Article: Tunnel visions

[ozbob]

From the Melbourne Age click here!

Tunnel visions

Tunnel visions
October 4, 2012 Adam Carey

EAST-WEST LINK

TERRY Mulder, the Minister for Public Transport and Roads, said the closure of the Burnley and Domain tunnels proved how urgently Melbourne needed to build the east-west link to fix its over-reliance on the Monash and West Gate freeways.

He urged the federal government and the state opposition to give their bipartisan support to the $10 billion infrastructure project.

''These sorts of situations are going to continue to occur unless we do something about a second crossing,'' Mr Mulder told 3AW radio yesterday.

''And we're committed to doing that. We just wish we could get support from the federal Labor government and the state Labor opposition.''

Mr Mulder said the city could no longer afford to rely on a single major crossing of the Yarra River to move traffic.

''It takes something in the order of 160,000 vehicles a day and in the next 20 years they're talking 235,000 vehicles travelling across the city. We can't rely on that route, we have to build the east-west link,'' he said.

The Baillieu government is preparing the business case for the east-west link, an 18-kilometre road, largely in tunnels, that would connect the Eastern Freeway with the Western Ring Road via CityLink. It hopes to complete this before the end of the year.

Brian Negus, the RACV's general manger of public policy, said the shutdown of the two tunnels ''brings into stark reality the total reliance that Melbourne has on the M1 corridor of CityLink, the West Gate and the Monash freeways''.

''The chaos faced by commuters this morning demonstrates the critical need for the east-west link. Roads within 20 kilometres of the central area faced massive congestion,'' Mr Negus said yesterday.

Mr Negus also called on the Gillard government to match the federal opposition's commitment of $1.5 billion to deliver the project.

''We also urge the state government to match this commitment and put in place a public-private partnership contract to deliver it.''

He said transport infrastructure must be viewed as ''an investment for the future to improve the economic viability for Victoria and the community's social wellbeing''.

RAIL SOLUTION

THE world's leading cities are no longer building new roads to solve commuter congestion; they are building public-transport networks, Melbourne University transport expert Chris Hale said yesterday.

''Major cities these days have made a big turn away from seeing major roads and tollways as being any sort of solution ... roads are primarily for commercial use, and freight and public transport is, hopefully, the primary mover of people,'' he said.

Instead of going ahead with the east-west link, the Baillieu government should prioritise its ''short list of really good rail projects'': the Melbourne Metro tunnel, and railway lines to Doncaster, Rowville and Melbourne Airport.

''What we need is a sense now of what is the formula that is going to deliver that suite of projects in a 10 to 12-year horizon,'' Dr Hale said.

He said Los Angeles, one of the world's most notoriously car-dependent cities, was now using innovative funding methods to make a huge investment in public transport and realise its 30-year transport plan in 10 years.

''Local councils like Manningham and Banyule, as much as it might be difficult for them, they need to start talking about where are they going to get 10 per cent of the funds for their Doncaster project from so that they can push that project along.''

HODDLE STREET

THE state opposition yesterday slammed the Baillieu government for its determination to build the east-west link, with its roads spokesman, Luke Donnellan, asserting the proposed road would have ''provided absolutely no relief this morning to the disasters on our roads''.

Mr Donnellan said Labor, if elected, would instead transform Hoddle Street into a tunnel or build grade separations at its major intersections, with exit ramps at Wellington and Alexandra parades.

A second road crossing of the Yarra River in the western suburbs was also needed to end Melbourne's over-reliance on the M1, he said.

''The opposition's policy is to do a major treatment on Hoddle Street, to deal with the 65 per cent of traffic coming off the Eastern Freeway heading into the city and southwards each day,'' Mr Donnellan said.

He cited figures from Sir Rod Eddington's 2008 transport report, which found that 10 per cent of traffic exiting the Eastern Freeway journeyed on to the city's western suburbs, compared with 51 per cent that travelled south into the CBD and 14 per cent that travelled south of the Yarra River.

Hoddle Street was already at capacity, with 90,000 vehicles a day, Mr Donnellan said.

''The majority of traffic coming off the Eastern Freeway heads onto Hoddle Street into the city and into the south,'' Mr Donnellan said.

''It does not head north, it does not head west and the myth that the east-west tunnel will deal with anything is delusional.''

Read more: http://www.theage.com.au/victoria/tunnel-visions-20121003-26zt0.html#ixzz28H5lZmsV

[ozbob]

...
RAIL SOLUTION

THE world's leading cities are no longer building new roads to solve commuter congestion; they are building public-transport networks, Melbourne University transport expert Chris Hale said yesterday.

''Major cities these days have made a big turn away from seeing major roads and tollways as being any sort of solution ... roads are primarily for commercial use, and freight and public transport is, hopefully, the primary mover of people,'' he said.

Instead of going ahead with the east-west link, the Baillieu government should prioritise its ''short list of really good rail projects'': the Melbourne Metro tunnel, and railway lines to Doncaster, Rowville and Melbourne Airport.

''What we need is a sense now of what is the formula that is going to deliver that suite of projects in a 10 to 12-year horizon,'' Dr Hale said.

He said Los Angeles, one of the world's most notoriously car-dependent cities, was now using innovative funding methods to make a huge investment in public transport and realise its 30-year transport plan in 10 years.

''Local councils like Manningham and Banyule, as much as it might be difficult for them, they need to start talking about where are they going to get 10 per cent of the funds for their Doncaster project from so that they can push that project along.''
....

Well said Dr Hale!!

[SurfRail]

Contrast this with the tunnel and underground busway orgy that the Nick Greiner Fan Club (ie Infrastructure NSW) has just put out.

I find it massively ironic that the Maldon to Dombarton line is in that plan given whose signature is on the front!