Re: [Seattle] Melbourne W2 involved in accident

[David McLoughlin <davemclNOSPAM@iprolink.co.nz>]

Barry Campbell wrote:

> As much as I love trains, trams and any other miscellaneous tracked vehicles
> I can't agree with Dave about the Brisbane system.
> 
> Brisbane is a city centered on the riverbank and hence is relatively hilly.
> It also has many winding and narrow roads. I have a copy of the video "Wait
> here for trams" which shows the  Brisbane system in its last years and one
> of the things that is so fascinating is the lack of motor vehicles on the
> roads. There is a shot of the Bowen Bridge Road/ Herston Road /Gilchrist
> Avenue intersection outside the Royal Brisbane Hospital which is one of the
> busiest suburban intersections in Brisbane and there are no traffic lights
> there. As much as I hate traffic lights I would not like to see that corner
> without them.
> 


Clem Jones deliberately scrapped Brisbane's trams to push people off
public transport into private cars. I have a quote of his from the book
"Watch For Trams" where he says that; I've quoted it a few times here
and can do so again if you like.

And of course, Brisbane's streets were choked with cars the moment the
trams went. I lived there as a schoolkid for the 12 months after the
system closed. Bus patronage was quickly half what tram patronage had
been.

David McLoughlin
Auckland New Zealand