Wouldn't it be easier to raise the tram platforms than lower the tracks?
And good luck with those cyclists. It would be better to have the "shared zone" principle, where pedestrians have priority than a cycleway.
Tony P
--- InTramsDownUnder@..., "Russell Redfern" <mmtb817@...> wrote:
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> http://www.theage.com.au/victoria/cars-out-in-latest-swanston-street-revamp-20110427-1dwz1.html
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> CARS are set to disappear from Swanston Street - for good.
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> After decades of debate, confusing changes and shambolic decision-making, Melbourne City Council has settled on the details of a car-free thoroughfare for the city and will start construction next month.
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> Lord mayor Robert Doyle - who 2½ years ago promised to return private vehicles to Swanston Street - will affirm his change of heart by overseeing an overhaul that will give the entire street over to pedestrians, cyclists and trams.
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> Safety authorities have given the plan final approval and work will begin on the $7.8 million first stage in front of the State Library on May 20.
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> When completed next year, the $25.6 million redesign will include four new expanded tram stops. The tracks will be lowered to improve access to low-floor trams, and footpaths extended to meet the trams.
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> Cyclists will have a dedicated lane between the footpath and trams. Private cars, taxis and delivery vans will be phased out.
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> The street's makeover had been delayed amid concerns cyclists could be at risk of colliding with commuters stepping on and off trams. Transport Safety Victoria says it is now happy for work to commence on the final design.
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> ''The City of Melbourne and Yarra Trams have reviewed the design proposals around the upgraded tram stop at the intersection of Swanston and La Trobe Streets,'' the agency said in a statement.
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> The start of work on the new Swanston Street will coincide with Cr Doyle's 58th birthday. He would not say if fixing the street would be the centrepiece of a re-election campaign next year. ''I haven't decided about that. Ask me about it again in one year,'' he said.
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> He said he had no regrets over his about-turn. ''I ran [for election] on opening Swanston Street up to traffic, but realistically, the people on the council who know about what makes a great street convinced me to go the other way,'' he said.
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> The makeover includes a powerful lighting system described by Cr Doyle as ''a world first'' that will improve safety. ''The colour of it and feel of it is much more like sunlight than artificial light,'' he said.
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> He said the pedestrian-friendly design would ''make Swanston Street the street we should be proud of as our civic street''.
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> Cr Doyle said the confusing state of the street had dogged Melbourne since 1992 when it was first closed for use as a new city mall - only to be reopened to private traffic between 7pm and 7am in 1999. ''It's neither one thing or the other, it is not open to traffic or closed to traffic, it is not for pedestrians or cars,'' he said.
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> ''When we closed it back in 1992, there were about 12,500 people who came up and down Swanston Street every day, today its around 60,000
I hope when completed we will be over 100,000 using it, making it one of the great boulevards of the world, a place that is vibrant,'' he said.
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> Cyclist numbers have more than doubled along the street since the 1990s and tram use has also increased.
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> Private motor vehicles will be banned progressively, starting with the stretch between La Trobe Street and Little Lonsdale Street when works commence there next month.
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> Cyclists will continue to have access during the works.
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> (Now to take the sleaze out of Swanston Street and give it back to trams and tram enthusiasts. There is too much riff raff and low life around Swanston Street in 2011. Hopefully Robert Doyle will have Swanston Street returned to the good, decent people of Melbourne).
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> MMTB817
>