Re: Departure-side (tram) stops

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

Yes, you could be forgiven for thinking a manevolant force was afoot!

At some intersections in Melbourne there is tram priority, but its of
the good old Vicroads version. What it means is that once each cycle a
detector loop allocates a T light in addition to the normal green cycle
when a tram is actually present and waiting at the intersection. This
means a tram can wait 2 minutes to cross an arterial like Alexandra Pde
which carries peak hour CBD commuters one to a car. A tram with 50
passengers gets 2% the priority of 50 passengers in 50 cars, because a
tram is just one vehicle.

As well as the priority being pretty average to begin with, Vicroads
are exceptionally slack at maintaining the loops - which means that
many of them don't work.

One example where I sometimes think somebody took the trouble to set up
the lights to cause maximum delay to the tram is at Wellington Pde &
Jolimont Rd, where the tram is given a red T just as it arrives at the
intersection so all the cars can do their right turn into Jolimont Rd.

The problem you describe with cycles on Eliz St. seems to be the same
on most tram streets in the CBD.

Vaughan

In article <ewoj4.10511$3b6.49922@ozemail.com.au>,
  "Daniel Bowen" <dbowen@#DELETE#custard.net.au> wrote:
> Yeah, departure-side is fine, provided the tram gets signal priority,
which
> they don't seem to do at very many places.
>
> On a related issue, they should jiggle the traffic sequences in
Elizabeth
> Street southbound. It seems at most intersections that the tram has
just
> enough time to arrive at the top (with the light green), the
passengers get
> on and off, the doors close... and then the light turns yellow, so
the tram
> has to wait for the next sequence.
>
> Daniel
> --
> Daniel Bowen, Melbourne, Australia
> dbowen at custard dot net dot au
>
>


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