Roads - articles and discussion

[#Metro]

Courier Mail article is a beatup IMHO.

Yes, anything the involves government will be very expensive. There is a joke in local government that projects are all about

how many trailing zeroes there are after the first number.

See below:



https://stephenrees.blog/2016/11/28/how-much-do-streets-cost/

This graphic appeared in my Twitter stream today posted by Professor Chris Oliver of Anstruther, Scotland. I started following him merely because he happens to come from Forest Gate, but if you are on Twitter he is definitely worth a follow @CyclingSurgeon. The graphic is also Creative Commons.

[Cazza]

https://stephenrees.blog/2017/08/25/tolls-to-be-eliminated-on-port-mann-and-golden-ears-bridges/

The GIF down the page is some food for thought...

[ozbob]

15th September 2017

Media Release

JOINT STATEMENT
Premier and Minister for the Arts
The Honourable Annastacia Palaszczuk

Acting Minister for Main Roads, Road Safety and Ports
The Honourable Steven Miles

Ipswich Motorway Upgrade team moves into project office in Rocklea

Works are ramping up on the $400 million Ipswich Motorway with the construction team now on site.

Queensland Premier and Member for Inala Annastacia Palaszczuk said the Ipswich Motorway was currently a major source of frustration for more than 85,000 motorists who use this section of the motorway daily.

"The contractor, a joint venture between three Queensland local companies, have now moved onto site taking the project one step closer to start of construction later this year," Ms Palaszczuk said.

"We're committed to creating jobs for Queenslanders and this project will support 470 direct jobs during construction and provide flow-on benefits to businesses in the local area."

Federal Minister for Urban Infrastructure Paul Fletcher said this major infrastructure project would upgrade the Ipswich Motorway from four to six lanes along a three-kilometre stretch between Rocklea and Oxley.

"This important project will provide greater safety for road users, particularly freight, with additional lanes and improved road design," Mr Fletcher said.

"More than 12,000 commercial vehicles travelling daily on this road will experience improved travel times and motorway capacity into the industrial heart of Brisbane."

Acting Queensland Minister for Main Roads and Road Safety Steven Miles said the successful contractor, Bielby Hull Albem Joint Venture, had established their compound on Boundary Road in Rocklea.

"The contractor has been busy over the past couple of months carrying out further ground testing and locating underground utility services in readiness for start of construction," Mr Miles said.

"Construction is due to begin later this year and will see the upgrade of the Ipswich Motorway from between Granard Road and Oxley Road."

Member for Yeerongpilly Mark Bailey said, once completed, the upgrade would allow motorists to spend more time at home with friends and family, not stuck in congestion during their daily commutes.

"The upgrade includes building higher bridges over the Oxley Creek area, which will greatly improve flood immunity through Oxley and Rocklea. This is a big win for the local community as well as the freight industry."

Member for Sunnybank Peter Russo said he looked forward to the project getting underway.

"Local connectivity for businesses and residents of Rocklea and Oxley will be enhanced with two new service road connections on either side of the motorway at Oxley Creek," Mr Russo said.

Member for Algester Leanne Enoch said the commercial vehicles and local commuters who travel this road on a daily basis would experience improved travel times and motorway capacity.

"Once construction begins, night works will take place to minimise disruptions to traffic during peak travel times so local motorists will still be able to travel to and from work," Ms Enoch said.

The $400 million Ipswich Motorway Upgrade: Rocklea to Darra project is jointly funded by the Australian Government and the Queensland governments on a shared 50:50 basis.

[ozbob]

$133M per kilometre for an upgrade ... $$$$$$

[ozbob]

Couriermail --> Commuting speeds improve along some of southeast Queensland's major highways

TRAVEL speeds on the state's major highways have slightly improved but bottlenecks have worsened as traffic congestion hits inner-Brisbane suburbs.

While mostly an improvement, the findings from RACQ's latest travel speed report have reinforced calls to upgrade major transport routes to help prepare for a predicted southeast Queensland population boom.

The August report shows morning commute speeds along parts of the Centenary Motorway in the city's far southwest increased compared to the same time last year.

Along one 1km section, the best result for the corridor, the average speed rose by 4km/h at Darra to 36km/h.

In total, four southwestern sections of the Centenary and Ipswich motorways recorded improvements in average morning speeds.

ACQ advocacy champion Paul Turner said Legacy Way, while arguably underperforming, would have taken some of the traffic off those routes.

"Whether it has taken enough is always going to be a debate," Mr Turner said.

"But certainly, Legacy Way would have made a difference in the western suburbs."

However, once traffic reached Jindalee on the city's southern fringe, congestion worsened.

By the time morning motorists reached Toowong, speeds on the Centenary Motorway had dropped 14km/h, compared to August last year, to reach 41km/h.

Speeds continued dropping to as low as 21km/h the closer motorists got to the city.

With Ipswich's population predicted to more than double to 520,000 by 2041, including 76,600 more people in Ripley by 2031, the southwestern arterial faces increasing pressure.

Ipswich Mayor Andrew Antoniolli said the Springfield train line extension, travelling through Ripley, needed to happen sooner rather than later to help remove cars travelling to Brisbane.

"They really need to get ahead of the curve on that rather than deliver it after people have already formed bad habits of driving to work," Cr Antoniolli said.

The State Government has preserved land for the rail extension, which will be built in stages, but most of the construction will only occur after Cross River Rail's planned delivery in 2024.

There were improvements on the Pacific Motorway too.

Motorists using the major southern corridor averaged up to 39km/h around the Woolloongabba area, which was still slow but marked a 5km/h improvement on last year's speeds.

The only area of the Pacific Motorway in which traffic slowed was around Holland Park West, where it dropped 2km/h to reach 45km/h.

Logan Mayor Luke Smith, whose region is expected to be home to more than 586,000 people by 2041, said a business case needed to be completed to upgrade the whole corridor.

"We only have approximately two years before the real impact of the growth from the City of Logan starts to cripple southeast Queensland's future economic growth and the national freight industry," Cr Smith said.

"The only way to get funding for this project is if a business case and true cost analysis is prioritised by our governments before it is too late."

Infrastructure Australia has taken a piecemeal approach to upgrading the arterial, completing business cases for sections of the corridor rather than the entire road system.

Chamber of Commerce and Industry Queensland advocacy champion Kate Whittle said the region needed to start decentralising employment to remove cars travelling to Brisbane's CBD.

"Having a regional focus to economic growth and creating new jobs within our regional areas will not only lessen the need to commute long hours each day, it will achieve the live-work-play place-making trifecta," Ms Whittle said.

[ozbob]

Media Release
JOINT STATEMENT

Premier and Minister for the Arts
The Honourable Annastacia Palaszczuk

Acting Minister for Main Roads, Road Safety and Ports
The Honourable Steven Miles

$65m Centenary Highway upgrade to ease congestion and create jobs

The Palaszczuk Government will spend $65 million transforming one of the busiest intersections on one of South East Queensland's busiest roads – the Sumners Road Interchange on the Centenary Highway.

Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk said the upgrade would improve safety and cut travel times for drivers in the Centenary suburbs, Ipswich, Springfield and beyond.

"Every day, 85,000 vehicles use the Centenary Motorway, and 35,000 use Sumners and Monier Roads," the Premier said.

"This intersection has been a headache for commuters for a long time – now my Government is committed to fixing it.

"This upgrade, which will also create 50 jobs, will reduce congestion on the daily commute, and cut travel times for 5,500 heavy trucks that use this interchange daily, improving freight connections and supporting local businesses.

"Money was set aside to do this work by the previous Labor Government in 2012, but then stripped out by the Newman/Nicholls LNP administration.

"While the LNP launches petitions about roads and talks about unfunded 'pie in the sky' thought bubbles, we are committing the money to deliver for Queenslanders."

Acting Minister for Main Roads and Road Safety Steven Miles said the upgrade would have flow on benefits through much of Brisbane's transport network.

"The upgrade will include the installation of two signalised intersections to replace the existing roundabouts and construction of a new two lane eastbound bridge, with active transport options including cycle lanes, shared paths and crossings," Mr Miles said.

"This is the closest city-bound interchange to the Ipswich-Centenary Motorway intersection, so easing congestion at Sumners road has far-reaching consequences.

"It also improves connectivity to Darra train station through reduced bus travel times. That benefits passengers travelling towards Ipswich, Springfield or Brisbane.

"The new interchange will also improve cycle paths for the thousands of commuters who use the Centenary Bikeway, further promoting active transport."

RACQ Executive General Manager Advocacy Paul Turner welcomed news of the government commitment.

"The Sumners Rd intersection is consistently a choke point for those travelling along the Centenary Motorway," said Mr Turner.

"Our most recent RACQ travel times survey showed during the August morning peak, motorists were travelling at just 30km/h from Sumners Rd to Dandenong Rd.

"The Centenary Motorway is a significant route for the south east, particularly those motorists travelling to the CBD from the western suburbs and Ipswich.

"We need to not only ease congestion felt by motorists today, but need to future proof infrastructure for tomorrow."

Works for the project are expected to commence within 12 months, following the completion of design and tenders for construction.

Construction of the upgraded interchange is then expected to take two years to complete, weather permitting.

For more information on the project, contact Transport and Main Roads on metropolitanregion@tmr.qld.gov.au or call 07 3066 4338.

A map showing the changes to be made at the Sumners Road interchange is attached.

MediaAttachments/2017/pdf/SumnersRoadMap.pdf

[ozbob]

https://twitter.com/Schrinner/status/910965196063043584

[verbatim9]

^^Improving Public Transport is popular hey!?

[Cazza]

^^Improving Public Transport is popular hey!?

And fighting traffic congestion is number 1. I have a sense that they go hand in hand... 

[ozbob]

Greater Brisbane Key Corridors Performance Report

> https://www.brisbane.qld.gov.au/traffic-transport/traffic-management/greater-brisbane-key-corridors-performance-report

[ozbob]

Couriermail --> Opinion: Solving congestion on Bruce Highway and M1 needs smart planning and priority

FOUR and a half months ago Queensland Minister for Main Roads Mark Bailey drove from Brisbane to Caloundra to announce the state's $130.5 million contribution to an upgrade of the Bruce Highway.

It's a good thing he didn't plan his trip for last Sunday. He wouldn't have made it.

Travelling by road between Brisbane and the Sunshine Coast is like backing a horse. You're pretty sure of making the distance eventually; you just can't be sure how long it will take.

There is an electronic sign near the start of the highway at Carseldine. The warning, "Congestion Ahead. Proceed With Caution", appears without fail by 4pm every weekday. And that's just for regular commuter traffic. If there is an accident there is precious little proceeding going on, with caution or not.

In the past nine months, there have been at least four major incidents on the 95km stretch between the state capital and its fast-growing satellite region. I say at least, because those four are just the ones that affected me personally.

Tragically, one resulted in the death of a motorcyclist. Two others involved lorries and the most recent, on Sunday, a collision between two cars. That accident, around noon at Elimbah north of Caloundra, resulted in two people being flown to hospital in Brisbane and saw the highway closed on both sides for four hours. Thousands of vehicles were in gridlock as police and paramedics went about their work. Stranded motorists left their cars to stretch their legs, exercise bored children or relieve themselves behind trees and bushes. It wasn't pretty.

The State and Federal Governments have committed $660 million to upgrade the Bruce Highway, widening it to six lanes in parts, but with a planning study not due for completion for three months, it is years off completion.

Gold Coast commuters, who suffer similar congestion on a daily basis, would envy their northern compatriots as they wait anxiously for the two governments to reach agreement on who should foot the bill to ease their long-term problems.

While rail transport between the Gold Coast and Brisbane is relatively convenient — unlike on the Sunshine Coast where commuters have a long drive inland to the nearest station — it does little to ease the overcrowded M1.

The most recent data — recorded in 2014 and tabled in Parliament this week — showed the motorway exits at Oxenford were handling 6000 vehicles a day over their designed capacity.

As with the Sunshine Coast, that is just the pressure put on by the daily commute. Any abnormal traffic incident will lead to chaos.

In August, Brisbane motorists hoping to enjoy the Ekka holiday long weekend on the Gold Coast caused what was reported as "45km of congestion" virtually the entire length of the motorway. It was a similar scene as they headed home.

A month later, commuter traffic was backed up for 20km and delayed over 4½ hours after a pedestrian was hit by two cars at Helensvale.

With no way of predicting the time taken to travel between either of the coastal regions to Brisbane, long-term planning is a lottery.

There are no guarantees of making an appointment in the city or catching a flight at Brisbane Airport.

Best to factor in the cost of an overnight hotel stay, just to be safe.

Meanwhile, the two regions continue to grow like topsy. If all the heavy machinery being used to level ground for developments on the Sunshine Coast was put to work on the highway, it would be upgraded by Christmas.

In the meantime, perhaps the Government could spend some of its $130.5 million on slipways to enable motorists to turn back if warned of serious congestion ahead, or rest areas and toilets for those stranded.

Hopefully, those sorts of easy solutions will be canvassed by the planning study — although sometimes the obvious is overlooked.

When Waterworks Rd between The Gap and Red Hill was widened, increasingly-frustrated residents put up with four years of disruptive roadworks in the belief that the introduction of a transit lane would make it all worthwhile.

Which may have been the case if planners had included cut-out sections for bus stops. Instead, drivers were still forced to stop behind buses as they collected passengers every couple of hundred metres down the road.

You don't get too many chances to solve these problems. It's best to get it right the first time.

[tazzer9]

2 tracks to nambour should be built before any more upgrade to the bruce highway south of cooroy is funded.

[ozbob]

https://twitter.com/7NewsBrisbane/status/917922178007310337

[ozbob]

Brisbanetimes --> Funding secured for upgrade where Gateway Motorway and M1 merge

The most notorious part of southeast Queensland's M1 motorway will receive an upgrade after the state and federal governments finally reached a funding agreement.

Construction of a $190 million upgrade at the M1 and Gateway motorway merge at Underwood, a major bottleneck on the way from Brisbane to Gold Coast, has begun.

The Turnbull government has committed to funding 60 per cent of the project - up to $115 million - after reaching a compromise with the state Labor government, which had demanded an 80-20 split.

Amid a prolonged stalemate, the Commonwealth had insisted the project would be jointly funded on a 50-50 basis.

Federal Infrastructure Minister Paul Fletcher admitted there had been "a bit of too-ing and fro-ing" between the two governments before a funding agreement could be reached.

It's expected the project will take up to two years to complete, but Mr Fletcher said the project's importance to southeast Queensland residents couldn't be understated.

"It will relieve congestion. It will help people get home to their families more quickly," he said.

Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk says Wednesday's funding announcement was an important step to solving the frustrating congestion issues for motorists.

"This is going to mean better travel times for families and commuters living in this area," Ms Palaszczuk said.

"We know how important this upgrade is for the M1."

Queensland Roads Minister Mark Bailey said the area had long been identified as a "major bottleneck" for the motorway.

"It's well known the merge starts to grind to a halt before three o'clock in the afternoon," Mr Bailey said.

"This will be a major unlocking of this bottleneck ... everybody knows this needs dealing with, it's been obvious for some time."

[Cazza]

When Waterworks Rd between The Gap and Red Hill was widened, increasingly-frustrated residents put up with four years of disruptive roadworks in the belief that the introduction of a transit lane would make it all worthwhile.

Which may have been the case if planners had included cut-out sections for bus stops. Instead, drivers were still forced to stop behind buses as they collected passengers every couple of hundred metres down the road.

This is an absolute killer. The worst stops that this occurs at is Waterworks Rd @ The Gap Village Outbound (1 bus can make traffic bank back past Jevons St), Waterworks Rd @ Payne Rd Inbound (when the Payne Rd light turns green, traffic banks up through the intersection and hardly and cars get through that light) and Waterworks Rd @ Greenlanes Rd (traffic lights here and at Glenquarie Pl add to the mess too).

Plus, all the 379/80/81 stops into the City through Ashgrove/Red Hill are a shocker too.

You don't get too many chances to solve these problems. It's best to get it right the first time.

This couldn't be anymore true. Do something well the first time and you won't have to worry about it ever again. But, do something crap the first time, you'll be back to fix a major problem not too far away (that is, if they ever get around to it).

[ozbob]

Half baked projects, have long term consequences ...

[Stillwater]

Watch this space.  The state government will now argue that the 50:50 funding split for projects of this type is dead for each and every project hereafter.  They will demand that 60:40 is the new split -- 80:20 still applying on the interstate highways away from capital cities.

[#Metro]

The Northwest corridor is congested for a reason.

There is no "Priority A" PT out that way, save for the Ferny Grove line.

Possibly a chance to put in a true metro rail system.

[tazzer9]

The Northwest corridor is congested for a reason.

There is no "Priority A" PT out that way, save for the Ferny Grove line.

Possibly a chance to put in a true metro rail system.

Its all the little things that add up to make the northside so much more slower to get around than the southside.   Excessive amounts of traffic lights, turning lanes not being long enough or not being able to turn left at anytime.  Single lane bridges when the rest of the road is 2 lanes.   Low speed limits.   Not enough use of "turn left on red".   Hamilton/gympie road intersection. 

There are alot of cheap small projects that could be done to really bust some serious traffic congestion but they don't get votes.

[ozbob]

Couriermail --> Morning commute in Brisbane 'slower than ever', with worse in store

BRISBANE'S worsening traffic congestion has slowed morning travel speeds on almost every key corridor over the past four years, new analysis reveals.

Congestion increased on 15 of the 18 major roadways.

RACQ data shows Hamilton's Kingsford Smith Drive was the worst offender after average morning speeds dropped almost 8km/h since 2014 to reach just 24.6km/h this year.

However, the road's current $650 million facelift has been a major contributor to the slower speeds, with daily traffic increasing by only another 727 vehicles in the past four years.

Dubbed "gold plating" by council opposition councillors, the project will see one of the city's busiest arterials widened from four to six lanes by its expected completion date in 2019.

In total, traffic on 14 of Brisbane's 18 key corridors slowed during the morning commute in January-to-June time periods from 2014 to 2017. It coincided with congestion increasing on 15 of the 18 major roadways.

RACQ advocacy boss Paul Turner said speeds were "slower than ever" with congestion only expected to worsen without more investment in the road network.

"With significant growth expected for both general traffic and freight movements, it's scary to think what the future might look like if our major corridors are left unchanged," Mr Turner said.

Brisbane Lord Mayor Graham Quirk said, apart from the $944 million Metro project, council was investing $1.5 billion into 90 road projects over four years to reduce traffic congestion.

"Council is delivering real action on congestion through the widening and upgrade of major road connectors such as the Inner City Bypass, Kingsford Smith Dr and the Wynnum Rd corridor to get residents home quicker and safer," Cr Quirk said.

Claire Miller, 19, who takes Coronation Dr every day, said she believed speeds had slightly improved, which is backed up by a 2.3km/h improvement in the data.

"But it still gets quite busy when you're heading towards the city," Miss Miller said.

Toowong's Milton Rd was a bright spot among the poor results, with inbound morning speeds increasing 4.4km/h in the past four years after the Legacy Way toll road opening in June, 2015.

However, speeds along the arterial are now trending downwards, with predictions estimating average morning speeds will drop to reach a 22.9km/h crawl not experienced since 2013.

While the Legacy Way removed almost 4000 vehicles a day from Milton Rd after it opened, the figure has crept back up to reach 48,373 vehicles a day this year. As the congestion increased, inbound morning speeds dropped from 29.6km/h in 2016 to 27.3km/h this year.

Mr Turner said if the trend continued Milton Rd would reach pre-Legacy Way average speeds in about 18 months.

"We'd like to see Transurban offer incentives such as toll discounts and bundling offers to encourage more motorists to use Legacy Way because this would relieve pressure along Milton Rd," Mr Turner said.

The worsening result came despite more vehicles using the Legacy Way, with Transurban reporting average daily trips had jumped from 18,000 to 19,000 in the latest September quarter.

A Transurban spokeswoman said: "We are confident that motorists will continue to realise the travel time benefits of Legacy Way well into the future."

WORST OFFENDERS (JAN-JUN TIME PERIODS FROM 2014-2017)

Kingsford Smith Drive (undergoing upgrade): -7.8km/h

ICB eastbound (undergoing upgrade): -5.6km/h

Kelvin Grove Rd: -5.3km/h

BEST PERFORMERS

Milton Rd (Although, speeds dropping again): +4.4km/h

Coronation Rd: +2.3km/h

Moggill Rd (Although, speeds dropping again): +2.1km/h

TRAVEL SPEED CHANGES IN JAN-JUN TIME PERIODS FROM 2014-2017

ICB eastbound:

2014: 60

2017: 54.4

ICB westbound:

2014: 41.4

2017: 40.6

Kingsford Smith Dr:

2014: 32.4

2017: 24.6

Lutwyche-Bowen Bridge Rd:

2014: 30.3

2017: 25.9

Sandgate-Abbotsford Rd:

2014: 32.4

2017: 28.3

Kelvin Grove Rd:

2014: 26.5

2017: 21.2

Waterworks-Musgrave Rd:

2014: 29.3

2017: 30.7

Coronation Rd:

2014: 18.4

2017: 20.7

Milton Rd:

2014: 22.9

2017: 27.3

Moggill Rd:

2014: 26.5

2017: 28.6

Oxley Rd-Coonan St:

2014: 25.4

2017: 24.1

Fairfield-Annerley Rd:

2014: 27.7

2017: 27.4

Ipswich Rd-Main St-Bradfield Hwy:

2014: 26.5

2017: 24.8

Logan Rd:

2014: 36

2017: 34.3

Old Cleveland:

2014: 29.8

2017: 26.2

Stanley St inbound:

2014: 16.7

2017: 16.8

Vulture St outbound:

2014: 26.5

2017: 25

Wynnum Rd:

2014: 25.7

2017: 24.8

[ozbob]

Sent to all outlets:

23rd October 2017

Cats and Dogs Outrun Brisbane Traffic

Greetings

RAIL Back on Track has compared the latest RACQ data on Brisbane traffic speeds to those of common household pets.

Most household pets, be that a cat or a dog - can outrun Brisbane's peak hour traffic. The top speed of a domestic cat is above 40 km/h, a domestic dog is around 30 km/hr. Even kangaroos travel faster at 70 km/hr.

Travel speeds within the survey vary only by two or three kilometers per hour. What this shows is that road building programs have failed abysmally to achieve their stated aim of reducing congestion. The small variances are essentially statistical noise and are insignificant.

We are constantly told that the next road project will ease congestion, offer higher speed, more capacity, and greater safety. Yet roads are the least reliable, most congested, lowest capacity, and most unsafe mode of transport. Few road projects are properly assessed against a public transport alternative option.

Our bus and rail networks can be so much better. Three years ago we proposed our New Bus Network Proposal to refresh Brisbane's bus network http://tiny.cc/newnetwork We believe it will be cost neutral overall. Let's see some movement in this area.

Our rail network, while currently mismanaged, has huge potential. Cars are legally limited to 100-110 km/hr. Car lanes carry around 2000 passengers/hour. A high-speed rail service has no such speed restriction and can carry 12,000 passengers/hour/direction and more. Even on shorter lines such as the Ipswich line, there is scope for all-day express trains.

It is very sad to see calls for more roads at a time when some parts of the rail network endure an extended rail fail, have shocking hourly or worse services, and rail platforms infested with fungi. Perhaps commuters should just ride kangaroos to work? Hop to the shop?

Best wishes,

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

References:

Speed of Cat and other animals
http://www.speedofanimals.com

Morning commute in Brisbane 'slower than ever', with worse in store
http://www.couriermail.com.au/news/queensland/morning-commute-in-brisbane-slower-than-ever-with-worse-in-store/news-story/a1fd5a5e11c9d7e5248cd9e244bea836

Speed of Domestic Dog

[ozbob]

https://twitter.com/Robert_Dow/status/922138967713054720

https://twitter.com/Robert_Dow/status/922212285392699392

[ozbob]

Couriermail --> $115m Wynnum Rd upgrade project a step closer

BRISBANE City Council now owns all 49 of the properties needed, including part of Gina Rinehart's land, to complete the first stage of the $115 million Wynnum Rd upgrade project.

Lord Mayor Graham Quirk said acquisition agreements had not been finalised on the last 10 properties.

Council has settled compensation with 39 owners. But the former owners of the 10 ­resumed properties will need to lodge a right to claim compensation. "Not only will this upgrade ensure motorists get home quicker, it will also allow people to travel more safely along this stretch of road, which has been subject to 53 serious accidents over five years," Cr Quirk said.

Council needed to resume 45 full properties to widen Lytton Rd from four to six lanes between Latrobe St and Canning Bridge with another four partial resumptions, including 40sq m of Gina Rinehart's waterfront property.

Part of council's $1.3 billion road investment over four years, the project has support from Labor councillors, but Greens councillor Jonathan Sri argues the money would be better spent on transport.

Council are currently tendering for contractors to undertake the upgrade, with an announcement expected by the end of the year.

Council has already settled compensation with 39 property owners. But the former owners of the 10 resumed properties will need to lodge a right to claim compensation.

[ozbob]

https://twitter.com/brisbanetimes/status/922591666716004352

[ozbob]

https://twitter.com/Robert_Dow/status/922669329467895808

[ozbob]

https://twitter.com/Robert_Dow/status/924008032496783360

[techblitz]

^ going to funnel a lot of traffic from inala and surrounds onto granard,beatty and beaudesert rds.......so doesn't look good for the overpass between rocklea/Salisbury....will be an absolute car park....

[ozbob]

It is only stage one, Granard Road to Oxley Road. https://www.tmr.qld.gov.au/Projects/Name/I/Ipswich-Motorway-Upgrade-Rocklea-to-Darra-Stage-1-Granard-Road-to-Oxley-Road Not really going to do a great deal.  The mess at Oxley Road Blunder Road roundabout festers on.  The real issue is between Darra West and Oxley < will remain a major choke point.

https://www.tmr.qld.gov.au/-/media/Projects/I/imu-rocklea-darra-granard-rd-oxley-rd/stage-1-concept-map-0317.pdf

[techblitz]

https://au.news.yahoo.com/video/watch/37683475/jeff-kennett-lashes-out-about-queensland-traffic/

[ozbob]

https://twitter.com/9NewsQueensland/status/927454414452834309

[ozbob]

Couriermail --> Brisbane traffic problems as bad as Sydney's, says Uber data

BRISBANE'S traffic chaos is now challenging Sydney as the worst in the country, new research shows.

But while much of the southern city's woes are being caused by major works that will improve transport flow in a couple of years, there is no such relief in sight here, says Infrastructure Partnerships Australia.

The group's Australian Travel Time Metric, to be released today, shows that traffic performance in Brisbane has deteriorated at the same rate as Australia's biggest city over the past two years, while Melbourne has improved slightly.

Journeys across inner Brisbane now take more than 50 per cent longer at peak hour than other times of the day, adding five minutes to a trip within 5km of the CBD.

A commuter time trip from Chermside to the CBD take more than nine minutes longer, while the return journey at the end of the day adds 7.5 minutes.

IPA chief executive Brendan Lyon describes it as "a tale of two cities''.

"The headline data shows Sydney and Brisbane as the equal worst performers on traffic, but the reasons and outlook are very different.

"The biggest drag in traffic in Sydney is the short-term disruption caused by the unprecedented level of transport infrastructure being built in every corner of that city.

"That means that while Sydney and Brisbane are equal last, Sydney can expect to see major improvements from 2019 as multiple construction sites that are slowing traffic now turn into new motorways and railways that ease congestion,'' he said.

"But in Brisbane, you can't say that is the case. In fact, the level of infrastructure funding has declined over the past four to five years."

The $650 million project to upgrade Kingsford Smith Drive from four to six lanes was the only exception.

That had contributed to a drop in travel times between the airport and the CBD.

"Brisbane's deterioration should be more worrying because it shows a clear deterioration caused by nothing but excessive demand versus capacity of the network," Mr Lyon said.

The report should be a wake-up call that things would not improve by themselves.

"Without action, the peak will start earlier and end later. It means less productivity and more time looking at the dashboard of your car rather than the faces of your family or the screen of your work computer.

"Congestion leads to a less wealthy and healthy city.''

Big-ticket projects such as the $5.4 billion Cross River Rail public transport system and improvements to the Gateway and Logan Motorways were necessary. But by using data more cleverly, lots of smaller enhancements could be made across the city.

The travel time information was collected from thousands of Uber drivers around the country.

[ozbob]

Sent to all outlets:

1st December 2017

Time to act decisively to fix public transport for SEQ

Good Morning,

More confirmation of the utter shambles the transport network is becoming in SEQ.
Couriermail --> Brisbane traffic problems as bad as Sydney's, says Uber data

" ... Big-ticket projects such as the $5.4 billion Cross River Rail public transport system and improvements to the Gateway and Logan Motorways were necessary. But by using data more cleverly, lots of smaller enhancements could be made across the city. ... "

Fortunately it does appear that Cross River Rail will continue.  It is fundamental that the public transport be improved to help improve transport options for citizens.  We need roads of course, but we need to sort out our rail and bus networks particularly.

It is now  427 days since the first wave of cancellations associated with rail fail (30 September 2016). Seriously, how much longer can this circus continue? Aggressive attempts must be made now to get rail services back to an acceptable frequency.  The present reduced service timetables are forcing more and more onto the already overloaded and congested roads. No doubt there will be even more hard service reductions over the Summer Holiday period compounding the perception of a failed network.  The Commonwealth Games public transport for the overall network is looking rather shambolic sadly.

The New Generation Rollingstock trains are still not in passenger revenue service after 650 days since the first unit was towed out to the Wulkuraka Maintenance Centre.  DDA and DSAPT non compliant trains are still being imported!

Snap out of it!

Best wishes,
Robert

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

[ozbob]

Couriermail --> Traffic congestion costs Queensland productivity $611m

THE cost of traffic snarls in the state's capital has jumped by almost $100 million in the past year.

Brisbane's congestion has surged to $611 million in lost productivity because commuters are sitting in traffic on their way to work, according to a new report from TomTom Telematics.

Last year was the worst on record, with congestion increasing by 3 per cent, adding a total of 27 minutes to travel time every day.

TomTom Telematics spokesman Christopher Chisman-Duffy said the findings meant Brisbane was now the fourth most congested city in Australia, up two places from 2015.

"This is bad news for businesses," he said. "Not only is it costing them financially in lost hours but it can also impact on service level agreements and the customer experience, as well as the health and safety of their drivers."

And motorists voted the trouble-plagued Pacific Motorway as the worst road in Queensland for traffic congestion as part of the RACQ's Red Spot Congestion Survey.

Six of the 10 roads nominated were in the metropolitan area.

The Centenary Motorway was voted the second worst road, followed by the Bruce Highway for commuters travelling from the Sunshine Coast.

The Captain Cook Highway, from Cairns to the Kennedy Highway, was a surprise result at No.5 and the southern connections of the Sunshine Motorway came in at No.9.

RACQ spokeswoman Renee Smith said the re-elected Palaszczuk Government needed to deliver on promises to upgrade roads.

"We know there's work taking place to alleviate congestion and reduce travel times on some of these roads, but there's still plenty more work to be done," she said. "We'll be using the results of this survey to form our policy positions and continue to lobby both local and State governments to come up with solutions to other bottlenecked areas."

During the election campaign, Labor pledged to spend $206 million widening 10km of the Pacific Motorway from four to six lanes.

The State Government would chip in 20 per cent with the Federal Government to fund the rest.

While the Pacific Motorway has consistently been a poor performer for travel speeds, it has been eclipsed by the Centenary Motorway as Ipswich's surrounding population continues to swell.

Ms Smith said the "red spots" for congestion could be caused from not enough lanes, ill-sequenced traffic lights or delays at level crossings.

THE WORST OFFENDERS

1 Pacific Motorway – From Eight Mile Plains to Loganholme, Exits 41 to 57, and

Mudgeeraba to Tugun

2 Centenary/Western Motorway – From Ipswich Motorway to Toowong and at Logan Motorway interchange, and Carole Park

3 Bruce Highway – From Pine Rivers to Sunshine Coast

4 Mt Lindesay Highway – From Browns Plains to Jimboomba

5 Captain Cook Highway – From Cairns City to Kennedy Highway

6 South Pine Rd – From Stafford Rd and Eatons Crossing Rd intersections

7 Gateway Motorway – From Nudgee Service Centre merge

8 Gympie Rd – From Beams Rd and Hamilton Rd intersections

9 Sunshine Motorway – From Kawana Way intersection, Sippy Downs and at Nicklin Way

10 Moggill Rd – From Kenmore and Chapel Hill

[Cazza]

[ozbob]

https://twitter.com/RACQOfficial/status/948699298308345861

[Cazza]

Are they going to do the Gateway merge upgrade with provisional works for the GC Line if it every was to come down this corridor?

I mean, even though this thought bubble isn't a high priority at all at the moment, it is better to have it ready incase it is needed in the future. Having it run down the M1/3 from Beenleigh to Woolloongabba would make it an extremely competitive option against the car.

As there are quite a few hills along the Pacific Mwy (e.g. Mt Gravatt, at Garden City etc), there would need to be tunnelling and elevation of the track. I do believe it is achievable (obviously, it would cost an absolute bomb) and is something that should be looked at in the near future.

[James]

Given there haven't even been feasibility studies into a VFT (Very Fast Train) alignment along the M3 (inner) and M1 (outer) corridors between Beenleigh and Park Road, I can't see those working on the project making room for a potential alignment which may never be built.

[ozbob]

https://twitter.com/Robert_Dow/status/949507624835297280

[ozbob]

Couriermail --> Southeast commuters stuck in the slow lane

COMMUTERS have barely seen any improvements in travel speeds on some the state's busiest roads, as new figures reveal key headache hot spots.

Data released yesterday by the RACQ shows peak hour travel speeds on several sections of motorways and freeways have worsened in the past 12 months.

The latest monthly report shows nine of the 10 slowest inbound motorway morning weekday routes, between 6am and 9am, in December 2017 had reduced travel speeds, when compared with the previous December.

For 1.5km of the Centenary Motorway from south of Toowong Rd to around Miskin St, the average speed last month was only 35km/h between 6am and 9am on weekdays.

This included 1.5km of the Centenary Motorway from south of Toowong Rd to around Miskin St, where the average speed last month was only 35km/h between 6am and 9am on weekdays. This compared with 40km/h ­recorded in December 2016.

The average morning speed also dropped to 38km/h on the Ipswich Motorway ­between Harcourt Rd and Oxley Rd, while it dipped to 50km/h on the Bruce Highway between Dohles Rocks Rd and the Pine River Bridge.

The return journey was not much better, with seven of the 10 slowest outbound motorway sections in December 2017 recording poorer average speeds between 4pm and 7pm on weekdays when compared with December 2016.

RACQ spokeswoman Lauren Ritchie said multiple stretches of the Centenary Motorway from Darra to Toowong had consistently appeared in the top 10 slowest motorway sections.

"The Pacific Motorway from Beenleigh to Eight Mile Plains, and Bruce Highway approaching Pine Rivers Bridge, also struggled throughout 2017," she said.

"These are all major freight and general traffic corridors with limited alternative routes, where road upgrades have not kept pace with increased travel demand."

Ms Ritchie said that the average weekday speeds on motorways were generally higher in December because of school holidays and traffic easing during the Christmas to New Year period.

"Delays can be frustrating, but it's best to be patient, consider an alternative route if there is one, or take the bus or train," Ms Ritchie said.

https://twitter.com/Robert_Dow/status/958379215987945472

[ozbob]

Couriermail --> Brisbane commuters request flexible working hours to avoid traffic

ALMOST one in four Brisbane commuters wants more flexible working hours to avoid traffic congestion, according to a national commuter survey.

The survey of 1260 commuters in the nation's five largest cities found that two-thirds of Brisbane residents were rethinking how they commuted after becoming fed up with ­battling gridlocked traffic.

Although many of the city's half a million car owners remained totally dependent on their cars, the survey found attitudes were slowly changing, with almost 60 per cent prepared to consider cycling, public transport or walking to help ease congestion.

More than half were already searching for alternative modes of transport, 18 per cent relied on real-time traffic updates to choose their route and 16 per cent favoured changing their routes entirely.

Almost one in three commuters wanted to use more public transport.

In many cases, catching public transport or riding a bike is quicker than driving through Brisbane's moring and afternoon congestion.

But the survey from transport company Here Technologies found Brisbane residents were the most unhappy in the country with public transport. About 40 per cent said it was too expensive or unreliable.

Here Technologies head of oceania product management and operations Sunny Wijewardana said the number of cars on roads continued to rise, so "congestion may get worse before it gets better".

"Australians aren't likely to switch to alternate transport modes overnight," he said.

The report also analysed travelling into the CBD in each of the five cities and found that, while driving was still fastest, a combination of cycling and public transport was faster in some cases.

In Brisbane, it was quicker to use cycling and public transport to get to the CBD from Caboolture and Milton.