The Gold Coast Light Rail, also known as G:Link opened in July 2014, making it Australia’s newest completed tram/light-rail line. I was very impressed when I rode it last week. As you would hope and expect, they’ve put a lot of thought into the design, and there are a number of things Melbourne can learn ... [More]
Part of what makes Friday’s tragic events in Bourke Street so horrible is that it could have been any of us who got hit. One can only have the deepest sympathy for all those affected. I work on Bourke Street, and often go walking along it at lunchtime. On Friday I was on Spencer Street ... [More]
Early start. If all went to plan, I was going to be at Melbourne Airport to meet my offspring at 12:30, assuming they made their connection in Sydney at 11:15. Being there at 12:30 meant flying out of Brisbane by 9am, as the flight is a little over two hours, and in summer there’s an ... [More]
Day two of my quick trip to Brisbane. Memo to myself: when in Queensland in summer, make sure the blinds/curtains are closed properly before going to bed. Given no daylight savings in the Sunshine State, you can expect the sunshine to come through the window at about 5am. I found myself awake at about 5:20, ... [More]
The plan was to head up to Queensland for a couple of days. For a short break, but also to visit my Dad’s memorial bench at UQ, and see my uncle Frank. I devised a plan to fly into the Gold Coast so that (given nobody else was coming) I could have a look at ... [More]
(One of those posts which I feel like could do with some more polish, but haven’t had time. I know the comments will help boost its worth.) At what point will we have road pricing? Here are some thoughts. The current situation doesn’t make sense The current mix of toll roads and free roads in ... [More]
Continuing my series posting ten year old photos. Brighton, near Middle Brighton station. Obviously this bus shelter had been re-used, from somewhere on Victoria Parade I’m guessing. It looks like the same bus shelter is still there, but the tram route numbers may have been removed. Recently, motorists failing to keep intersections clear has been ... [More]
A couple of weeks ago it was highlighted that, not for the first time, Melbourne Zoo is seeking an additional one thousand public car spaces. It seems they want to turn Royal Park into Royal Car Park. For an organisation dedicated to animals, you’d think they’d understand the importance of the natural environment. They seem ... [More]
Happy New Year. Congratulations for surviving 2016! This blog post attempts to wrap up a few loose ends for the new year. Here’s a short video of the Footscray New Years Eve 9:30pm (official!) fireworks. Footscray fireworks (official)Happy New Year everyone! đđ pic.twitter.com/L0WkAqArhT — Daniel Bowen (@danielbowen) December 31, 2016 2016 was a bit of ... [More]
As flagged earlier in the month, the long-awaited new rail map, in the works since at least 2014, has finally been officially launched. It’ll show up around the network in 2017. (Click to zoom) There seem to be at least two versions: the plain one above, and a version with a grid and station index. ... [More]
My native garden attracts native birds. These are our latest residents, visiting for Christmas: rainbow lorikeets. Very colourful; they seem to be enjoying the food available at the moment. Christmas is almost over at our house. Due to travel commitments, the various arms of the family had their gatherings over the last two Sundays. As ... [More]
Here’s a thought, via a possibly dodgy analogy: public transport is like a computer. It needs both hardware and software to function properly. Hardware — right of way (tracks/roadspace), signalling, stops and platforms, vehicles, stabling. Software — how do you operate it? Timetables, routes (particularly for buses, which can be easily changed), traffic light priority, ... [More]