Hoddle Street-Punt Road. Again.
Hoddle Street – Punt Road: we’ve been down this road before
The Andrews government is currently reheating the idea of trying to do something about Hoddle Street-Punt Road. Do you have a bright idea or several? Light rail? Less car dependency? A North South Link? What about free public transport for MCG ticket holders to give Yarra Park a break?
This study arrives with some concerns. Firstly, the consultation appears to be coming after the government has already decided to introduce altered traffic flow for right turns. While it is good the government has fronted up with concrete proposals, it invites the concern it is a fait acompli?
Also, the government has ruled out any longer term projects that the 2009 study was considering – such as a bus tunnel. This limits solutions to those that fit in with the electoral cycle. This means local residents (note the 2000 new apartments within 500m of Hoddles St), as well as cyclists, pedestrians, public transport users and even cocooned motorists will continue to breath the toxic sludge of Hoddle Street for decades.
Proposals that make Hoddle Street more attractive to motorists will attract more motorists. The demand will always exceed the supply of road space. YCAT and the local community will push for more creative solutions
Those of us with longer memories will recall the Hoddle Street Study and the Hoddle Street Study Stakeholder Advisory Group (HSSSAG).
YCAT is republising these reports today as the department has brought down their study website www.hoddlestreetstudy.com.au
This is a disturbing trend in an age of electronic publishing and distribution, where tax payer funded reports are removed from circulation because they don’t contain the right message. We urgently need legislation to ensure that government reports remain pubished in their original location – even after the government department changes its name.
Stay informed with extensive Hoddle Street reading from the YCAT archives:
Media Release: Daniel Andrews: Getting On With Improving Hoddle Street And Punt Road
VicRoads: Hoddle Street-Punt Road corridor online consultation – open until 21 September 2015.
VicRoads: Hoddle Street-Punt Road Corridor Investigations – additional background and reports
VicRoads: Punt Road Public Acquisition Background Report
Residents and motorists are invited to attend local drop in sessions on:
- Saturday 12 September – Catholic Leadership Centre Cnr Hoddle St and Victoria Pde, East Melbourne 9:00am–12:00pm and 2:00pm–5:00pm
- Wednesday 16 September – Wesley College, St Kilda Rd Campus Cnr Punt Rd and High St, Melbourne 10:00am-1:00pm and 5:30pm-8:30pm
‘Peak car’ makes building freeways risky
Falling car use is one of the most important trends in infrastructure and it should be discussed more than it is by decision makers, an infrastructure summit has been told. Craig Abraham
AFR: ‘Peak car’ makes building freeways risky by Geoff Winestock (11 June 2015)
A worldwide trend away from driving cars should make investors and governments more cautious about building big new motorways, says John Daley, chief executive of the Grattan Institute.
Mr Daley told The Australian Financial Review Infrastructure Summit that falling car use was one of the most important trends in infrastructure and it should be discussed more than it was by decision makers.
“We should be very careful about the assumption that road usage is going to keep rising in the future at the same rate as it has in the past,” Mr Daley said.
The most recent Bureau of Transport Infrastructure and Regional Economics data suggested passenger kilometres travelled was falling or stable, he said. This was in line with global trends, which suggested a significant change was happening in all developed countries. It was confirmed by other measures, such as falling car ownership, people obtaining drivers licenses later and fewer people having drivers licences. Continue Reading…
The Age takes the east-west morning peak hour challenge
The Age takes the east-west morning peak hour challenge. Darren Gray. November 27, 2014
The East West peak-hour challenge
Reporter Darren Gray woke up with the sparrows on Wednesday to test how long it currently takes to drive from Melbourne’s outer eastern suburb of Chirnside Park to the airport during the morning peak.
Our peak hour drive starts in Champagne Rise, a quiet street in the outer eastern suburb of Chirnside Park almost 40 kilometres from Melbourne’s CBD. It’s nearly 7am, but the street is wide awake. At one house a man hangs up Christmas decorations as a young boy watches on, while across the road a man strides towards his car for the morning commute.
The Age departs Champagne Rise at 7.05am, on a journey to test what morning peak hour traffic is like for people who live in Melbourne’s eastern suburbs. For those who drive along the Eastern Freeway and into the CBD, or beyond the CBD and up CityLink to Melbourne Airport, we are observing how the traffic moves, what are the congestion hotspots and what happens at the end of the Eastern Freeway?
Wait your turn … The Eastern Freeway near Hoddle Street on the day of our test. Photo: Eddie Jim
For airport-bound vehicles and those heading to Flemington or nearby, what happens when three lanes become two, which then squeeze into one after crossing Royal Parade? In essence, we are examining what is the trip like right now for motorists who will benefit from the controversial multi-billion-dollar East West Link, if it is built? Continue Reading…