I’m way behind on posting my regular photos from ten years ago, so here’s July and August 2015.
Ten years ago they were actively replacing the old Myki readers at stations… a process that is now repeating.
A rarity: advertising for improved public transport services, in this case the ten minute frequency on the Frankston line.
Here’s the timetable displayed at a station, with handwritten addition.
The Bourke Street tram stop at Spencer Street – always was a poor design, and despite the addition of a mid-platform exit, this is still a problem. They did eventually remove one traffic lane, but dedicated the entirety of it to cyclists – not a bad thing, but widening the exit should have been a priority.
Hardware Lane looking glorious in the winter sunshine
Melbourne Bike Share – by this point the Free Tram Zone had started, severely jeopardising the scheme.
…however some enterprising people were using the bike share scheme for tours.
Looking down Bourke Street
The amount of space taken by urban freeways is amazing.
In contrast, you can move far more people more efficiently if you set up the right combination of easy to use mass transit and pedestrian access. (Even then some motorists manage to get stuck in the scramble crossing.)
Collingwood, Easey Street, the burger place with the Hitachi trains on top of it.
Removal of tram stops in Collins Street at Queen Street – you now have to walk a block either way, but at least those stops are accessible.
Note the MX dispenser above. After it finished publishing in June 2015, they were gradually removed, but as shown below, some were temporarily adapted for… less conventional uses.
There aren’t many traditional milk bars in Melbourne. This was in Kambrook Road in Caulfield. Since then itseems to have fully morphed into a cafe.
A map of the then proposed Metro tunnel – the Andrews government had been elected in November 2014 on a promise of starting the project, and they got it moving quickly. It’s expected to open by the end of 2025.
Probably the best most enjoyable wall calendar I ever had: all about typefaces. Gloriously geeky. Gill Sans is widely used in Britain.
This is a public corridor between Flinders Lane and Collins Street, just west of Elizabeth Street, which can be a convenient shortcut. I often wonder why it exists – perhaps some condition of building above what was originally a public laneway. I must research it sometime.
Always good to see a car park that reminds motorists to watch for pedestrians, though it doesn’t spell out their legal obligation to give way.
Level crossing on the Upfield line. I think this is Albion Street, near Anstey Station, set for removal in the next few years.
For years there were no bins on the platform at Southern Cross Station, so the inevitable happened – people balanced their litter on utility cabinets.
I miss the ABC Shop. This was at Emporium in Melbourne.
Another retail relic of the times: plentiful magazines.
Why do they do this? I encountered this sign blocking most of the (then unprotected) bike lane on Princes Bridge. So I did the only sensible thing. I moved it.
Moving the PTUA Office… it’s happened a couple of times since, to economise and get a space better sized for what we need.
Flagstaff Station back in the days it was closed on weekends. It eventually started opening every day in 2016.
An article talking about what would become the HCMT fleet for the Cranbourne/Pakenham lines.
Flinders Street Station’s central subway back in the day… leaking every time it rained.
This is actually from June 2015, but I think I missed it in that post – the Campbell Arcade back in the day. It re-opened recently after Metro tunnel works. Hopefully they get new retailers back in there soon.
Terrible V/Line map. Having the Ballarat line (which runs west) portrayed as NW, and the Bendigo line (NW) shown as north… nah, not good.
…and terrible wayfinding, at Chadstone. Are these buses to the left, or to the right?
Finally, this poster could be one for today: Keep your germs to yourself!
8 replies on “Old photos from July/Aug 2015”
Yes, Albion St. That’s Anstey station to the left.
“… you now have to walk a block either way, but at least those stops are accessible.”
Oh, the irony.
The image of the “what would become a HCMT fleet” looks like the X’Trapolis MEGA used by South Africa. It’s maybe too optimistic to call it foreshadowing given that, 10 years later, a derivative of those (The X’Trapolis 2.0) are now being tested for use in Melbourne.
For those who are wondering, the burger joint that the Hitachis are on top of were near the old PBS studios (PBS since moving to Johnston Street, not far from the old Easey Street studios).
The walkway at 333 Collins Street is in what was the site of the head office of the Commercial Bank of Australia (the other CBA). It had a magnificent banking chamber (which I used occasionally as a CBA customer).
Following a bank merger which created Westpac, the banking function was closed in the late 1980s and the impressive joinery was junked. However, the stunningly ornate upper section and lantern of the chamber were preserved as a vestibule when the rest of the building was demolished and replaced. The passageway was included in the rebuild.
The new Myki readers were very briefly located at Mordialloc platform 2 (RIP).
Regarding Bourke & Spencer, the crossing should be as a multidirectional (same as Elizabeth / Flinders) and pedestrians have prority over cars, ie. 2 pedestrian cycles per full cycle.
Agree with Robert Smith about the Bourke & Spencer intersection. What would also be good is reopening the underpass between Southern Cross Station and the east side of Spencer St.
It is so good to see major infrastructure projects coming to completion. But surely it is time to shift focus from shiny new infrastructure to better utilising the infrastructure we have (Minimum 10 minute frequencies until midnight, express rail services for major events, a complete overhaul of bus routes and frequencies).