Article: Melbourne drivers losing four days a year to growing road congestion

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From the Herald Sun click here!

Melbourne drivers losing four days a year to growing road congestion

Melbourne drivers losing four days a year to growing road congestion

    * Ashley Gardiner
    * From: Herald Sun
    * August 03, 2010 12:00AM

MELBOURNE motorists are losing almost four days of their life every year due to growing road congestion.

An average driver will endure about 90 hours of traffic snarls annually, based on the latest VicRoads data.

And the RACV has calculated the average Melbourne motorist was spending an extra 13 hours annually behind the wheel after five years of worsening congestion.

Scroll down for a live chat with RACV acting manager roads and traffic Emily McLean, and our interactive map of Melbourne's traffic hell

VicRoads road user services director Dean Zabrieszach said the busy times on the roads were getting longer.

"While for 30 years or so we might have referred to something called a peak hour, in the past 10 years you might have referred to a peak two hours," Mr Zabrieszach said.

"Probably at present, whether it's Melbourne or Sydney or whether it's New York or London, what used to be a peak hour is really a peak three hours."

Mr Zabrieszach said Melbourne's morning peak now stretched from 6.30-9.30am, and the afternoon rush was from 4-7pm.

The time between the peaks was also busier, as were the roads on weekends.

Expansion of the M1, the West Gate-CityLink-Monash corridor, had already delivered benefits, Mr Zabrieszach said.

"Right now we're already starting to see the effects of that construction in reduced travel times on that corridor," he said.

Journey times along the Monash from CityLink to the outer eastern suburbs have been cut by up to 20 minutes.

The average speed along the West Gate Freeway from the Bolte Bridge to the tunnels has increased about 10km/h after work in that section was completed.

Yarra Trams has found tram times along Sydney Rd have been improved since the parking ban was introduced there.

While Metro struggles to run the trains on time, Yarra Trams recently recorded its best performance since 2004.

From 9-10am, city-bound trams are now an average 52 seconds quicker because of clearways. And from 3-3.30pm, outbound tram journeys have been cut by about two minutes.

RACV public policy manager Brian Negus said more investment in public transport was needed to provide a viable alternative.

"Part of tackling congestion is getting people off the road, giving people a genuine choice so they don't have to drive a car," Mr Negus said.

The motoring organisation, which represents about two million Victorians, is set to launch an unprecedented campaign during the federal and state elections.

It plans a running report card on policies released by both major parties.

Mr Negus has warned the RACV won't hold back if Labor or the Liberals aren't up to scratch.

"Certainly, if you look at increasing congestion, both on roads and public transport, if you look at how it features in the media at the moment, transport is going to be one of those key issues," he said.

"We want to put pressure on the parties to make sure they do better."

State Opposition Leader Ted Baillieu said he would release his list of priority projects closer to the election.

"The increasing gridlock on Melbourne's roads is a direct result of John Brumby's failure to plan over the past 11 years," Mr Baillieu said.

"Some of the projects in the Government's largely unfunded transport plan have merit. The Coalition will release our commitments to priority projects as part of our transport policy, which will be announced closer to the election."

[#Metro]

From 9-10am, city-bound trams are now an average 52 seconds quicker because of clearways. And from 3-3.30pm, outbound tram journeys have been cut by about two minutes.

simple, cheap things done everywhere can have a big impact