-----Original Message-----
From: Roderick Smith [mailto:rodsmith@werple.net.au]
Sent: Thursday, 17 August 2017 12:14 PM
To: 'transportdownunder@yahoogroups.com'
Subject: snippets, Thurs.17.8.17

Links:
<www.theage.com.au/business/the-economy/worlds-most-liveable-city-again-how-we-ranked-melbourne-20170816-gxx5zz.html>

Attached:

170816W 'Brisbane Times' - drones & robots. with tdu

170817Th Melbourne 'Herald Sun' - Melbourne land shortage [which impacts onto outer-suburban services, and inner-city prices].

170817Th 'SMH' - train overcrowding.

Roderick.

August 16 2017 Robots, drones and lasers to take over Brisbane's maintenance jobs . with tdu.
<www.brisbanetimes.com.au/queensland/robots-drones-and-lasers-to-take-over-brisbanes-maintenance-jobs-20170816-gxxpna.html>

August 16 2017 'Roundabout of death' gets $100,000 to plan a safety upgrade..
More videos 5 cheap fixes to Melbourne's transport problems.
It's reviled as the 'roundabout of death' and loathed by Melbourne motorists, pedestrians and cyclists alike.
The sprawling Haymarket Roundabout at the northern end of Elizabeth Street, at the edge of the CBD, has four entry points, three tram stops, and carries 25,000 vehicles a day.
A think tank has put forward 22 cost-effective ideas to ease congestion in the city.
Belying the nickname, there have been no reported deaths at the junction between Elizabeth Street, Royal Parade and Flemington Road. But the roundabout has been the scene of 14 crashes since 2012, resulting in at least 23 injuries.
Motorcyclists have been hit the most (five crashes) followed by cyclists (four crashes), pedestrians (three crashes) and motor vehicles (two crashes).
Image of Haymarket roundabout from wikipedia Image of Haymarket roundabout from wikipedia Photo: wikipedia .
The government is now setting aside $100,000 to develop a business case to improve safety at the site, where trams in the afternoon peak are regularly blocked by gridlocked traffic.
Separated bike lanes, upgraded pedestrian crossings and giving public transport priority are all being considered as possible solutions.
"The Haymarket roundabout is one of the most congested and confusing intersections in Melbourne – that's why we're investing in a business case to find the right solution drivers, pedestrians, cyclists and public transport users," said Minister for Roads and Road Safety, Luke Donnellan.
In a 2016 TAC-funded online interactive survey, cyclists pinpointed the roundabout as one of Melbourne's worst spots for riding a bike.
The Bicycle Network's chief executive Craig Richards said almost 1000 cyclists head into the roundabout from Royal Parade between 7-9am on weekdays.
"With the development of the new underground station at Grattan Street, and the continuing expansion at the University and around the Parkville bio-medical research precinct, Haymarket needs a completely new, bike-friendly intersection," he said.
"There are some brilliant examples of roundabouts and intersections in Europe that give bikes a greater priority that we don't have in Australia. We have an opportunity here to build for the future."
Victoria Walks' executive officer Dr Ben Rossiter said the roundabout was "diabolical to walk around".
Over 1000 pedestrians cross in the morning peak.
"If you walk from Elizabeth Street down to Flemington Road, you have to cross four legs of traffic lights to get there. Intersections like this should not be in the inner city, they are anti-pedestrian.
Opposition public transport spokesman David Hodgett said $100,000 to develop a business case "sounds like a lot of money to spend on planning a roundabout".
The business case comes after a $2.4 million upgrade to the roundabout in 2011 to improve safety.
<www.theage.com.au/victoria/roundabout-of-death-gets-100000-to-plan-a-safety-upgrade-20170816-gxxtbj.html>

August 17 2017 Opal figures show skyrocketing passenger demand on Sydney train lines .
Passenger demand for trains in Sydney has risen by almost 20 per cent on some lines in just a year, new figures show, underscoring the strain on the city's rail network.
The number of trips taken on the T7 Olympic Park Line surged by 19.6 per cent to almost 180,000 in July, compared with the same month a year earlier, reflecting the pace of growth in residential development in and around the former Olympic precinct.
The reason CBD train trips cost more. A quirk from the time of paper tickets means some commuters are unwittingly paying to travel further than the actual distance of their trip.
Patronage on the city's busiest line the T1, which includes western, north shore and northern services, rose by 10 per cent over the year, government figures based on Opal card usage shows.
Across the rail network, trips increased by more than 11 per cent, or 3.1 million, to 30.7 million in July, compared with the prior period.
The surge in demand places greater urgency on plans for public transport such as a new metro line between Sydney's CBD and Parramatta. Olympic Park and the Bays Precinct around Rozelle will be among up to 12 stations on the proposed line, which leaked government documents have estimated will cost up to $20 billion.
The T2, the second-busiest line which comprises airport, inner west and services to the south, rose by almost 14 per cent year-on-year. The T4 (Eastern Suburbs and Illawarra​) and the T3 (Bankstown) both recorded increases of about 10 per cent.
Geoffrey Clifton, a senior lecturer in transport management at Sydney University, said the figures showed that Sydney risked reaching a "gap in capacity" on its rail network sooner than forecast.
"There is absolutely the risk of overcrowding. We have already seen an increase in capacity and that is translating into more people using the service," he said.
Patronage on Sydney's train network has surged over the past year, placing greater urgency on plans for public transport such as a new metro line between Sydney's CBD and Parramatta. Photo: Dominic Lorrimer The state's Auditor-General recently warned that Sydney's trains will increasingly struggle to run on time unless "sustained and substantial investment" is made in the existing heavy rail network. Rail patronage growth has been outstripping both the government's forecasts and the rail system's capacity to cope.
Last week the government announced plans to add 300 train services a week on the two main rail lines between western parts of Sydney and the CBD – the T1 and the T2 – from November, when a new timetable for the network is rolled out.
The increase in passengers raises the likelihood of overcrowding during peak hours and the government plans to add 300 train services a week on the two main rail lines, the T1 and T2. Photo: Nick Moir "It is going to alleviate some of the overcrowding, but it will encourage even more people to use public transport – we certainly seem to be in a growth cycle," Dr Clifton said. "A lot of that extra capacity will be soaked up more quickly than expected."
While highlighting the pressures of a fast-growing population, Dr Clifton said the statistics showed that the public transport system was improving and giving people greater confidence to travel on it.
"The places people are moving into are well served by public transport such as Olympic Park, Strathfield and Burwood," he said.
Transport Minister Andrew Constance told a business gathering on Wednesday that the government expected a 21 per cent surge in patronage on Sydney's trains in the next three years.
"If you want to know what keeps me awake at night, [it is] dealing with that 100-year-old network, trying to get a metro train built and then at the same time spending $1.5 billion to get 24 brand new Waratah trains," he said..
Mr Constance said the proposed Sydney West Metro line from the CBD to Parramatta simply had to be built because extra trains would not be able to be put on the T1 and T2 lines by 2031.
"We are looking to try to deliver a train that will travel between Parramatta and the CBD in well under 20 minutes," he told a Committee for Economic Development of Australia luncheon.
Of the other 10 busiest lines on the network, trips on the Blue Mountains line rose by 16.9 per cent, the T5 Cumberland 17.8 per cent, the South Coast 15.1 per cent, the Southern Highlands 19.8 per cent and Central Coast-Newcastle 9.9 per cent.
The latest figures from Opal data give a better insight into passenger demand on Sydney's train lines than previous measures.
While regarded as relatively minor, the magnitude of the increase over the year might be slightly higher because the last paper-based tickets did not cease to be accepted until August 1 last year.
Under the government's timetable, the proposed metro line from the CBD to Parramatta will be built next decade and operational in the second half of the 2020s.
It will link to the $20 billion metro railway under construction. Its first stage, from Sydney's north-west to Chatswood, is due for completion in 2019.
The second stage will continue on to the CBD, Sydenham, and on the existing Bankstown line, and should open in 2023.
Related Articles:
Sydney trains at risk of running late in future: report .
Overcrowding on Sydney's trains worsens .
<www.smh.com.au/nsw/opal-figures-show-skyrocketing-passenger-demand-on-sydney-train-lines-20170811-gxubre.html>