Fw: Sun.26.9.21 daily digest
  Roderick Smith

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Subject: Sun.26.9.21 daily digest


Roderick


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Sun.26.9.21 Metro Twitter
Aircraft: No ramp access to platforms until late 2021 (pedestrian-underpass works).
Flinders St: still with a lane closed for tunnel works.
Mooroolbark: Station closed until late 2021 (level-crossing removal). A shuttle bus will operate Croydon - Mooroolbark - Lilydale, connecting with trains. There will be no access to station platforms or facilities during this time.
Edithvale/Chelsea/Bonbeach: Stations closed until late 2021 (level-crossing removal). A shuttle bus will operate Mordialloc - Carrum, connecting with trains. There will be no access to station platforms or facilities during this time.
The level crossings at Argyle Avenue, Bondi Road and Edithvale Road are closed until early-October.  Chelsea Road is closed permanently. See http://levelcrossings.vic.gov.au/projects/chelsea-road-chelsea
Buses replace trains on sections of the Frankston/Stony Point lines until the last train of Sun 31 Oct (level-crossing works).
Buses replace trains between Newport and Williamstown until the last train of Friday 12 November (level-crossing removal).
Maroondah Highway, Lilydale closed in both directions at the train line for one month, as level-crossing work ramps up on Friday night. John Street will also be closed at this time. See http://levelcrossings.vic.gov.au/disruptions/maroondah-highway-and-john-street-lilydale-road-closure. ; Buses will replace trains for 6 weeks.
Buses replace trains Ringwood - Lilydale until the last train of Sun 24 Oct (level-crossing works).  Opening the new Mooroolbark and Lilydale stations on Monday 25 October
Night Network remains paused this weekend to support the 9pm to 5am curfew. The only reasons to leave home during these hours are for authorised work and urgent medical care or caregiving. Outside of these reasons, you must stay at home.
Pakenham/Cranbourne lines: All trains will terminate/originate at Caulfield until 20.00 Sun 26 Sep (works).
11.14  Buses replace trains between Belgrave and Upper Ferntree Gully (track-equipment faults). Replacement buses have been ordered, but will take over 45 minutes to arrive. Consider local bus route 693.
- 12.01 Buses continue to replace trains.
- 16.10 trains resume.
14.33 Delays of up to 30 minutes (police at Werribee). Trains may terminate/originate at Laverton.
- 14.41  Buses replace trains between Werribee and Laverton.  Buses have been ordered, but will take over 45 minutes to arrive
- 15.03 Buses are expected within 25 minutes).
- 15.15 expected within 15 minutes
- 15.42 Trains have resumed, with delays up to 10 minutes.
16.38  Pakenham/Cranbourne lines: Major delays (police near Carnegie). Consider bus route 900 for local trips Caulfield - Oakleigh.
- 16.41 Again? Did you copy and paste last night’s tweet?
- 17.20 Trains resume Caulfield - Oakleigh, with major delays First trains: 16.26 Pakenham - Caulfield; 17.27 Caulfield - Pakenham.
Buses replace trains Clifton Hill - Mernda from 20.10 until the last train (maintenance works).


‘Fancy bus stop’: $100m transport interchange in Sydney’s north derided. Matt O'Sullivan September 26, 2021
The state government’s plans for a $100 million transport interchange at fast-growing Macquarie Park have been labelled as little more than a fancy bus stop, and a missed opportunity to rejuvenate an area dominated by cars.
Ryde Council is irate that two designs it proposed for the interchange and precinct upgrade have been discarded by Transport for NSW, which is pressing ahead with its plans for the area in Sydney’s north.
Transport for NSW’s concept plan for the bus interchange at Macquarie Park.CREDIT:TRANSPORT FOR NSW
The council wanted the project to incorporate major improvements to the centre of Macquarie Park, including a public plaza where Herring Road meets Waterloo Road. It would have enabled a traffic-free pedestrian link between train station entrances on opposite sides of Herring Road.
Despite its protests, the council said it had been notified by Transport for NSW that the agency was pursuing plans that exclude a pedestrian plaza and would result in the installation of bus-only lanes on Herring Road.
Ryde mayor Jerome Laxale said the transport agency’s plans were “completely inadequate” for an area set to become the country’s fourth-largest CBD by the end of the decade.
“This is no bus interchange – it is just a fancy bus stop,” he said. “[It] is the only major CBD that does not have a public plaza that provides pedestrian access to key public transport routes and a place for the community.”.
An artist’s impression of Ryde Council’s concept plans for the interchange and public plaza at Macquarie Park.CREDIT:RYDE COUNCIL
The project was unveiled during a federal byelection for the seat of Bennelong in late 2017, with the Commonwealth committing $80 million and the state government $20 million. Early design work included deciding whether part of the interchange should be built underground.
Cr Laxale said the two governments’ promise had been a once-in-a-generation opportunity to build a public square in the centre of Macquarie Park.
Transport for NSW said the project would still deliver a significant boost to public space along both sides of Herring Road to allow for cafes, restaurants and “more lively streets”, while “future-proofing” an important transport hub for decades.
The agency said the preferred design struck the “right balance” between the “best possible outcomes” for the area whilst ensuring any impacts from the interchange were minimised.
“Alternative proposals to deliver additional plaza space were investigated, but would have increased congestion and limited access by both bus and private vehicles,” it said.
Two of the council’s designs were reviewed but neither of them delivered a “transport outcome” that would accommodate Macquarie Park’s future growth, Transport for NSW said.
The agency’s preferred design comprises footpaths widened by three metres on both sides of the interchange on Herring Road. A new roundabout will be built at the intersection of Herring and Innovation roads, and an access ramp from Herring Road to the Macquarie Centre shopping precinct widened.
The idea of a partial underground bus interchange was ditched due to spatial constraints and concerns it would not provide for projected residential and commercial growth at Macquarie Park.
Construction of the interchange is due to start late next year and be completed by the end of 2024.
A Macquarie Park business group said a genuine balance between vehicles and amenity was needed on Herring Road, which linked Macquarie University to shops and other businesses.
“Thousands of people use it every day. Places for people are as important as throughput of vehicles in successful cities,” Connect Macquarie Park Innovation District general manager Mark Ames said.
RELATED ARTICLE An artist’s impression of the NSW government’s draft blueprint for developing Macquarie Park over the next two decades. 7600 new homes earmarked for Sydney’s Macquarie Park
RELATED ARTICLE Construction taking place in Macquarie Park, a precinct that has gone through significant rezoning. Government refuses affordable housing plan that's 'ahead of its time'
<www.smh.com.au/national/nsw/fancy-bus-stop-100m-transport-interchange-in-sydney-s-north-derided-20210922-p58tx8.html>
* Sydney doesnt do urban design....ir designs for property development and cars.
* What is it with artists. I've never seen a single place that ends up looking like their impression.
* The state government recently sought feedback on Macquarie Park development. I provided feedback focused on pedestrians, commuters and cyclists rather than its "roads design."
Herring road is currently being relaid. It will soon join most other intersections along Èpping Road where pedestrian crossings require several unco-ordinated lights to make a single crossing usually taking two complete changes of traffic signals. This is due to isolated pedestrian islands allowing turning traffic right of way.
Pedestrian lights require the button to be pressed otherwise they do not activate. When the green walk lights activate they almost immediately change to flash red. There are no numeric timers installed as a visual aid for pedestrian safety.
One doesn't reduce road traffic by discouraging pedestrian traffic. Macquarie Park is serviced by Metro and buses from as far afield as Blacktown, Hurstville and the northern beaches. Bicycle use and walking should be encouraged for commuters and residents. Improve the infrastructure alternatives to the car.
* The final design is just a bus stop! Wow what a wasted opportunity.
* Of course transport for nsw knows best... Just look at what a marvelous job they have done with West connect and all their other projects.
* The Government decision-makers probably do't live in the area so they don't care about the residents. The Governemt decision-makers make their decisions on what the developer wants and they don't live, shop and communte in the area either. Who is the best decision-maker for the area? It is certainly not Macquarie St!
* 'Future proofing' Impossible when thousands and thousands of more people are piled into that space.
* So all the eastbound traffic - big trucks and the rest, zooming for the M2 - will have to squeeze through one lane? The "plan" announced with fanfare during the last federal election was merely a stunt - trumpeted with definite figures when it hadn't yet been decided whether part of the interchange should go underground, an evidently costly option. Anyhow, one of the "spatial constraints" on going underground was the little matter (so easy to miss!) of a Metro line across one end. Ryde Council has never had a clear plan for the buses and the "plan" by Transport for NSW is a waste of the back of an envelope.
* I have never found Macquarie Park very walkable. A bit more effort into the urban design of this area could make it much nicer. It very much feels like you are either in the mall, or outside of it; and the same stands for many of the buildings. There isn't very much "flow" when walking for example, from Macquarie Hospital to the Westfields.
* All bus interchanges should strike a balance between local amenity, bus flow, clear access between transport modes and most important of all, safety. Unfortunately, many local government designed interchanges promote an alfresco free for all concept where pedestrians, cyclists, joggers and assorted sundry wander at will in front of buses. Add in a few well intentioned speed humps and there is a jumble of buses trying to access usually limited kerb space. The existing Macquarie Centre Bus Interchange is partially controlled by lights, with the remaining portion being a standard pedestrian crossing. The concrete island is a haven for a legion of smokers who perch there like stranded sailors. Customers walking between the Metro Station entrance and the shopping centre, dodge cyclists who demand both road and pedestrian privileges, and exiting cars competing for road space. There is a golden opportunity to enhance the Centre-Uni/Medical Precinct link with an underground arcade passing under Herring Road as an alternative to the very busy surface environment prevailing in non-COVID times.
* TfNSW don't miss a chance to stuff up someone's neighbourhood
* Looks like a poor compromise. Transport modes should add to the amenity for PEOPLE, not VEHICLES. Design should be used to make spaces more appealing for people to use and enjoy. Do better Transport for NSW!
* Not surprised by a government that doesn't listen. The whole Macquarie area was supposed to be a Technology Park adjacent & accessible to the Uni, fed by rail, but instead around the 3 metro railway stations in this zone, it is instead becoming high rise apartments and bugger technology companys and the advanced jobs they bring. You don't build a major interchange if your only plan is to expand high rise apartments over low rise technology offices. There is no consistency in NSW planning except for apartments, apartments and more apartments.
* $100m for a few bus lanes and a roundabout?
* Perhaps a couple of those million could be spent on an upgrade to the shameful Bondi Junction interchange where (pre-covid) 50,000 people a day queue to access the one-only single-file escalator from the concourse to the ground level. The initial design concept for the BJ interchange looked rather like the photos in this article - all space and shade and mature trees and cyclists and elegant folk strolling hand-in-hand. The reality is the complete opposite - an unsafe urban slum with minimal public amenity and maximum commercial return.
* Does transport for NSW have any transport planners? Go ahead with the design, but to call it an interchange is laughable.
* Lane Cove Road is also a study in poor planning. The stretch between Talavera Road and Waterloo Road should be underground to allow through traffic on Ring Road A3 to be separated from local traffic. This would unify the developments on either side of the A3, and reduce the massive traffic jams on the A3 and on roads crossing the A3.


Sun.26.9.21 Melbourne 'Herald Sun'.  Airport line. MATT JOHNSTON
THE largest section of “sky rail” along the $l0bn Melbourne Airport Rail Link will be up to 6km long, new tender documents show.
And the station at Tullamarine could end up being elevated as well, with project plans leaving the door ajar for the end of the line to be several storeys above ground.
Seven packages of works for the rail link, which would connect the airport to Sunshine before joining the route of the $l3.7bn Metro Tunnel into the CBD, are set to be released to the market in coming months.
This would allow for major construction to begin next year.
Advanced tender documents for the station precinct and the viaduct or “sky rail” section of the line have been released, showing companies short-listed for contracts would need to manage complex environmental issues as well as power substation and rail systems.
A description of works says there would be “construction of up to 6km (depending on station solution) of twin track viaduct commencing from the Airport Long Term Carpark and continuing along Airport Drive towards Steele Creek north and across the Western Ring Road”.
“In the southern section, the works include crossing environmentally sensitive land and the M80 Freeway,” it says.
Earlier this year it was mooted that this section of sky rail would be 5km long.
Station works documents say designs would have to be worked through with owners Australia Pacific Airports Melbourne, meaning it could result in an elevated station.
A state government spokeswoman said designs were not yet finalised.
“Work on the rail link’s integration with the airport terminals is ongoing, which will determine the precise length of the viaduct - and we’ll have more to say as our work on this landmark project continues,” she said.
The airport rail link is a partnership between state and federal governments, after each committed up to $5bn to get the project built.
Earlier this year federal Urban Infrastructure Minister Paul Fletcher said works would be split into seven packages for a “robust, multi-staged procurement process”.
More than 100 organisations have already registered interest in being part of the mega-project, which is scheduled to open by the end of the decade.

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