Jump to content

Glad I live on southside.

rayke1938

By rayke1938
in Non-Fishing Chat

Recommended Posts

John Newbie

John

Posted
Posted

As some of you may be aware, I am very passionate about the planning and future development of Brisbane. Images like this really fire off my imagination as to what could have been... and I always think "if only rail had similar investment". Anyone that has studied planning and transport planning knows this road spaghetti isn't the smartest move done by the State of Queensland. Same goes for the huge waste of money building the northern busway - the money here should have gone into rail. Yes, buses are integral to a successful multi-layered public transport system, but rail is and needs to be the backbone of a public transport system, especially for a growing city.

We are crying out about traffic congestion with our population growth, yet if we actually had better planning and transport infrastructure our city wouldn't be feeling like this at all. Just look at better managed and planned cities and they easily cope with populations many times larger than ours.

The problem we face is that many Australians are stuck in a mindset really instilled in us from the 1950s when Australia looked to the US for alot of planning issues. And unfortunately alot of their legacy is still an issue for our city (eg Riverside Expressway) and it is hard for 3 year governments to overhaul these, so we just make do and cobble things together.

Some ideas to think about:

What if there was a train station in each suburb?

What is there was an inner city underground metro?

What if there was a tram/light rail system?

What if there was high speed express trains to Sunshine Coast and Gold Coast and ...Sydney?

What if there was train routes that didn't all go into the city but spider-webbed around the city?

What if there was more rail bridges and not waste money putting heavy rail underground?

What if there was a rail bridge at Eagle Farm/Newstead/Toowong....?

What if there was trains that went from lots of stations direct to Brisbane Airport?

If even some of these were reality, people would slowly change their ways and cars would be less dependent. That is not to say cars are also a part of a city's transport plan, but at the moment we have it around the wrong way.

Yes, aspects of the intentions at Bowen Hills are ok, but if the resources that went into this road network went into rail, then alot less people would be needing to drive cars for certain trips and then this type of infrastructure would be reduced and less of an eyesore to the city.

Also this road spaghetti has absolutely decimated a once nice inner city suburb :(

Link to comment
Share on other sites
rayke1938 Experienced

rayke1938

Posted
  • Author
Posted

Wonder what my grandfather from Kingaroy would think of it.

When I was a kid in the 1940,s he would come down to stay at the Peoples Palace in town and would meet the RACQ pilot at Chardons corner at Yeronga.

The pilot used to get the tram out to meet them and then drive them through the nightmare of the Gabba fiveways and then over the Story bridge and then up Ann street.

He had a 1937 plymouth and used to run it on power kerosene as petrol was rationed in those days.

Cheers

Ray

Link to comment
Share on other sites
shortie Newbie

shortie

Posted
Posted
I just hope there's some money left to fill in the pot holes on Newmarket Rd.

John, I would not want a railway station in my suburb. They are the home to too many deadbeats and other undesirables. :P

It would give Mr Hammer a place to hang out rather than your driveway looking for me

Link to comment
Share on other sites
wallyfly Newbie

wallyfly

Posted
Posted

One time Brisbane Lord Mayor Clem Jones who sewered the place but killed the tram system in 1969. The day after,for me, travelling from Ascot to South Brisbane was the beginning of the traffic chaos that we've experienced ever since. The state governments of those days and even now didn't have the guts to bite the bullet and do what has been done with the tram and train systems in Melbourne. Add to those features, the road system as in Victoria, we'd be laughing not lamenting the fact the nobody would go ahead with the western bypass freeway years ago cos some people along the route would lose their homes.That's called progress!! :cheer:

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Luc53 Explorer

Luc53

Posted
Posted

I've been through it a few times and it makes the transit from Toombul to the city/southside a breeze.

Signage could have been better and the right turn onto Coronation Drive should be gotten rid off. Only a few cars can get through on each light change and that lane backs up real quick even outside busy times!!

Would hate to have to use it everyday, the toll fees would mount up.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
bootyinblue Newbie

bootyinblue

Posted
Posted

More people would use the public transport infrastructure if it was in good condition, safe, and reliably on time. Compounding that dilemma is that it will only deliver you to a staging point where you have to find an alternate means of transport to your final destination unless you live on the station itself.

Always subscribed to the theory that the train system is the conduit of the unwashed and unkempt. My merest station is 20km away and I love it!

Link to comment
Share on other sites
wheel fish Newbie

wheel fish

Posted
Posted

NOW i remember why i live in Toowoomba :ohmy:

I got hijacked by the Clem 7 tunnel not long after it had opened. I had wanted to turn right from Ipswich Rd onto O'Keefe St, no warning that there was no right turn here any more and off i went to see the sights of the Clem 7 and where it would take me. took me 2 hrs to get back to where i wanted to go :unsure:

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Archived

This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.

Go to topic listing
×
×
  • Create New...