Roads - articles and discussion

[ozbob]

Brisbanetimes --> Fined in transit: lane jumpers revealed

[somebody]

Well, that's well done.

[curator49]

I think it is about time that these people are fined for using transit and bus only lanes but $100 is no where near a big enough fine.

I had to laugh when I read the article as the car has had its number plate blacked out yet on the opening page of the BT it shows the number plate quite clearly. Editorial slip-up 

[Mr X]

You can't make out what it says easily

[O_128]

Look at those comments, ouch, people really have no idea.

[curator49]

When I first opened the BT at 6:00 am this morning the item appeared as a large banner headline on the left-hand side of the opening page. The number plate was easily readable on that banner but was blacked out on the same photo when you opened the news item to read it. When I checked again after I had made that post at 10.00 am the BT had edited the image on the opening page and it was no longer the banner headline rather it was one of the secondary headlines on their opening page.

[somebody]

When I first opened the BT at 6:00 am this morning the item appeared as a large banner headline on the left-hand side of the opening page. The number plate was easily readable on that banner but was blacked out on the same photo when you opened the news item to read it. When I checked again after I had made that post at 10.00 am the BT had edited the image on the opening page and it was no longer the banner headline rather it was one of the secondary headlines on their opening page.

Nothing unusual about that.  As stories get older they are less promoted.

[ozbob]

From the Couriermail click here!

Drive to scrap transit lanes as motorists ignore signs

Drive to scrap transit lanes as motorists ignore signs

    Robyn Ironside
    From: The Courier-Mail
    September 21, 2011 12:00AM

ALMOST a decade after T2 lanes were introduced on Brisbane roads, thousands of motorists are still ignoring the signs and many are calling for their abolition.

Every week an average of 84 motorists are being fined $100 each for illegally using the transit lanes designed for cars with two or more people, taxis, buses and bicycles.

A total of 4373 motorists were nabbed last year - up 52 per cent on 2007 - partly because of more enforcement.

The lanes were introduced to increase the average vehicle occupancy of cars using major roads including the Pacific Motorway, Waterworks Rd and Kelvin Grove Rd.

A Transport and Main Roads spokesman said a six-month trial last year found average vehicle occupancy on those routes had increased from 1.73 people a car, to 2.02.

But Queensland's peak motoring body, the RACQ has backed calls by the Katter Australian Party for the lanes to be scrapped.

State leader Aidan McLindon said the transit lanes had been a "worthwhile experiment" but efforts to get motorists to carpool had ultimately failed.

"Every morning there are two lanes of gridlock on the M1 and one that's virtually empty. That's the T2 lane," Mr McLindon said. "Whilst there was probably a bit of merit in the trial, the best mode of car-pooling is catching the bus."

RACQ policy manager Michael Roth said the motoring group would support the axing of T2 lanes on the basis "they're not really doing very well".

"The Government hasn't been able to show us any evidence car-pooling has increased because of the T2 lanes," Mr Roth said.

As well as abolishing T2 lanes, the Katter Australian Party wants to introduce a dedicated all-weather moped lane covered with solar panels so they can be lit at night.

Mr McLindon said separate lanes within 10km of the CBD should be seriously considered to encourage more people to take up the fuel-friendly mode of transport.

But Mr Roth said "mopeds could mix it with traffic on arterial roads".

"Providing covers is a silly idea because that would mean a hell of a lot of posts and each post is something the moped rider can wrap themselves around."

[longboi]

That moped lane idea is insane  I'd support scrapping the T2 lanes provided they were replaced with bus lanes 

[ozbob]

That moped lane idea is insane   I'd support scrapping the T2 lanes provided they were replaced with bus lanes  

Agree wholeheartedly.  The 'mad Katter' party is off the rails already ... lol

[HappyTrainGuy]

I'd like to see some T2 lanes scrapped. The ones on the highways should go but the ones in built up areas like Kelvin Grove, the city and what not should remain.

[Mr X]

RACQ policy manager Michael Roth said the motoring group would support the axing of T2 lanes on the basis "they're not really doing very well".

Of course they would advocate that- they're a pro car lobby. !!
*Because we must have better bigger roads*. Groan.

[O_128]

That moped lane idea is insane  I'd support scrapping the T2 lanes provided they were replaced with bus lanes 

+1

The most effective way of car pooling is by bus only when there are bus lanes, coro drive is a good example.

[ozbob]

Brisbanetimes --> Roadworks in ruins, says lord mayor hopeful

[ozbob]

Couriermail --> Horror weekend on roads pushes Qld toll to 192 for year-to-date

[ozbob]

Sent to all outlets:

26th September 2011

Road toll, how about reporting injuries as well as fatalities?

Greetings,

The road toll just gets worse.

Horror weekend on roads pushes Qld toll to 192 for year-to-date http://www.couriermail.com.au/news/queensland/horror-weekend-on-roads-pushes-qld-toll-to-192-for-year-to-date/story-e6freoof-1226145794966

The focus on fatalities only ignores the huge mounting injury toll.  By being more focussed on the real impacts,  in term of social and economic effects this might assist in turning the behaviours around.
It goes without saying investment in safe sustainable public transport particularly rail is needed.  More of the same is just a massive transport failure.

Road trauma is breaking the nation --> http://railbotforum.org/mbs/index.php?action=articles;sa=view;article=3

Best wishes
Robert

Contact:

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

[colinw]

The Courier Mail -> By toll or tax, bill must be paid

October 03, 2011 3:00AM

IT might not exactly be the Sistine Chapel but tour the $4.8 billion Airport Link project with a couple of enthusiastic engineers, as I did last week, and you'll come away convinced it could be close.

Not for its aesthetic contribution perhaps, but rather as testament to the inventiveness and creativity of humankind.

This massive undertaking has required not only vast amounts of brute force in the shape of huge, specially built tunnelling machines but also high levels of precision, both in the design and execution.

With the tunnelling done, workers are underground connecting the more than two million metres of cabling needed to control everything from the lighting to the fire-detection systems and safety signals in preparation for the planned opening in nine months.

It is fine work that requires intense concentration and attention to detail.

But Airport Link is more than a monument to human creativeness. It is also a stark reminder of just how hard funding big new infrastructure projects is becoming.

Getting this project off the drawing board required a degree of financial engineering every bit as creative as the physical works, and was based on the idea that private investors would be happy to stump up the money and take much or all of the risk of building and running a very large piece of public infrastructure in return for all of the profits for decades.

Investors liked the idea of a seemingly safe, long-term dividend stream and governments loved the fact that someone would be paying for the new roads that it would otherwise have had to fund itself.

Unfortunately, the flaws in Airport Link's financial model, which involved raising $1.2 billion from the investing public, were cruelly exposed by the global financial crisis, which arrived barely months after investors placed their bets in mid-2008.

Many hundreds of millions of dollars of value have since evaporated.

The collapse of BrisConnections - which used the same sort of financial engineering to finance the Clem7 tunnel - because of far worse than expected traffic usage figures drove a further nail into the coffin of this now dead idea of private funding of public infrastructure.

This was all bad news for investors but in some ways it is even worse news for the State Government - and the LNP in Opposition - which have both identified many tens of billions of dollars of new infrastructure that the state will need over the next few decades, from cross-river rail links to massive upgrades of the Bruce Highway.

What neither side has identified, however, is how all these new capital works will be funded, particularly now that both state and federal governments are already borrowed to the hilt and private sector investors have disappeared for all but the safest of government-underwritten new projects.

Financial experts, both private and public, are working hard to come up with new funding models, but the huge political problem for the State Government - current or future - is that no matter how it is dressed up, the money for big new pieces of infrastructure will almost certainly have to come directly from voters - either as taxpayers or as users.

In other words, it will require new taxes or charges - something neither side wants to be in any way associated with in the run-up to the next state election.

This might be politically understandable, but the refusal by Government and Opposition is, at another level, base political cowardice that simply delays one of the biggest questions any new state government will face - how to pay for the things we need to keep Queensland growing.

Infrastructure Australia, the Federal Government body created to encourage and co-ordinate the building of essential infrastructure around the country, specifically addressed what it called a "profound disconnect" in a mid-year report.

"As a country and a community we baulk at raising taxes to pay for better infrastructure and services (and) are uncomfortable with the user-pays concept, as seen in opposition to the use of tolls to fund some roads," it said.

"Yet we are concerned about congestion, we are concerned about the health and security of our water supplies, we are concerned about the the prospect of electricity brownouts . . .

"Failing to address this matter will threaten our prosperity and future.

"Communicating the need for a more mature debate about our infrastructure and how we pay for it will be a core part of Infrastructure Australia's agenda over the next four years."

All we can say is, "Good luck".

The chance of politicians talking maturely about the need to raise taxes and levy new charges, such as the idea of distance tolling on major roads or the Bruce Highway - one of Infrastructure Australia's suggestions - is never high and even less so this close to the next state poll.

Both Labor and the LNP have already declared their intense opposition to Bruce Highway tolling while at the same time committing themselves to urgently fixing up this essential, but long-underfunded, piece of state infrastructure.

Just how they might do this with no obvious source of funding to hand we don't know.

We'll just have to trust them . . . or not.

[Golliwog]

That was a good piece by Robert MacDonald, the one failing that wasn't a failing was it doesn't suggest a solution. But I don't think it needs to, theres only so many ways to fund things. But of course, it being the CM the (few) comments this article has read along the lines of:

• If the government didn't missmanage our money, we would be able to pay for everything
• Car rego, GST on petrol and car sales plus Stamp duty should be ample to cover the cost of these things if they weren't swallowed up by consolidated revenue
• Airport link is a dirty little project and PPP's are terrible

If only there was intelligent debate on this topic. One person was saying the national highway network should never be tolled and hte Gateway bridge being tolled was abhorent. In Europe, as much as I recall, pretty much the entire decent highway network was tolled, and was of a much higher standard than most of ours are.

[somebody]

What's unintelligent about saying PPPs are terrible?  Overwhelming evidence supports this.  Many can't believe that a PPP model is even being considered for the NWRL in Sydney.

[Golliwog]

I'm not a fan of PPP's but they do work, sometimes. Airtrain, while not meeting the service hours and frequencies we would like, still functions and is now looking at expanding its hours of operation to 10pm IIRC.

[somebody]

I'm not a fan of PPP's but they do work, sometimes. Airtrain, while not meeting the service hours and frequencies we would like, still functions and is now looking at expanding its hours of operation to 10pm IIRC.

Only due to destroying the original investors' investment.  Bondholders received equity apparently.

And while it is possible that had it not been a PPP it would have been no better, the poor take up of Airtrain has required very expensive road upgrades.

[Arnz]

I believe the Airtrain's proposed extension of trading hours to 10pm ties in with the Stage 2 QRail timetable reviews iirc.

[O_128]

I'm not a fan of PPP's but they do work, sometimes. Airtrain, while not meeting the service hours and frequencies we would like, still functions and is now looking at expanding its hours of operation to 10pm IIRC.

Only due to destroying the original investors' investment.  Bondholders received equity apparently.

And while it is possible that had it not been a PPP it would have been no better, the poor take up of Airtrain has required very expensive road upgrades.

I dont agree, do you rally believe without the PPP we would have an airport line? It would still be in the glossy plans.

[Golliwog]

I believe the Airtrain's proposed extension of trading hours to 10pm ties in with the Stage 2 QRail timetable reviews iirc.

Fairly sure that is the case.

Simon/O_128:
I think we may have got the airport line without it being PPP, but it wouldn't have been as early as it was, and it probably would have been a toss up between Airtrain and Airport Link.

I also think, even if Airtrain take up had been higher (Currently its at 7% of airport traffic?) that the road upgrades would probably have been done anyway.

[somebody]

I'm not a fan of PPP's but they do work, sometimes. Airtrain, while not meeting the service hours and frequencies we would like, still functions and is now looking at expanding its hours of operation to 10pm IIRC.

Only due to destroying the original investors' investment.  Bondholders received equity apparently.

And while it is possible that had it not been a PPP it would have been no better, the poor take up of Airtrain has required very expensive road upgrades.

I dont agree, do you rally believe without the PPP we would have an airport line? It would still be in the glossy plans.

Possibly.  That wouldn't be much worse than the present situation though.

I also think, even if Airtrain take up had been higher (Currently its at 7% of airport traffic?) that the road upgrades would probably have been done anyway.

Depends how much higher, I guess.  If it had been more like 30%, which I think is achievable, the road upgrades wouldn't have been needed.

[Gazza]

[quote author=Golliwog link=topic=4767.msg70077#msg70077 date=1317628229

If only there was intelligent debate on this topic. One person was saying the national highway network should never be tolled and hte Gateway bridge being tolled was abhorent. In Europe, as much as I recall, pretty much the entire decent highway network was tolled, and was of a much higher standard than most of ours are.
[/quote]
Agreed, people reject tolling here, yet put up with the alternative, no freeways at all.
Pretty laughable we are still building the basics of of an intercity freeway network, 40 years after everyone else.

At least in Europe they actually have it for use.

[ozbob]

Couriermail --> Rainy-day traffic prangs give Brisbane a rough start to the day

[ozbob]

From the Brisbanetimes click here!

Drivers to pay $18 for 20km trip on Brisbane's toll roads

Drivers to pay $18 for 20km trip on Brisbane's toll roads
Darren Cartwright
October 6, 2011 - 2:10PM


Motorists can expect to pay about $18 for a 20km round trip on Brisbane's toll roads when Airport Link opens next year.

The $5.6 billion Airport Link, Australia's largest road infrastructure project, is due to be completed by mid-2012 and is run by BrisConnections.

It will link directly to the Clem7 tunnel, which opened last year and runs under the Brisbane River from Bowen Hills to three separate exits on the southside.

Motorists who enter Airport Link (toll $4.75) at Kedron and take the Clem7 ($4 )and exit at Shaftson Road, a 10km trip according to Google maps, will pay at least $8.75 on 2011 pricing.

BrisConnections states on its website that the Airport Link toll will rise in line with the CPI next year which will in effect increase it close to $5.

Airport Link will connect the Brisbane's central business district with the Clem7 and the East-West Arterial Road which leads to the Brisbane Airport.

RACQ general manager Paul Turner said motorists would ultimately determine if - at about a dollar a kilometre - the trip is value for money.

He said there was also a concern that the government would either close or slow roads down to make the tunnel a more attractive alternative than existing routes.

"Motorists will make a decision on time saving and stress saving, of avoiding traffic lights and congestion," Mr Turner said.

"We are against efforts by government to funnel people on to toll roads. The alternatives have to be there and they should be free.

"Toll roads should not be a replacement for what governments should provide and that's free roads for motorists."

BrisConnections says it's considering frequent user discounts for Airport Link users.

The Airport Link project, part of a major new toll road, would remove up to 18 sets of traffic lights for motorists travelling from the CBD to Brisbane Airport, reducing travel time by up to 50 per cent, the government has said.

It will be the longest road tunnel in Australia, with 5.2km of its 6.7km length underground.

Airport Link is far from Brisbane's most expensive toll road.

That honour belongs to Go Between Bridge, which links South Brisbane and Milton, and opened last year.

Motorists using the 300m Go Between Bridge pay $2.42 each way, or about 81 cents for every 100m travelled on the bridge.

AAP

Read more: http://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/queensland/drivers-to-pay-18-for-20km-trip-on-brisbanes-toll-roads-20111006-1lb43.html

[somebody]

I believe the Airtrain's proposed extension of trading hours to 10pm ties in with the Stage 2 QRail timetable reviews iirc.

Apparently not.

[Arnz]

I believe the Airtrain's proposed extension of trading hours to 10pm ties in with the Stage 2 QRail timetable reviews iirc.

Apparently not.

Glad to be stand corrected in this case.  Unfortunately no TT improvements for the other suburban lines except maybe minor GC changes.

[ozbob]

Couriermail --> Tolling companies like Flow Toll accused of unfairly slugging motorists after customer Richard Hamernik's trip through Clem7 costs $17.77

I don't have a problem on the 77 bus!   

[O_128]

I'm sick of idiots saying that they pay there rego and therefore do not have to pay tolls, I hope they realise that the pathetic $600 they pay barely covers a few metres of the kerb. I expect the real costs for ergo would be about $20000 + per person, then they won't have to pay tolls.

[ozbob]

Brisbanetimes --> Storms spark traffic chaos

No surprise, the fools don't slow down, they don't put on headlights, they think it is vrooom vrooooom time ...

Hey, there is  a boom gate and I can't stop, hey there is water over the road and my car won't go,  really?

[ozbob]

From the Couriermail click here!

Traffic gridlock in southeast Queensland worse than a year ago, survey finds

Traffic gridlock in southeast Queensland worse than a year ago, survey finds

    by: Sophie Elsworth
    From: The Courier-Mail
    October 17, 2011 12:00AM

FOUR out of five Queenslanders believe traffic in the state's southeast is more congested than it was 12 months ago, survey results show.

The Courier-Mail's Let the Sun Shine In newspaper poll recently quizzed readers on a range of topics, including transport.

More than 6000 readers took part, and results found 82 per cent of respondents believed that traffic was more, or a lot more, congested than it was a year ago.

The results found 93 per cent of respondents in the 65 years and over category believe the roads are more congested now, and only 4 per cent say they are less congested.

About one in three respondents said they had used public transport in the past week, on average about 3.9 times.

Public transport was accessed more frequently by students, who used it up to five times a week.

Queenslanders working full-time used public transport 4.5 times a week.

Retired people were the least likely to take public transport, using it just 2.6 times a week, while the self-employed did so 2.7 times a week.

Issues related to living with growth, including transport and infrastructure, are the focus of The Courier-Mail's next reader forum on Wednesday, October 26. It will be held at the Queensland University of Technology's Kelvin Grove campus.

It is The Courier-Mail's fifth reader forum as part of the Let the Sun Shine In campaign, which looks at matters surrounding the state's future.

Panellists include Associate Professor Phil Heywood, from QUTs School of Urban Development, Brisbane City Council's Neighbourhood Planning Chair Amanda Cooper, Local Government Association of Queensland chief executive officer Greg Hallam, Urban Land Development Authority chief executive officer Paul Eagles, and The Courier-Mail's assistant editor Robert MacDonald.

The Opinionator will also return to Brisbane's CBD ahead of the next forum and can be found in three locations.

The interactive polling device will quiz users on a range of questions relating to living with growth.

Users can use the touch screen to vote "yes" or "no", and a tally of votes will be kept on each device so Queenslanders can see what people think on the big issues. The question will change every few days.

[ozbob]

From the Brisbanetimes click here!

Airport Link stands by traffic predictions

Airport Link stands by traffic predictions
Tony Moore
October 18, 2011 - 3:00AM

Seven months from opening, Airport Link operator BrisConnections still insists 135,000 vehicles a day will use their northside tunnel when it opens in mid-2012.

The prediction came as an average of just 22,000 vehicles used the Clem7 tunnel each day, about a third of the traffic predicted by its operators, RiverCity Motorway.

As BrisConnections released estimates of 20 minute time savings for traffic using the tunnels, currently being constructed between Bowen Hills and Toombul, the company insisted they had faith in their traffic projections.

"BrisConnections is confident that the basic parameters and assumptions for its forecast traffic numbers remain sound and therefore our traffic forecasts remain valid," a BrisConnections spokeswoman said in a statement after being questioned by brisbanetimes.com.au.

"BrisConnections is confident that the feeder roads, including Clem7 and the six other river crossings from the south and west, have the capacity to provide sufficient traffic flow for Airport Link."

The company would not directly answer questions about the proportion of traffic it expected to receive from the struggling Clem7, one of four Bowen Hills access points to the Airport Link project.

Last week 25,361 vehicles Clem7 on a five day weekday average, while over seven days the average dropped to 22,004 daily trips.

"Experience clearly indicates that the level of success is considerably improved when the road fulfils an essential economic need, as is the case for Airport Link connecting as it does the CBD, airport and Australia TradeCoast, the north and north-western suburbs and completing a crucial network enhancement for many other users," the BrisConnections spokeswoman said.

She said Airport Link did not rely solely on traffic from the Clem7.

"It is the total southside traffic using a variety of corridors that are relevant to Airport Link being able to meet its forecasts, and not any single route that southside traffic uses to reach the airport or TradeCoast," she said.

Meanwhile, a survey by international traffic consultancy group TTM Group shows the average inbound morning peak hour trip from Toombul to Bowen Hills would be slashed from 20 minutes and 25 seconds to four minutes and 41 seconds by using the Airport Link tunnel, a time saving of 15 minutes and 44 seconds.

The same survey shows the outbound journey in the afternoon peak would reduce from 25 minutes and 22 seconds to four minutes and 30 seconds, a saving of 20 minutes and 52 seconds.

The company issued a fact sheet based on the survey, showing the results of a survey completed by survey vehicles driving through the tunnel network at 80 km/h.

Acting Premier Andrew Fraser said the traffic research used a GPS system to model the traffic times against travelling along Lutwyche, Gympie and Sandgate roads

"Obviously this modelling – like any forecasting – depends on a wide range of variables but the clear message from this work is that Airport Link stands to deliver huge time savings to motorists," he said.

When completed, the Airport Link tunnel will provide six lanes under Lutwyche Road and adds four lanes between Kedron and Toombul.

Read more: http://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/queensland/airport-link-stands-by-traffic-predictions-20111017-1lt8b.html

[ozbob]

The Conversation --> Wide Open Road: how did Australia plan pedestrians, cyclists and transit out of its cities?

[ozbob]

Brisbanetimes --> Captain Cook Bridge pile-up causes delays

[Golliwog]

http://www.couriermail.com.au/questnews/moreton/pipe-laden-truck-blocks-three-lanes-on-beerburrum-rd-caboolture/story-fn8m0yu3-1226181564564

Pipe-laden truck blocks three lanes on Beerburrum Rd, Caboolture

    by: Staff writer, Caboolture Shire Herald
    From: Quest Newspapers
    October 31, 2011 1:19PM

A truck carrying a long pipe jack knifed on one of Caboolture's busiest roads this morning.

The truck ended up completely blocking the northbound lanes of Beerburrum Rd, just north of Lagoon Creek, after the driver turned north from Commercial Drive.

The rear wheels of the trailer left the road as the driver tried to negotiate the corner, falling into a deep drain.

This left the trailer tilted at a steep angle, with the steel pipe, estimated at about 20m long, being held in place by chains.

Traffic had to be diverted for 90 minutes until a crane could lift the trailer from the drain.

I don't think jack-knifed is the right word. Tried to make an impossible corner is what happened. This is the intersection where he was turning left onto the main road: http://www.nearmap.com/?q=@-27.074089,152.949158&ll=-27.074089,152.949158&z=19&t=h&nmd=20110923. The picture in the article says it all really. Just as stupid as the drivers who hit the low bridges IMO.

[ozbob]

Queensland Times --> Bligh to build western bypass

[Jonno]

This makes so much sense because all the road construction in the last 10 years has reduced, congestion, improved air quality, minimised road accidents/deaths/injuries and helped reduced obesity levels...

ahmmmmm Is there a sarcasim icon?

What a bloody stupid idea!!!! God help our State because nothing can help our major political parties.  Let's keep doing more of the same because "this time" it is going to work!!!!!