Re: Travel patterns (was Re: New form of rail transportation)

["Alex Pout" <alpout@optusnet.com.au>]

Peter Berrett <pberrett@optushome.com.au> wrote in message
5mNP5.11056$Xx3.46422@news1.eburwd1.vic.optushome.com.au">news:5mNP5.11056$Xx3.46422@news1.eburwd1.vic.optushome.com.au...
>
> Thsi is misleading.
>
> When people take on a new job their choice of place to live is influenced
by
> the availability of public and private transport routes to their job.
>
> Promoting a radial network has the following effects.
>
> 1. People are less likely to go for jobs in areas that they do not have
good
> transport options to eg across town.
>
> 2. People are more likely to moved to suburbs that have good transport
> options in terms of getting them to their work.
>
> The effect is that transport journeys become centred on the radial
networks.
> The population is servicing the rail network not the other way around.
Cross
> town rail links provide more options for people to get to their job. One
of
> the reasons I chose to live in Boronia is because I have a rail link with
my
> work in Box Hill. Had there been a direct rail link to Mill Park I would
> have considered this suburb also.
>
> cheers Peter
>

How about also making Melbourne run through trains, like Sydney (Waterfall -
Bondi, Penrith - North Sydney etc) or Brisbane (Rosewood/Ipswich -
Caboolture (?), etc).  This would reduce the numbers needing to change in
the city, while getting away from the attitude that all they do is take you
to the city.

I agree with Peter's comments there about jobs and transport access.  As it
was pointed out in another message, one of the things that eastern suburbs
employers wanted in the east and south east was better PT for their workers.
I've lived in Sydney, Newcastle, Brisbane, and Melbourne, and Melbourne
definitely had the biggest "the city is where everything is" attitude and
feel about it.  The way I interpreted that was (and I raised a few eyebrows
with people there) that trying to avoid the city was something to be avoided
in itself.  So while that persists, it's not going to help.

You also wouldn't want to include purely home-work-home journeys in that.
Does the census data have anything in it about all the non-work related
journeys that are made, especially across suburbs (i.e. shopping, nights
out, etc)?  The fraction of overall trips that work-related trips  make up?
Or for the ultimate test, what are the traffic volumes on roads that cross
connect suburbs, such as Frankston-Dandenong, Springvale, Stud, Bell St, and
Camp Rd?

Finally, and I think I'll get a fair bit of agreement here, when is
Melbourne going to do something about the level crossings?  Springvale Rd
and Nunawading one good example, 4 sets of lights plus the crossing in 300
metres, and Bell St (pick one there).

Al