Re: [Melb] French trams for the city's Paris end

["Robert Lee" <robsl@ozemail.com.au>]

>Are there any spots where the approach of a tram will actually trigger the
>lights to turn red against traffic on a cross road (as opposed to just a
>turning/service lane like on Burwood Hwy)?


The answer is yes. Zurich has such a system throughout the centre of the
city. The idea is to privilege tram passengers over motorists. I'm not
certain, but I think the same is true on the St Denis line in Paris and it
may well be the case on a number of the new French tramlines like
Montpellier and Strasbourg.

Way off topic, (has that stopped me before?) but when the publicity appeared
for the Sydney Light Rail extension to Circular Quay, it emphasised that
trams would NOT be privileged in any way over cars. It said overtly that
there would be no preference for trams and hence no difference for
motorists. Of course the whole point of urban tramways is to make things
difficult for motorists and easy for public transport users. Scully (the NSW
Transport Minister) really is a bear of little brain.