Re: Outer East PT sidelined: Scoresby Fwy back on agenda

[Vaughan Williams <ender2000@my-deja.com>]

> So you would argue the Western Ring Road was unneccessary then? Whilst
> not a big fan of building big roads and not doing something about
> public transport (and vote accordingly-take note!), I would say the
> Western Ring Road is good value for taxpayers money. So do the many
> other people who use it and create traffic congestion on it.

The WRR was a bit different. First, there is some demand for freight
movement in that corridor, between geelong and the hume hwy. Second,
there was no major arterial road to handle what traffic did want to
travel orbitally in the west. I'd probably have argued (if I was
arguing for anything at the time it was built) for the WRR to be done
as an arterial road, not a freeway, and to have a bus route along it.

In Scoresby, the dominant movement for freight is towards the Hume Hwy
or towards Geelong, both of which should be using the Monash Fwy and
City Link. The last thing anyone needs is to encourage them to go
through Eltham and Warrandyte instead.

And in Scoresby, there are 12 lanes in total on Stud and Springvale
roads to handle the north-south traffic. This should be plenty if
public transport was good enough.

 But cross
> suburban travel exists, don't you worry. (Being one example myself of
> someone who goes from Rosanna to Camberwell on weekdays and to
Mulgrave
> and back 3 days a week!)

According to the census (which I think we must accept as accurate?),
there isn't very much of it. And the last thing we want is to encourage
it.

> > What is really needed is to complete the Rowville line, the Knox
tram,
> > overhaul the buses, and give patterns a couple of years to emerge
> > before making any final decision on the Freeway.
>
> The road lobby would argue much the same about the freeway ,sadly

Yes, they would. And because there would still be nobody using public
transport, it would never happen.

Thats why it should be done the other way. It makes sense to try the
cheapest and least environmentally damaging solution first. If it
doesn't work, other options can be considered.

The consultants that came up with all of those nonsense figures to say
that building the freeway would add billions to the states economy also
said that if 2% of the present car trips in that corridor could be
shifted to public transport that would have the same economic benefit
as the freeway!

Vaughan


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