After a very successful first public peeting with over 50 people attending, CAST will be holding its next organising meeting to discuss the future possiblities for the group.
When? 1st April at 7pm
Where? Venue TBC
For more info call Jonathan 0431 683 088
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10 comments:
good work gr8 2 c something happening at last
I know many people that would love to participate in a group dedicated to transport. But from what I hear, you're wasting your time on fanciful ideas instead of workable solutions. Anyone that thinks there is money for "rail transport" for Cairns is frankly on drugs. Rail is frightfully expensive and loses money on a per-rider basis virtually everywhere it's used in the world. There is NO money of this magnitude available in Cairns to flush down the light rail rathole. So let me know when you're done having stupid discussions, and I'm sure others will be interested in talking about increased bus service and better bicycle paths.
Bike lanes, good pathways and better buses are extremely important and let's do more to improve them but to move large groups of people at peak times, I say rail... it maybe expensive but can we afford not to?
i kind of agree with northern beaches reality. I am sure there is empirical data to show that light rail will only come somewhere near break even if population density rises above a certain level per hectare. and I don't think that kind of density is appropriate to the nthrn beaches. BUT the same can be said about buses. Buses are and will have to be heavily subsidized until population density increases.
Lets keep an open mind on all of this though as there is most people forget the huge subsidy that already goes to road transport which makes it hard for any alternative to get a foot hold.Trucks for instance don't pay anything near their wear and tear to infrastructure.
In the meantime I would like to see as much done to foster bicycle usage as much as possible. I lobbied the former Mayor several times that CCC should require any trip generator(i.e. shared destination) above a certain size to require bicycle racks. Many hubs about the city such as North Cairns Shopping Centre or FiveWays Edge Hill have no provision for bicycle parking at all. In fact if at any given time a few people choose to access them via a bike their parked bikes become a nuisance.The Mayor stated that there is already a CCC bylaw regarding this but clearly CCC has not made its incorporation a priority.
ideally someone of the calibre of Peter Newman http://www.abc.net.au/science/explore/climatechange/experts/peternewman/ should be employed conduct a serious analysis/consultation and make recommendations regarding the whole region. IMO This should have been done years ago.
For urban passenger transport, light rail (and rail) systems are viable, as against bus systems in various forms (including busways and buslanes), if there are a sufficient number of passenger trips being made. In fact, a bus system can only handle a certain number of passengers: above that, a fixed rail system is necessary.
The number of passenger trips on a mass transit system in a city is the result of the proportion of total trips made in the city that are made on that system. So, for example, the current planning for Cairns transport envisages a six-lane freeway/highway and 20% of “peak load” travel by mass transit in the southern corridor into the city by 2036. A busway can handle that number of trips and is more cheaply constructed and run than a fixed rail service, according to the study on which the plan is based. Therefore, the government currently favours building a busway (sometime).
The population density (a concept into which we could here include urban planning based on concentrating activity in "nodes") of a city like Cairns, however, is only one determinant of the proportion of trips made by mass transit. In fact a city of high population density but no mass transit system would presumably have a lot of driving and walking, for example. The effect of a high population density is to bring people closer to the mass transit system, if there is one.
The other determinant of the proportional usage of a mass transit system are the qualities of the system. One of these is being easy to use, comfort (which in general favours dedicated routes for smoothness of ride, etc: fixed rail, but perhaps also busways), speed (which in high traffic areas again sees dedicated routes favoured) and so on.
Another factor is cost to the passenger per trip. In this case, however, the cost to the system of providing each trips falls as the number of trips increases, because a mass transit system involves high fixed costs. At a certain point the possibility of providing travel free to the user (raising the system's funds by a taxation system, somewhat similar to Medicare) is posed: the value of fares must be weighed against the gain in usage from not having them and the costs of their collection (in one example, 15% of the fares collected).
The most important factor, though, in the quality of a mass transit system is its comprehensiveness (with integration of its different parts). A "go anywhere, anytime" sustainable transport, in a reasonable timeframe and at a reasonable cost, for nearly all activities would pose the question for a household needs to maintain a car (or a second or a third one, at least). Substantial personal savings could then be made. At the same time, only a comprehensive system answers objections to moving away from a user pays system, by ensuring all people can benefit from it.
In cities where these issues (comprehensive, cost and comfort) are best attended to, mass transit usage is above 40% of trips. If mass transit is provided as the principal transport form – the study behind the current Cairns plan discusses it in terms of preventing the need for new transport corridors – and with a developing consciousness about the effects of greenhouse gas emissions – a usage of 40% or more should be obtained here. On that basis, a busway couldn’t handle the number of passenger trips by mass transit in the southern corridor: a fixed rail service needs to be built, starting now.
What I am discussing here is a radical transformation to sustainable transport for urban passenger movements (freight poses different problems). The basis of this can only be a mass transit system: active transport (walking, cycling, etc) can significantly supplement this for shorter distances.
CAST has already emailed to Peter Newman to seek his advice or suggestions for people to discuss the issues of a regional city like Cairns. He has not responded yet (he was overseas at some point last month).
Stumbled across this interesting bit of information I didn't know... Public transport in Melbourne is FREE between midnight and 7am.
I think it is also free on Christmas Day and New Year too.
Why hasn't Cairns got this!? .. stop drink driving and taxi cue fights, make CBD safer at night time.
Would be a huge bonus for hospitality workers and medical staff too, all of which we need to attract here.
It costs me $70 by Taxi to go for night out in the CBD, makes a night out very expensive so I don't go. CBD business miss out on my money.
Hey guys, I think we need to bring in all children riding free on the bus in Cairns.
At the moment after they turn 4 years old they have to pay.
I would like to see the age limit increased so all primary schoolers are free...(OK really I reckon all full time students should ride free on public transport regardless of age).
If we want people to embrace public transport lets start them young, using it as part of daily life.
This could also encourage people to stay in school longer.
Congratulations to all those involved in discussions about solutions.
I remember just over twenty years ago when I could jump on the silver bullet with my pushbike and travel to Innisfail and to the Tablelands. I spent many a fine weekend exploring my backyard.
Discussion, community involvement, research and positive thinking - out of this will come more ideas, action, and productivity.
This is about the future, we need to get it right, starting from now.
Far North Queensland will only grow. Please,..no more sprawl.
There are many fantastic examples across the globe of intergrated sustainable transport systems incorporating light rail, bicycle hire and walkability.
Interesting point posted by k, I do not go into the CBD at night for the same reason.
Lets talk about solutions.
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