If you missed it in the Sunday debate, or yesterday on social media, here’s the 30 second summary of Tony Abbott’s transport policy.
Tag: transport
The state government continues to push the East-West motorway (a plan they barely mentioned in the 2010 election campaign) over major public transport projects. But what do the people want? As it happens there’s a pretty clear message from surveys going back at least five years. (Skip to the end for the latest one.) October ... [More]
Last Saturday some of us from the PTUA did a tour of the Regional Rail Link project. Here are some photos and notes. The RRL project, for those who haven’t being paying attention, is basically a brand new railway from somewhere west of Werribee, through new stations in the fast-growing suburbs of Wyndham Vale and ... [More]
If Tony Abbott’s Coalition won’t build rail, why do they include a rail icon on their infrastructure policy? At least, I’m assuming it’s an icon for rail — not giant white picket fences to keep out asylum seekers, or something like that. (The above is from the summarised version. The slightly more detailed policy document ... [More]
My time on the PTUA committee only overlapped with Paul’s by about a year or so. I was newsletter editor in his final year as President. But I remembered him from my days as an “ordinary” member in the 90s, and in my time as Prez and afterwards, I encountered him regularly around the traps. ... [More]
Isaac just turned 18. (Yeah, I know.) Anyway, I was talking to him about getting a photo ID that shows his age, so (if he should choose to) he can exercise his rights as an adult. Many his age would get a Learner’s permit as part of learning to drive. But he has zero interest ... [More]
Once upon a time, green bags weren’t actually green: Signage in High Street… not a great job done there with the relative placement of the No Left Turn and Tram Stop signs: The then-new multi-storey carpark at Elsternwick station: Who says you can’t take home bulky goods on public transport, if you have your friends ... [More]
The way the state budget has been framed in terms of transport was almost inevitable: the East-West motorway (stage 1) vs the Metro Rail Tunnel, with the motorway winning this round. While they are quite different projects, serving (mostly) different markets and (attempting to be) solving different problems, I thought it might be interesting to ... [More]
The flaws of the proposed east-west road are well-known, but let’s briefly re-cap. Most traffic from the Eastern Freeway is headed for the city, not cross-town. It wouldn’t be a backup for the M1 (Westgate/Citylink), because it would have its own traffic, and for most road users, it’s too far north. It wouldn’t prevent traffic ... [More]
This has come up again since RACV are resisting the removal of a lane of traffic on Princes Bridge to give cyclists more than the part of a busy footpath and the mere sliver of roadspace they have now: What alternatives are there to RACV road service? Because if you disagree with the RACV’s stance ... [More]
Before you go looking for it, be sure to read the updates at the bottom. The gigantic transport mural was perhaps one of the best features of the old Spencer Street station. By Harold Freedman, it depicts the first century of Victoria’s transport — from 1835 to 1935. It was commissioned by the state government ... [More]
YEARS ago, it might have been strange to think the fortunes of a government could rest on a suburban railway line. That was before the last Victorian election, when the Frankston train line became a potent symbol of the Brumby government’s transport woes: overcrowded carriages, ageing infrastructure, myki cost blowouts. Labor hardheads call it the ... [More]