NEWS.com.au | $16b plan to beat traffic gridlock (September 2, 2003). None of this addresses the CBD traffic snarls. So much traffic is piped straight through the CBD or along the Riverside Expressway; yet traffic in both directions gets down to one or two lanes in several places. In some places, two heavy traffic streams cross each other - sure, there might be three or four lanes; but it's total chaos as everyone tries to cross-merge.
Adding tunnels and bus lanes won't help. The public transport options in Brisbane will fail until they are a) cheap, b) reliable, c) co-ordinated and d) reasonably quick. Currently they are expensive, totally unreliable and the different types of transport don't co-ordinate their services. If you have to catch a bus then a train; you'll probably get dropped off five minutes after the train ran, requiring a 25/55 minute wait. If you catch a ferry; you'll discover they arrive in the City at poorly chosen times - eg. 7:55am (awfully early for a 9am start) or 8:55am (too late to get to work for a 9am start). Etcetera, etcetera, etcetera.
So, fuck it. I drive. I take the one single route I can take, which sends me through the City. At least it's comfortable; it's still faster than catching four buses a day; it leaves when I leave; it's considerably cheaper for me to park at work than catch buses; and I don't get sneezed on by inconsiderate passengers. If I worked in the CBD I could probably cope with bussing it; but I'd hate it.
Post a Comment