.au/myths/popular.shtml

[ozbob]

[#Metro]

Does anyone know how many free train paths or trains could be put on the Doomben Line to Northshore Hamilton?

[#Metro]

Time to think up a proposal ---> NorthShore line http://railbotforum.org/mbs/index.php?topic=4852.0

[#Metro]

Hello, hello. Look what I found:
AUSTRALIA TRADECOAST PUBLIC TRANSPORT STUDY FINAL REPORT

June 2006

The Australia TradeCoast area incorporates the Brisbane Airport and Port of Brisbane, along with a number of warehousing, manufacturing and retail facilities. By 2026 the area is forecast to be Brisbane's second largest employment area after the Brisbane CBD, with employment growing from 40,000 jobs in 2001 to between 64,000 and 104,000 jobs by 2026.
In comparision to the CBD, employment will be spread out over a much larger geographic area, making it more difficult to service with a broad coverage of frequent public transport services.

Travel Growth in the Australia TradeCoast
Travel demand to, from and within the Australia TradeCoast is projected to grow significantly between 2001 and 2026. Travel is forecast to grow from around 270,000 daily person trips in 2001 to between 500,000 and 800,000 daily trips in 2026.
The majority of this growth is forecast to occur in the area north of the Brisbane River, with daily trips forecast to increase by 191%, compared with a 20% growth in the area of the Australia TradeCoast located south of the Brisbane River.

report here! ---->http://download.translink.com.au/resources/about-translink/reporting-and-publications/right-to-information/D103305-public-transport-study.pdf

[colinw]

Good grief, what a myopic report!  

It dismisses the Doomben / Pinkenba line as "too circuitous and slow", despite it:

(a) being lower in travel time than bus services to the area north of the river, and
(b) running right through the heart of the part of Australia Trade Coast north of the river, and
(c) being electrified right to the proposed Eagle Farm bus interchange!

It then proceeds to propose using a new station at Airport Dr, despite that being peripheral to the area and nowhere near most of the businesses & proposed bus exchange.

It is almost like the terms of reference to the study included "don't consider the Doomben / Pinkenba line, because we want to close it".

What a disgrace.

[#Metro]

There are ideas there that are worth considering. I don't believe the whole "its too hard, the demand is dispersed" argument. I mean what city doesn't have dispersed demand? Hong Kong? London maybe? There are tools to get around problems.

I especially like the image that was done where it uses red clusters of dots to apparently show that places with 50 + people/employees and the dispersed nature of workplaces. There are actually red dots on the airport runway and apron areas... how is that possible???

Despite this I think there is a workable solution to this. Personally I think the Doomben Line is going to play a role here, but the big thing is Eagle Junction and train stations on the Cleveland line. There isn't much point in a rail + bus system on the Doomben line for ATC IMHI, at least until the line is extended to Hamilton Northshore and frequencies increased. This is simply because the service frequency is terrible.

Special circumstances demand special measures, and the document does hint at special measures for flexible PT. Vanpool and flexilink on-demand share taxi services might be a strength here. The Airport is not far away so there really should not be a problem with getting a Van or a Taxi.

The other thing is that it proposed a U shaped bus route (Cleveland side-CBD-ATC) as one of the options. It seems to have completely forgotten that Cleveland trains actually do this U shaped route already when trains from the Cleveland line are extended into Doomben.

I think the conversation over what PT should happen and ideas needs to continue. A solution will have to be stitched together from a number of different modes working together IMHO.

[ozbob]

The quality of transport planning in Queensland is a real concern.

BCC is running a muck, Government is completely snowed by an out of touch bureaucracy that has quaint paradigms based on bus fantasies (which is already approaching the limit, a point acknowledged up high as well) and denial of the need for proper integration. Community needs are being increasingly sacrificed on twisted ideological swords.

The transport authority thinks community engagement is to present changes as an ultimatum with no or very little notice, and outsourcing is the cure-all of all policy blunder.

It might be time for a new broom.



Here is a message for the TMR, email me if don't understand it.

Rail improvements mean bus improvements

[#Metro]

Improvement of the 599/598 would greatly help things. I'm surprised at how frequent the 302/203 buses are. Some tweaks there.
Is a direct bus to the CBD 4 times in the morning/ 3 times in the afternoon better as a direct service or a more frequent feeder?
May need to look at extension of the Eagle Junction feeder bus to Chermside, as the report indicates that a lot of trips originating from the North Side. Counterpeak to chermside will be useful to go to the shops etc.

[#Metro]

Add DFO to the 599/598 and boost frequency...

[somebody]

Airtrain gets 21% of its pax to Gold Coast.  I did not expect that!

I still wonder if a different pairing would be better.

[ozbob]

IF CRR is built it is highly likely that the Airport will be paired with either Springfield or Ipswich.

[somebody]

IF CRR is built it is highly likely that the Airport will be paired with either Springfield or Ipswich.

The conspiracy theorist in me wonders if CRR won't be deferred.  Vicious price rises are constraining patronage growth, so then the need is reduced.

Other interesting point was that it may have said that competing public transport could be introduced in 2014 (wasn't clear).