Live — from a tram stop in the Bourke Street Mall
The latest in high-contrast, high-resolution semi-permanent destination displays
While it looks like it’s good from a tram operations point of view, it’s also not hard to see why people such as Paul Mees see the Melbourne University tram terminus/shunting yard as poor urban design, fencing off a large section of Swanston Street. (See: Permeability.)
4 replies on “On the trams”
Expensive, but could they have cut the terminus into a trench, and covered it (median park, or facilities for the tram drivers and some open space, etc?)
Maybe in less budget-constrained times : )
The terminus should have been moved north of Elgin St.
Then the trams turning into Elgin St would be able to move freely and the terminus could be more compact as well as less in the way.
I spent at least 40 seconds staring at that second photo and trying to adjust the brightness of my screen, to try to read the destination sign on that tram.
I can’t recall if they’re still there, but the temporary fence between the tracks in front of the state library stops were the same problem.
I realise there are a lot of trams running up and down Swanston Street, but the recent renovations were meant to make the street far more pedestrian friendly and was even described as making it “mall like”. Making it impossible to cross the road for an entire block, right where there is a train station, a major library, shops, and a university hardly seems like its making things more pedestrian friendly.