-----Original Message-----
From: Roderick Smith [mailto:rodsmith@werple.net.au]
Sent: Wednesday, 21 February 2018 1:29 PM
To: 'transportdownunder@yahoogroups.com'
Subject: Daily Digest, Wed.21.2.18

Attached:

180220Tu 'SMH' - tram.

180221W 'Brisbane Times'
- buses.
- Victoria Bridge.

180221W Melbourne 'Age' - wheelchair.

Roderick

Metro Twitter, Tues.20.2.18
Australian Rail Maps‏ ABCTV "Think Tank" quiz contestant was marked incorrect when he answered 'Train' to the question 'In Melbourne, a W class is a type of what'? He was robbed!
- Justice has been done. He won the contest anyway!
- W class is a Tram.
- and a class of VR diesel-hydraulic shunting locomotives as pictured at Nth Melbourne in the original Tweet. We've used them on our work trains around the suburban area.
- True, but the majority of Melbournians identify a tram as W class, not many would know it's also a locomotive. Trick question at best.
- That is also true but given the wording of the question, the contestant's answer was still correct.

Melbourne Express, Wednesday, February 21, 2018.
6.39 Bus delays There are minor delays on routes 907 and 735.
6.37 Route 96 trams to St Kilda Beach are not servicing Stop 130 Middle Park Station.
The alert has been up since yesterday morning, so let me know if all is back to normal.
<www.theage.com.au/melbourne-news/melbourne-express-wednesday-february-21-2018-20180220-p4z11h.html>

Bus drivers forced to turn off airconditioning as Brisbane sweltered 20 February 2018.
Talking points
•Brisbane City Council's bus fleet started with just 11 buses in 1925.
•Brisbane City Council's bus fleet currently has more than 1200 buses.
•All of Brisbane's buses are airconditioned.
Bus drivers were ordered to turn off airconditioning between routes as the temperature soared in Brisbane at the weekend.
The State Government Transport Operations Regulation states that if the Bureau of Meteorology forecast maximum temperatures of at least 28 degrees, drivers must turn on the airconditioning in the buses.
Brisbane City Council buses at Virginia bus depot. Photo: Michelle Smith.
A Bureau of Meteorology spokesman confirmed that Brisbane's maximum temperature reached 31.5 degrees on Saturday and 32.5 degrees on Sunday, after forecasts of 31 degrees for Saturday and 33 degrees for Sunday.
The weekend heat prompted bus drivers to ignore signs at terminuses ordering them to switch off their engines after 30 seconds as they wanted to keep the airconditioning running.
But managers swooped and told them to cut their engines.
It was understood drivers typically spent up to 15 minutes at the open-air terminuses while waiting to start their routes.
Rail, Tram and Bus Union assistant state secretary Tom Brown said the issue had been going on since last October and had only been brought to light due to the recent extreme heat.
"The temperature in the bus goes through the roof after 10 or 15 minutes and then the airconditioners can’t draw the temperature back down to an optimum level," he said.
"So the bus is driving around for the next few hours with the airconditioner pushing warm air around and it's making drivers sick."
Brisbane City Council shadow transport spokesman Jared Cassidy called on Lord Mayor Graham Quirk to reverse the ban immediately, claiming it endangered workers and was a poorly conceived cost-cutting exercise.
Signs at Brisbane terminuses instruct drivers to switch off their engines after 30 seconds.
“Drivers’ health is being put at risk from bureaucratic penny-pinching,” he said.
“According to the council’s own website, on a 30-degree day, the temperature inside a car can be as high as 70 degrees.
“Everyone knows you don’t leave children or pets in cars on hot days. Lord Mayor Quirk is so far out of touch he seems to [think] he can over-rule state regulations and leave drivers to sit in hot buses during a heatwave.”
Cr Cassidy called on Cr Quirk to leave his airconditioned office and airconditioned car to go to the bus depots and ask drivers what it was like to sit in a non-airconditioned bus.
Council public and active transport chairman Adrian Schrinner said the opposition’s claims were ludicrous and the council would not reverse the ban.
“This is not a safety issue,” he said.
“Definitely it’s a comfort issue and I acknowledge that but it’s not a safety issue and there’s a big difference.
“Ultimately this is about ensuring that the buses aren’t causing a pollution issue out in the suburbs and that is a real concern, both noise and the emissions from the buses idling as well.”
Cr Schrinner said bus drivers were not forced to stay on the bus when they were idling and he encouraged drivers to get out of the bus and have a break.
“We’re not saying they must stay in a hot bus,” he said.
“We will be continuing the existing practice which provides the right balance between the drivers, the local residents and also minimising pollution as well.”
<www.brisbanetimes.com.au/national/queensland/bus-drivers-forced-to-turn-off-airconditioning-as-brisbane-sweltered-20180220-p4z0zd.html>
* I work on school bus routes and for the majority of the day the buses sit in the depot in the full sun. Windows and doo...
* They're natural gas powered no? Cleaner and greener the posters up the side and back of the buses used to say. Stop ...

Mangroves to make way for new Brisbane River mooring 20 February 2018. with tdu.
An old ferry terminal will be demolished and mangroves removed so residents can park their canoes, kayaks and jet skis on the Brisbane River.
<www.brisbanetimes.com.au/national/queensland/mangroves-to-make-way-for-new-brisbane-river-mooring-20180219-p4z0w3.html>

Queensland's energy sector records staggering $1.9b profit 20 February 2018... with tdu.
<www.brisbanetimes.com.au/politics/queensland/queensland-s-energy-sector-records-staggering-1-9b-profit-20180220-p4z10f.html>

February 20 2018 Longer trips for light rail passengers without green-light priority.
Trams on Sydney’s new $2.1 billion light rail line will need greater priority over motorists at traffic lights in the inner city if passengers are to avoid longer delays to their trips, an internal report shows.
The confidential report commissioned by Transport for NSW estimates passengers will spend between seven and nine minutes waiting on the 67-metre trams at red lights along the line between the CBD and the city's south-east during the morning and evening peaks.
The tram sets on Sydney's $2.1 billion light rail line will be 67 metres long. Photo: Supplied
"The traffic signal delay results indicate that the locations of highest delays are reasonably consistent for both the AM and PM peak periods with the majority of delays encountered by light rail occurring in the southern CBD and Surry Hills," the report said.
The time that trams spend waiting at intersections for red lights to change will be one of the major causes of delays to trips.
Photo: Fairfax Media
The report by GTA Consultants in late 2016 – obtained under Freedom of Information laws by a community group – identified intersections such as Devonshire and Crown streets in Surry Hills, Devonshire and Chalmers streets near Central Station, and Alison and Darley roads at Randwick as places where delays will occur.
It said the results highlighted the need for further refinements to signals along the rail line to reduce delays, and target intersections such as Devonshire-Chalmers streets.
Planning documents estimate end-to-end journeys between Circular Quay and the city's south-east will take 34 to 38 minutes, which Transport for NSW still considers "indicative".
The trip times will have implications for the number of passengers that can be carried each day along the line, and how many extra trams can be added over the coming years to meet growing demand from people travelling to and from destinations such as the University of NSW's campus at Kensington.
The time estimates in the report are based on the duration of red lights and do not take account of additional delays caused by trams reducing speed as they approach intersections.
Construction of the new 12-kilometre line from the CBD to Randwick and Kensington has been dogged by repeated delays and cost blowouts, and forced the closure or relocation of some small businesses along the route.
The consultants' report on the line estimated the longest signal delays – more than nine minutes – for trams travelling from Kingsford to the CBD during the morning and evening peaks. The delays at traffic lights to and from Randwick were about eight minutes.
Action for Public Transport secretary Jim Donovan said tram trips would be slower and less comfortable for passengers unless planning started now to ensure priority was granted to light rail.
"The new CBD and south-east light rail is being promoted as 'reliable' but it won't be reliable without signal priority, and it certainly won't be attractive compared to existing bus travel times," he said.
"Transport for NSW should announce what priority, if any, will apply to the new trams at traffic signals."
Transport for NSW said detailed designs for intersections, and plans for traffic signals and speed zones were still being finalised.
"We need to balance the needs of the new light rail with existing road users, and ongoing traffic modelling will ensure that we get that balance right, taking into consideration the current network demands," the lead transport agency said. "The report released is based on a model developed in 2013, as such it does not reflect the current network and traffic volume."
The slowest stretch for trams on the existing 12.8-km inner west light rail line is between Central Station and Darling Drive in the CBD's south because of the need to pass multiple sets of lights such as those at the intersection of George and Hay streets.
While offering faster trips for light rail passengers, prioritising trams at intersections would likely result in longer travel times for motorists passing through intersections.
The GTA Consultants' report said road traffic in the CBD ‘‘appears to operate satisfactorily’’ during the morning peak but the evening peak was the critical period ‘‘where managing congestion would be a greater challenge’’.
Problem areas during the evening peak are the intersections of Cleveland and Elizabeth streets, Eddy Avenue and Elizabeth and Foveaux streets.
<www.smh.com.au/nsw/longer-trips-for-light-rail-passengers-without-green-light-priority-20180219-p4z0uu.html>
* Well at least there's one thing constant about Andrew Constance. Constantly ridiculous.
* How is it Constance’s fault? The trams were a ridiculous idea from the beginning but that didn’t stop the SMH and most readers barracking for it, partly because trams seem to be fashionable and partly because they thwart cars. The proper solution was always an underground metro.
* Where you build a system which adds another layer of conflict to existing traffic you will increase delays. Matt is right about the fashion for trams simply because they are alternatives to cars - a romantic, nostalgic alternative, not a genuine engineering solution. The problem in the south eastern suburbs was already traffic congestion and the only way to remove it was, as Matt says, to push some of it underground into a proper metro system.
* Yes, his record is pretty poor but lets not forget he inherited the problems from Gladis.
This however is just a tweak and a be solved as suggested. The trams are a good idea and long overdue.
* The proper solution was an underground Metro, but this government was never going to deliver that.
So we ended up with another useless bit of infrastructure to go with WestConnex and the NW rail and the metro from Epping to Chatswood.
* No, let's get it right - the network being deployed is a ridiculous idea as every new piece of information that arises just reinforces.
Trams on an appropriately designed network are an awesome public transport solution.
This network is neither awesome nor a solution...
Can't wait to see the chaos it causes when they give the trams traffic light priority & the already terminally congested traffic gets even worse.
* A light rail network without priority at lights, is just another example of planning as it goes from this government. A metro would have been the obvious; and they had an opportunity to run the current metro to the eastern Suburbs, instead of wasting billions pushing it onto an existing line.
If motorists think they deserve priority over light rail, let them sit there while a 67 metre long tram blocks an intersection waiting in traffic.
* Sweet justice for all the SMH readers who saw trams in a favorable light. So glad I don't work in the city.
* Constance may have to apply the same logic to the tram as he is using on the privatised buses which is "removing stops for your convenience".
* If only there was a way to errect pylons and put a rail on top to raise trains from street level and isolate trains from traffic.
Oh that's right the Simpson's proved it couldn't be done.
* Maybe you wouldn't even need multiple rails, but you could do it with just a mono rail?
* Yes, we had a monorail but the liberals tore it down.
* This leak is good. Ratchet up the pressure on RMS to concede and allow the light rail to have priority
* Don't forget the inner west trams in Hay Street. They could do with some traffic light priority. It's scandalous that they take 6 minutes to travel 800 metres.
* RMS Rule No 1: A tram carrying 300-400 people should never be given priority over cars with one person each in them. If trams become efficient, more people might use them. And they won't have enough trams to carry all these extra people.
* Clover Moore has pretty much removed cars from CBD streets these days, so any red lights will only be stopping buses and taxis and pollies government chauffeured limo's
* Every time I hear a critic tell me that trams will make it harder to drive into the city, I respond "exactly".
* What a surprise.....not.
But then when it comes to public transport options this government prefers choices that serve other interests.
First they vandalise the planned Chatswood to Parramatta rail line by converting the Chatswood to Epping section to part of the North West metro they plan to sell off. Ruining for ever the chance of a direct route from the Western Suburbs to the lower north shore without going via the CBD.
Now they vandalise south eastern bus services when what was required was an underground line from central past UNSW down to Malabar - and perhaps on to Cronulla. The Central end could then be extended to Parramatta and beyond...
Bad options to please the #SardineSydney plans and bottom lines of Big Business and Finance are the only things this government are interested in.
* No - the previous government vandalized the North Shore line by stealing services to put on their half-completed Chatswood to Epping rail link. The current government is fixing their debacle by converting it to a proper, 21st century metro and extending the line to the North West.
Metro will work and so will the Light Rail
* "No - the previous government vandalized the North Shore line by stealing services to put on their half-completed Chatswood to Epping rail link".
The great JJC Bradfield envisioned a line from St.Leonards to Epping to take pressure off the main western line at Strathfield back in the 1920s.
The LNP made sure that the E-C didn't reach its destination at Parramatta for nothing more than petty political point scoring. Same as they scrapped the Maldon-Dombarton link.
The only services being stolen are the T3 services being converted into an 1880s profile tube train.
* Or the Government could grow a backbone and properly prioritise the high capacity vehicles over low capacity ones and optimise intersections for people per hour instead of vehicles per hour.
They seem fixated on moving vehicles per hour not people per hour which favours single occupant vehicles over buses (and trams).
A saving of 8 minutes end to end means being able to run an EXTRA service for the same number of vehicles and operating staff.
* The NRMA told the govt in their submission the CBD Light Rail would gridlock the entire city... pays to listen.
* Seriously? Could the gridlock in the City be worse once hundreds of buses are removed from the traffic by being substituted by fewer light rail vehicles? Does not seem likely at all.
* it certainly won't remove "hundreds" of buses from the CBD, because a light rail vehicle doesn't take the place of 100 buses.
* And the NRMA's solution is more cars to alleviate the gridlock?
* Anyone able to sit in their car and count as 69 metres of tram crawls past them and anyone who can see the buses flying along Anzac Pde in their dedicated lane - and a special report is needed to work this out?? Good on those you sought FOA to bring this to light.
* The tram is just too darn long. Its one of the longest trams in the world...
2 billion... how many electric buses could u get for 2 billion?
* Its going to move even slower through george street seeing how many people will walk in front of it on their phones
* 67 metre trams require far fewer drivers than a fleet of electric buses. This government is all about reducing jobs, remember.
* The decision to put the electric supply underground in the CBD and overhead for the rest of the route is the strangest design flaw. Changing from underground to overhead at central station must have cost a fortune in having to order special trams and excavate huge amounts in the CBD. The poles installed in George Street were supposed to be multi purpose so there was no reason not to use them.
* The changeover is at Town Hall, near the QVB. There is a turnback point near the theatre district for trams that don't have the induction system.
* I believe street level Trams will prove to be a disaster for Sydney traffic. If they were going to force these things down our throats they should have been elevated so they cause the minimum of disruption vehicular traffic...
I'd also wager the modular component nature of an elevated metro would mean much of the system could have been manufactured off site, would have been easier and quicker to construct & probably saved much disruption and small business bankruptcies.
* Headline News! Tram Stops At Red Light! Goodness me. This could be the end of civilisation as we know it. Is there nothing else happening on the planet today?
* Lets go to the video. When this first was muted I said do the maths and how are you ever going to clear an intersection allow any sought of flow given the length of these trams and there frequency.At the time I was accused of being some kind of Luddite and to get with the times. .Look at all the other modern cities of the world was the catch phrase,I was told that the Olympics would put us on the map also, as a doubter re costings ,so I am used to it.Trams were taken out of the city in the fifties because of the congestion they created in our narrow arteries.Now! point two,look at the contracts and who benefits most and where are the signatories now. Forget that, as I said many moons ago look at who owned cab plates around this state when our transportation governors opened ownership to investors in the eighties and no one listened.
* You can't blame Mr Constance. He only ever travels by one mode of transport. A tax payer funded hire car.
* Exactly. How can politicians possibly make cogent and considerate decisions for the benefit of everyday commuters when they're constantly being chauffeured around in limousines
* Already occurs where the light rail is near Central/Haymarket. The big farce is that the special event buses from the SCG / Footy stadium now take 10 minutes longer to get to central because of all the diversions and drop you off further away than before.

Lachlan takes on Metro over cyclists who don't know the door policy 20 February 2018.
Lachlan Jones says Metro has discriminated against him by not ensuring the only wheelchair-accessible part of the train is free from cyclists. Photo: Jason South
Lachlan Jones relies on Melbourne’s trains daily, from travelling to work as a Big Issue vendor to visiting friends and family.
But Mr Jones, 40, a former Paralympian who is legally blind and uses a wheelchair, has become frustrated with competing for space with cyclists in the only area of the train he can access: through the first door of the first carriage.
Transport regulations make it an offence for cyclists to board trains through this door, or have their bikes inside the carriage near it. Unfortunately, according to Mr Jones, many cyclists don’t appear aware of the rules.
Mr Jones has lodged a complaint with the Victorian Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission to force Metro Trains to improve its signage and alert bike riders to this regulation.
Metro Trains have discriminated against him because they haven’t complied with their own regulations and made sure cyclists are prevented from using the space, his complaint alleges.
And because Metro have failed to enforce this rule, they have left Mr Jones, who also has a cognitive disability, to deal with stressful social interactions which he does not have the capacity to manage, it says.
‘‘I have argued it be should be policed by ticket inspectors,’’ says Mr Jones.
‘‘They do come through from time to time but I have never seen anyone say anything when there has been a bike present.’’
When Mr Jones uses his manual wheelchair, often with a small trailer attached to carry personal items he cannot hold, he has to wait at the first door of the first carriage for the driver to lay a ramp on the ground so he can get onto the train.
If there are cyclists inside the train, he only has a tiny window of time to voice his concern, and he often finds it difficult to see.
‘‘The train is full of passengers who want to get underway,’’ says his lawyer Naomi Anderson, from Villamanta Disability Rights Legal Service.
"The driver is already irritated by having to get out and manage the ramp. Everybody wants to go. Nobody wants to talk about the decals [signs] or the regulations, or that this shouldn’t be happening."
With his limited eyesight, his impaired capacity to problem solve, his physical inability to manoeuvre significantly, and his reliance on public transport, Mr Jones is forced into a situation he cannot control, Ms Anderson says.
Other passengers sometimes get irritated when they want to get off the train and they can’t get past Mr Jones, accidentally bumping him, she says. To disembark the carriage, Mr Jones requires space to turn but this is impossible when he is parked next to a bike.
‘‘Knowing that they [a person using a wheelchair] could have this issue every time they board a train it is a major discouragement to using public transport,’’ said Ms Anderson.
When Mr Jones complained to Metro he was given a contact telephone number to call and speak to customer relations, which Ms Anderson describes as an ‘‘unworkable’’ solution.
Metro spokesperson Marcus Williams said it was ‘‘absolutely committed’’ to providing an accessible service for everyone.
‘‘We understand it is frustrating for passengers when people with bikes board at the first door, and we remind people that this is an offence,’’ Mr Williams said.
Metro’s ‘‘accessibility plan’’ states that signs have been applied to platforms to tell passengers that no bicycles are allowed at the first door of the first carriage.
Metro says these signs were put on every platform in 2015 and are replaced or installed on an ongoing basis as required. Because of platform upgrades or wear-and-tear, at any time there will be a small number of platforms where they need to be replaced.
In 2008, an outcry from cyclists forced the state government to backflip on controversial plans to ban bikes on trains during rush hour, just six weeks after it was introduced.
Mr Jones’ matter was lodged last August and went to conciliation in mid-January, where Metro said it would provide a proposal for further action to him. It has so far failed to do so.
Anthea Hargreaves, a spokeswoman for Bicycle Network, said people who ride bikes are usually respectful when it comes to using trains and avoiding the first carriage.
‘‘It’s important bike riders are aware that the first carriage is a priority for mobility impaired passengers,’’ she said.
<www.theage.com.au/national/victoria/lachlan-takes-on-metro-over-cyclists-who-don-t-know-the-door-policy-20180219-p4z0vn.html>
* One bike takes the space of four people. 100 years ago, Tait trains were fitted with ceiling hooks so that bikes could travel vertically (just like today's parkiteer cages). Making such a provision today would reduce the extravagant use of space. However, the overhyped new trains don't do so: even more bikes replacing even more people.
* It's all very predictable. Put the word cyclists in the title to an article and suddenly it becomes an opportunity to bash all cyclists. They don't care, the ride too fast, they run red lights blah blah blah. Yes, its true a tiny minority do that but the vast majority don't ..... and as car drivers you never speed or run a red light?
The truth of the matter is the more cyclists there are the less congested our roads and cities become.
* As a cyclist I ride my bike rathe than take the train, why are bikes on trains, anyway?
* Cyclists can be oblivious to the problems they cause. Often the cyclist will be sitting well inside the carriage leaving passengers to manoeuvre around their bike, often with difficulty, and Care little of the impact they have.
* Why would cyclists abide by this rule? Why is it any different to the red lights and stop signs that they routinely ignore because somehow the law doesn't apply to them?
* Every day I see dridrivedriving through red lights and blocking intersections, evev blocking trams at Swanston and Flinders. No respect because road rules don't apply.
* bikes have no place on crowded peak hour trains. They are simply not designed to accommodate the bulk and clumsiness of your average pushy. While I salute those cyclists who politely keep their bike away from the doors, and move them across the carriage when the station platform is on the other side, they are in the minority. Too many cyclists leave their bikes blocking the doors then disappear into "musicland" with their headphones on. Either reinstate the peak hour ban, or put on one carriage per train with 80% of the seats ripped out so there is room for bikes.
* As a cyclist I never use the front door of trains but I routinely get dirty looks from follow passengers for the inconvenience of them having to walk around my bike or the fact that my bike takes too much room .... because there are no designated areas for bikes on trains!!
Lachlan's rights override all others and as others have pointed out its not just cyclists taking this designed space for passengers in wheel chairs.
* On a crowded commuter train a bike takes up the space of at least 3 people. Sheer selfishness. Bikes should not be allowed in passenger carriages- a family with bikes on a weekend train is as much of a disadvantage to the rest of the travelling public
* Agreed - taking a bike on a train in peak hour is the definition of selfishness.
* Dear Fellow Cyclists, A bit of respect & commonsense makes the whole world a better place. Let's not use the first carriage it really isn't rocket science.
* Drivers already are doing a big task of driving the train. There should be conductors on trains to lay and pickup ramps, prevent cyclists from taking the first door of first carriage. Prevent overcrowding. This should happen at least during peak hour.
* It always astounds me the lack of consideration for people with disabilities and many commuters unwillingness to comply despite the signs. It isn't just cyclists. That priority space is well signed on the side of the train, on the platform and in the train. It should be enforced but ticket inspectors never question people who are not accommodating for those listed as needing the priority seats or space. I think the same priority should also be applied to the lifts at stations, I often watch as seemingly able bodied people fill the lift and people with disabilities are left to catch the next one. It seems to be a pervasive attitude where some people see convenience for them as more important than access for others.
* Good luck to him - I hope raising this sees a more pleasant commute for those with access difficulties.

Shared space for pedestrians and cyclists 'narrow' on Victoria Bridge 21 February 2018.
Both Brisbane City Council and the Queensland government face the problem of narrow shared space for pedestrians and cyclists on the Victoria Bridge for the Brisbane Metro superbus project.
More detailed studies since the project’s May 2017 business case suggest the upstream side may not be wide enough, sources suggest.
Proposed changes to Brisbane's Victoria Bridge showing it is planned to become a green bridge. Photo: Supplied.
State Opposition Leader Deb Frecklington said the answer to the problem was not to cancel the Neville Bonner Bridge, as her party colleague Adrian Schrinner argued, from the retail floor of the hotel and casino development across to South Bank.
“The answer is not scrapping the Neville Bonner Bridge,” Ms Frecklington said.
“The LNP fought hard for the bridge to be included in the design.”
Ms Frecklington said better communication between the state government and the council should solve the problem identified by both parties in December...
“Brisbane City Council and the state government should work together to develop better connectivity for cyclists across the Brisbane River.”
The council wants to change the configuration of the four-lane Victoria Bridge to become a green bridge.
The Brisbane Metro “superbus” and most of the council’s existing bus fleet, other than the high-frequency West End to New Farm services, would use would use the middle two lanes.
“The configuration of Victoria Bridge will be adjusted, with Brisbane Metro and bus services using the centre two lanes, and other bus services connecting to West End using the outside lanes,” the May 2017 business case shows on page 19.
“The existing shared path for cyclists and pedestrians will be maintained on the upstream side, while the downstream side will be widened to provide additional cross-river pedestrian capacity.”
In December 2017, Transport Minister Mark Bailey floated the idea of an elevated cycleway in a ministerial media statement “as a possible solution if the Victoria Bridge became a green bridge and cycle lanes on the bridge were inadequate” as cyclists questioned the proposed Neville Bonner Bridge.
Cr Schrinner, the deputy mayor, suggested the $70m million Neville Bonner Bridge across to South Bank be cancelled and Destination Brisbane Consortium’s money be used for options to improve the Victoria Bridge after cyclists questioned why they could not use it.
Comment was sought from Transport Minister Mark Bailey, State Development Minister Cameron Dick and Tourism Industry Development Minister Kate Jones, who collectively manage the projects, about the options now being discussed...
Instead, Acting Premier Jackie Trad confirmed the government was trying to enhance cycling options, but warned the council from continually asking for funding.
“We are happy to sit down and talk to them but quite frankly the local council should be delivering their own local infrastructure without coming to the state government all the time asking for money,” she said.
“We are looking at a whole range of cycling enhancements for the people in Brisbane."
Ms Trad said the issue was not linked to the Neville Bonner Bridge alone.
“It is not just the (Neville Bonner) bridge, it’s the Victoria Bridge, it’s the Goodwill Bridge; it’s the Kurilpa bridge, they are both great cyclists bridges,” she said.
“We know we need to do more for cycling infrastructure and we are.”
The council on Tuesday asked the government to think of alternatives to spending Destination Brisbane Consortium’s $70 million on the proposed Neville Bonner Bridge.
Ms Trad said she believed the council wanted to spend the money on a ferry terminal at Victoria Street at West End.
“And for Council to attach the construction of this ferry terminal to the Neville Bonner Bridge I think is a little bit mischievous at this point in time,” she said.
That suggestion has not been raised by Cr Schrinner.
<www.brisbanetimes.com.au/national/queensland/shared-space-for-pedestrians-and-cyclists-narrow-on-victoria-bridge-20180220-p4z11f.html>