COMING SHORTLY - CAST Statement on the 3 Billion Tunnel

We have opposed the concept and construction of the 3B
Tunnel from the time it was first proposed by Jim Soorley.

We're preparing a detailed statement to explain why we
continue to vigorously oppose the Tunnel, and why we urge
all motorists to boycott the Tunnel.

Keep checking this site for our full statement.

INFORMATION ALERT CIty Bus Stops relocated from Monday 8 March

Bus stops 56 and 57 on Queen Street near Post Office
Square will be temporarily closed from Monday 8
March to Wednesday 30 June due to streetscape
construction works.
Stop 58 will be moved by up to 20m in the direction
of travel and services from this stop will also be affected.

For full details of bus services affected and a map of
the location of the new stops, go to

http://www.translink.com.au/servicechange.php?id=463

OUR SUBMISSIONS TO TRANSLINK AND OTHERS

We are continuing to make submissions on behalf of public transport users, cyclists and pedestrians to Translink, service providers and Government.

These are shown on the page below described as 'Submissions to Translink' together with current status and replies if any.

If you are aware of a transport service or systemic fault that needs to be rectified or improved, contact us and we'll follow up the issue with the relevant authority on your behalf.

Sunday, November 23, 2008

CAST newsletter November

You can download our latest newsletter here

Two-wheeled motorvehicle policy

Community Action for Sustainable Transport - Draft 18.11.2008

This policy uses some strategies first developed by Motorcycling Australia.

Background


For trips where public transport, walking and cycling are not good options people should consider using a two-wheeled motor vehicle (TWMV) rather than a car.

Switching from a car to a motorcycle, scooter or electric bike is an easy way for people to reduce congestion, greenhouse emissions and save money on fuel.

TWMVs make more efficient use of fuel, road space and parking space than a single occupant car and can play a part in the campaign to reduce congestion and climate change.

Statistics on fuel efficiency are available here

When driven below the speed limit TWMVs also pose less of a safety risk to other road users than cars, trucks and buses due to their weight.

TWMVs are a more affordable transport option than driving a single occupant car, and will also help preserve oil reserves for essential agricultural, medical and transport uses.

All levels of Government should be doing more to encourage people to switch from their car to TWMVs.


Proposed strategies

More free parking spaces for TWMVs at activity centres and public transport nodes. Parking must be safe, conveniently located and ensure pedestrian, wheelchair and cyclist access is not obstructed. Car parks should be reclaimed for TWMV parking where possible.

Inclusion of two-wheeled motor vehicles in National Road Transport policies

Reduction in registration fees for TWMVs

Provision of TWMV-only lanes on key arterial roads

Exemption from tolls on tolled roads and infrastructure for TWMVs

Mandatory TWMV parking to be included in the construction plans for new buildings

Integration of TWMVs into the planning for Public Transport projects, such as park and ride for bikes.

A national standard that restricts the speed of new TWMVs available for the general public to 120km/hr

Advertising campaigns to encourage people to switch from a car to a two-wheeled motor vehicle

Government purchase of electric bicycles for use by employees and citizens

Saturday, November 08, 2008

Reduce speeds in Brisbane CBD

Reducing speed limits on our roads is a cost effective way to save lives, improve business and encourage more people to walk and cycle.

Brisbane City Council’s proposal to reduce speeds in Brisbane’s CBD to 40km/hr should be implemented immediately, be extended to Ann and Turbot Streets, and be strongly enforced by the Queensland Police.

This policy was first proposed by the Greens in the lead up to the March Council elections and it now has the support of Liberal, Labor and the RACQ. (1)

It will literally make Brisbane more liveable. Lower speeds give road users more time to react, reduce stopping distances and reduce the severity of impact. The risk of death for pedestrians struck by a vehicle rises rapidly as vehicle speed rises above 40km/hr. (2) Road accidents cause huge amounts of physical and emotional pain and it is estimated that they cost Australia nearly $15 billion per year. (3)

Calm streets are also great for business. Slower streets give people better access to shops on both sides of the road and the relaxed atmosphere of a calm street allows cafes and other outdoor uses to flourish.

Another benefit of calm CBD streets is that they are safer and easier for people to cycle on. Encouraging cycling is an effective congestion reduction measure and has great economic benefits in terms of public health savings. While road accidents cost Australians billions each year it has been estimated that the economic benefits of cycling were $227 million in 2006. (4)

Council’s current proposal should be extended to include reduced speeds on Ann and Turbot Streets. Ann Street has heavy pedestrian traffic coming out of Central Railway Station and Turbot Street is currently an uninviting traffic sewer that cuts off the CBD from Spring Hill and the Roma Street precinct. Both streets offer cyclists direct connections between the CBD and the Valley, and Turbot Street is an access point to the popular Bicentennial Bikeway.

An important factor that also needs to be addressed is that the majority of pedestrian accidents in the CBD involved pedestrians crossing against the red signal. (5) This is due to traffic light patterns that provide long green signals for cars and short green signals for pedestrians travelling in the same direction. Crossing Elizabeth Street while walking along the northern side of George Street is a great example of this.

Intersections have also been designed so that pedestrians often need to use two or three different crossings just to get across one road, while vehicles only need one. Try crossing Wharf and Creek Streets when you’re walking along the Western side of Turbot Street and you’ll see what I mean. Council traffic engineers need to reprogram traffic lights to give pedestrians a fair go.

So will these simple and cost-effective changes have negative impacts on people driving in the CBD? The impact of reduced speed limits on overall trip times will be negligible. The main cause of delays for drivers on Ann, Turbot and other inner-city streets will continue to be the fact that there are too many cars on our roads. Governments can address this by shifting their overall transport priority from roads to public transport, walking and cycling.

What can you do?

To support these proposals send a letter to Council's Active Transport Chairperson Jane Prentice waltertaylor.ward@ecn.net.au and CC it to your local Councillor (find their contact details here).

If you have a suggestion for improving conditions for cyclists or pedestrians you can lodge it via the Brisbane Public Transport Users Group here.

Tristan Peach is spokesperson for Community Action for Sustainable Transport castqld@yahoo.com.au

End Notes
(1) Walking Policy (March 2008), Green City Links inner-city transport plan (July 2007)
(2) Fildes, B., Oxley, J. 1998, `Long Term Consequences of Road Crashes', Measuring the Burden of Injury, Proceedings of a Conference held at Fremantle, WA 15-16 February 1996, Road Accident Prevention Research Unit, The University of Western Australia, Nedlands WA.
(3) Risbey, T., De Silva, H., Tong, A. 2007. ‘Road crash cost estimation: a proposal incorporating a decade of conceptual and empirical developments’, Staff paper, Bureau of Transport and Regional Economics, Australia.
(4) Bauman, A., Rissel, C., Garrard, J., Ker, I., Speidel, R., Fishman, E. 2008 ‘Cycling: Getting Australia Moving: barriers, facilitators and interventions to get more Australians physically active through cycling’ Cycling Promotion Fund, Melbourne.
(5) Sandy, A. 2008. ‘40km/h speed limit plan for Brisbane CBD’, Courier Mail 11/09/2008.

Wednesday, November 05, 2008

Alternative to Western Road Building Agenda

Video of presentation to community meeting



See the CAST alternative plan for west Brisbane and Ipswich here

Check out the Communities Against the Tunnels Website here

Government Ignoring Alternatives to the Kenmore Bypass

Main Roads have refused to consider a public transport option to address traffic congestion on Moggill Road and are proceeding with further studies for the Kenmore Bypass Road.

Their community information brochure (November 2008) states that there was considerable community opposition to the bypass, with people calling for increased public transport to be considered as an alternative option.

However Main Roads could not take this into account because they were “outside the scope of the Kenmore Bypass Planning Study”.

Thus their latest “Planning Options” study is dedicated to road solutions and will not consider whether a solution combining public transport, walking and cycling will better address the problem.

The same approach has been taken with the Hale Street Bridge, North South Bypass Tunnel and Airport Link studies.

The terms of reference for all these projects are designed so that the pre-determined solution will always be chosen, while the community are offered the illusion of choice such as the route of the road or where traffic lights will be located.

Main Roads are not interested in taking a rational planning approach and are simply doing what they know – building roads.

The State Government Transport Departments need to be combined so that solutions for transport solutions are considered across all modes of transport.

The State Government needs to realise that continuing to prioritise road building, while slowly improving public transport is not a “balanced approach”.

They are continuing the decades of funding and policy inequity that has favoured cars and road transport.

If the State Government got serious about public transport then all these new roads and road expansions in western Brisbane would not be necessary because there would be a significant shift from car to public transport, walking and cycling.

Building more roads leads to more traffic congestion and the Kenmore Bypass is a great example of this.

The bypass will pour more traffic onto the Centenary Highway, triggering the need for it to be upgraded, and more traffic on the Centenary Highway means more traffic heading into Toowong, meaning the government then has the justification for building the Northern Link tunnel.

The alternative is simple – spend the money from all these projects on upgrading cycling facilities, bus services and train services. This means more people leave their cars at home and there is no need to build destructive road upgrades.

Contact Warren Pitt, Minister for Main Roads to let him know what you think about the Kenmore Bypass mulgrave@parliament.qld.gov.au

CAST contact for this article Tristan Peach 0416-478-615