The Spencer St end of the same street is the same problem
The  number of times i've seen a 86 tram go around from Bourke St towards Latrobe St to have to stop at the next set of lights for no reason.
Frustrating for the tram drivers (even worse for us on board who are late for work)
And on the same intersection the amount of yella terrors doing illegal U turns across the tram track  from the front of the station.
Love one of them to get T  boned.

freddo

________________________________
From: Richard YOUL tressteleg@...>
To:TramsDownUnder@...
Sent: Thursday, 5 January 2012 9:50 AM
Subject: Re: [TramsDownUnder] Re: Elizabeth St terminus

 

Traffic lights have a lot to answer for in delays to trams, but at least in the past (and maybe even to this day) in some places they were coordinated perfectly with trams thanks to the transponder on the latter.

In the late 80s and early 90s from time to time I worked Lygon St in the evening peak. 

The narrow northern section has a number of small cross streets with traffic lights where they cross Lygon St.

Many a time I would stop (northbound) to let passengers off and on, and the traffic light would remain green - until the tram started to move off, when of course it was legal to continue. This happened so many times with the same precise timing that it was obvious that there was a transponder loop set into the road at the tram stop (intersection) and provided the tram front stopped over it (not hard to do) it would hold the traffic light green for up to, I have been told, about 15 extra seconds, plenty of time for a W to load/unload. I can't remember if the same applied at other times of day (I usually worked 'Lates') or whether it applied southbound (peak counterflow) but a fairly unhindered trip north was the norm on this section of track..

Maybe somebody could advise the group if this facility still works, or whether it has quietly been turned off, or fallen into disuse and forgotten.

Such a procedure may not be so easy to initiate in the CBD, but certainly in Swanston St in those days, be it peak or off-peak (where the green cycle was shorter), the lights always went red just as the last passengers were boarding  ---  sigh!

Finally re Swanston St, that ridiculous red light always encountered at Little Bourke St heading south was never a problem until around the time Swanston St was closed to general traffic and the lights were re-timed. One could argue that with the slight traffic volume using that lane, no lights should be necessary at all.

Regards,  

On 04/01/2012, at 8:38 PM, Daniel Bowen wrote:

 
>On Wed, Jan 4, 2012 at 8:17 PM, rnveditor rodsmith@...> wrote:

>> Far side stops avoid double jeopardy.

>> Why stop near side, do the passenger business, and then miss a cycle?

>

>Yes, but it only works if traffic light priority is provided. Which it

>isn't, most of the time, at least in Melbourne.

>

>Daniel

>