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Roderick

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folio: https://definition.org/items-only-baby-boomers-remember [USA culture]

Sat.30.1.21 Metro Twitter
Buses replace trains Westall - Pakenham/Cranbourne from 20.30 until the last train of Sun 31 Jan (level-crossing works).
Buses replace trains Elsternwick - Sandringham from 18.20 until the last train of Sun 31 Jan (works).
18.44 & 19.18 Belgrave line: Buses to replace trains Ringwood - Upper Ferntree Gully (a person hit by a train). Buses have been ordered, but may take over 60 minutes arrive.  Consider alternatives.
- 18.54 For alternatives, see http://ptv.vic.gov.au
- 19.10 Anticipate buses to replace trains until at least 21.00.
- 19.34 Three buses are in operation, adding 30 min to journey time.
- 20.02, 20.42 & 21.02 Replacement buses are departing every 20 min.
- 20.37  Four buses are in operation
- 21.05 Trains have resumed.

Experts divided on retractable bollards after Bourke Street incident. Simone Fox Koob January 29, 2021
A review of security measures in Melbourne’s CBD will examine whether more should be done to stop vehicles accessing Bourke Street Mall, with transport and security experts divided on whether retractable bollards could be a viable solution.
The review was announced by police on Friday after pedestrians were forced to flee the busy shopping strip on Thursday evening when a car sped erratically through the Mall, hitting a bollard before it fled the city. No one was injured.
Pedestrians fled as a car drove erratically down Bourke Street Mall on Thursday evening.
The car was later found in Albert Park and detectives were continuing to hunt two Caucasian males, aged in their teens or early 20s, who were in the green Mitsubishi Lancer, on Friday.
Assistant Commissioner Luke Cornelius said the bollards in the Mall, a busy tram thoroughfare that is home to some of the city’s biggest retailers, had “performed exactly in the way they were intended to” during the incident.
“The bollards prevented the driver of that vehicle from being able to access those locations where, of course, pedestrians were. And it also prevented the vehicle from being able to use that as a potential pathway for them getting out the other end of the Mall, which was clearly their intention,” he said.
“Based on our assessment of what we saw yesterday, and how those bollards shaped the thinking of the driver in terms of what he was trying to do, we are actually pretty happy with how those bollards came into play.”
Assistant Commissioner Luke Cornelius at a press conference on Friday. CREDIT:EDDIE JIM
The state government and the City of Melbourne launched a $52.5 million security upgrade of the CBD after James Gargasoulas’ deadly January 2017 rampage, in which he hit and killed six people and injured 27 while speeding down Swanston and Bourke streets.
The upgrade included the installation of hundreds of steel bollards, reinforced barriers and gates in high-profile pedestrian sites, including Bourke Street Mall.
On Friday, Assistant Commissioner Cornelius said a formal review of the security measures would be conducted by police, including whether more needed to be done to stop vehicles from entering and travelling on the tram tracks.
“We’ve worked very closely in partnership with City of Melbourne and other agencies around assessing and identifying the very best physical security features that we can put in place around the city,” he said.
video Victorian police hunting dangerous driver Victorian police are searching for a driver and passenger who went on a rampage through Bourke Street Mall, forcing pedestrians to run for their lives.
“We’ll take the opportunity as a result of this incident to go back and again, assess ... those security arrangements ...
“But you know, there’s a balance that has to be struck here. Because of course, the trams going up and down Bourke Street Mall, that’s a very critical part of our public transport infrastructure.”
Public Transport Users Association spokesman Daniel Bowen said now was the time to look at whether retractable bollards, which had been used successfully overseas, could be installed on Bourke Street.
“There are a number of cities where trams or buses are able to get through automated bollards while waiting at the stop. The bollard will go down and then let them through and rise again,” he said.
“In Cardiff, for example, they appear to be very smooth. As the buses arrive, bollards would drop down and rise again. I think that sort of solution, if it’s been done there and elsewhere, technically it should be possible. You would hope authorities look at that and work through the issues.”
However, Associate Professor Douglas Tomkin, an expert in hostile vehicle mitigation from the University of Technology Sydney’s Designing Out Crime Centre, said the bollards were problematic and “prone to error”.
“There are certainly ways in which you can have retractable devices that a tram could activate when you get near but they are difficult to install, subject to weather and all sorts of other problems. And if they jam, you have a real problem,” he said.
“I have heard so many cases of them getting damaged by water or stuff gets into them or they have mechanical issues, and they are awfully expensive to install.”
The car hit a bollard on Bourke Street Mall on Thursday evening. CREDIT:WAYNE TAYLOR
Professor Tomkin said there were other strategies that could be used to help deter vehicles from entering the tram tracks.
“I think there are various ways to discourage traffic from getting to those areas in the first place.”
Security consultant Luke Percy-Dove, the chief executive of Matryx Consulting and an expert in areas of physical security design and counter-terrorism, said retractable bollards were “very expensive” and were not a foolproof solution to stopping hostile vehicles entering the area.
“They need to be installed into the ground, and they need to go down as deep as the bollard retracts. It’s quite a big hole to put them into. This makes it difficult because of the services in the ground already - water, electrical, gas, whatever it may be,” he said.
At Southern Cross Station, a temporary safety bollard is treated to some guerilla art.CREDIT:HANNAH FRANCIS
He said from his perspective, the Mall is “really well protected now”.
“I was in there last week and noticed very few weak spots in terms of getting onto the footpath as happened a few years ago,” he said.
“Logistically retractable bollards would be incredibly difficult to manage and overall the city council does a good job in target hardening that precinct.”
He also noted that “if people are intent on causing harm to others, they will find a way”.
A government spokesperson said the state had invested more than $52 million in a range of security measures throughout the Melbourne CBD and these played a crucial role keeping pedestrians safe during the incident that occurred in Bourke Street Mall on Thursday.
“All our security measures have been designed in consultation with Victoria Police, security experts, transport professionals and architects to ensure that the protections are well-designed, practical and safe,” the spokesperson said.
“As part of these upgrades, six sites are fully complete, with construction on the remaining three sites expected to be completed in the coming months.”
<www.theage.com.au/national/victoria/experts-divided-on-retractable-bollards-after-bourke-street-incident-20210129-p56xun.html>

Coronavirus: Quarantine-free travel to WA as Aussie vaccine ‘still on track’. Sue Dunlevy, Stephen Drill, Finn McHugh, Zoe Smith and Gerard Cockburn January 30, 2021 News Corp Australia Network 571 comments [with ATN]
<www.heraldsun.com.au/coronavirus/coronavirus-uk-strain-found-in-australian-open-cases/news-story/08afa61d065f33bbc8b1ccee0866d06b>

Sat.30.1.21 daily digest.  Fortress Melbourne.  Experts call for safety overhaul. JOHN MASANAUSKAS & ANEEKA SIMONIS
A car hurtles down Bourke Street Mall on Thursday as pedestrians run for cover.
BOURKE Street Mall security will be reviewed and bollard upgrades considered after a manic driver sped down the shopping strip, forcing pedestrians to run for their lives.
As the driver and his passenger remained on the run Friday night, calls were made to install tram-controlled retractable bollards at the mall entrances to stop cars entering.
The idea was first probed but not taken up following the January 2017 Bourke Street rampage in which six people were killed and 27 seriously injured.
Instead, concrete bollards were installed along the walkways to protect pedestrians but still allow tram access.
On Thursday, police were initially concerned the driver of the green Mitsubishi Lancer was planning a “hostile vehicle attack”. However the car did not drive at pedestrians and responding police quickly formed the view it was trying to evade capture.
Assistant Commissioner Luke Cornelius urged the “fleeing felons” to hand themselves in and that it was only a matter of time before they were caught. “We are confident the bollards provided effective mitigation and prevented further harm to pedestrians being exposed to outrageous driver behaviour,” he said.
A police review will be conducted into the incident and will examine whether further measures are needed to improve bollards or other security measures around the Bourke Street Mall and CBD areas.
But pressure is growing on police and council authorities to act soon to better protect the public.
Lord Mayor Sally Capp said the installed bollards worked well during Thursday’s drama.
However, Ms Capp said the council and Victoria Police would review the incident and consider any security upgrades if warranted.
RMIT urban planning expert Michael Buxton said he was surprised that retractable bollards had not been installed after the last review.
“We need to give more thought to making susceptible locations more safe because clearly they’re not safe enough at the moment,” he said.
Prof Buxton said the bollards could be controlled by tram drivers, but the logistics would have to be carefully worked out to ensure safety and efficiency.
Monash University Accident Research Centre senior research fellow Dr David Logan said retractable bollards would work, but other measures to control vehicles in the mall should also be considered.
“You could (have bollards everywhere) but the place starts looking like a war zone,” he said.
A government spokesman said the Andrews government had invested more than $52m on security measures in Melbourne CBD, saying these had “played a crucial role keeping pedestrians safe” during Thursday's incident.