Dean Jaensch: North Terrace tram extension is a political and economic disgrace but could still attract tourists
IF the North Terrace tram won’t turn right, the least we can do is make it a tourist attraction. It’s time to bring the historic tram the once ran the route, Dean Jaensch writes.
- Traffic resumes across North Tce and King William St intersection
- Trams could do it 100 years ago, so why can’t they turn right now?
MOST people will remember our one-way expressway to the south. It travelled north to the city in the morning, had an hour off for lunch, and then travelled south for the rest of the day.
It was the laughing stock of the nation. Now we have another piece of infrastructure which merits a similar reaction.
The new tram on North Terrace has been rushed to completion, probably because the Weatherill Government wants a popular public opening before the election.
Will the thinking public celebrate it and pass on their votes to Labor as a thank you? That depends if the voters think the massive expense is justified.
There are two parts to this latest infrastructure development. The extension north along King William Road to the Adelaide Festival Centre is a spur line which makes some sense, even if most people would have preferred it to go on to the Adelaide Oval.
The North Terrace tram is not a spur line. It is not fully connected to the network, although it can continue south past the new Royal Adelaide Hospital to the Entertainment Centre. But it is effectively an orphan tram.
We are told by the government that the tram cannot turn right into North Terrace, but we are yet to be given a convincing reason.
The government’s position also needs to be interpreted against historic photographs showing trams doing just that. Turning right. Why is it impossible now?
We have variously been told that the camber rejected a turn, there would be traffic chaos, it would be too expensive and the turn was too tight for modern trams.
In essence, these are all spurious. If you examine some of the historic photographs of the corner, you will note long lines of trams in King William St and a man in an elevated box who controlled where and when the trams went. It seemed to work very efficiently.
Now consider the efficiency and potential value of the orphan line. It will run from Gawler Place to the old RAH. Prospective passengers who arrive at the corner using the Glenelg tram will have to alight at the Rundle Mall stop, and walk to the start of the new tram opposite Gawler Place.
Some passengers could join it at the Adelaide Railway Station. Essentially this is a tram to nowhere. It is of no value to commuters.
However, the East End traders have welcomed the development as a potential fillip for their businesses, especially after the closure of the RAH.
If the Weatherill Government had made a decision about what will replace the RAH, there would possibly be a justification for the tram. But to take a tram to a wasteland is hardly attractive for tourists.
The real tourist attraction is to walk the north side of North Tce. Admire and walk through the culture and education boulevard. We can be proud of that development.
The tram could be made into a historic tourist attraction. Instead of using modern trams, wasted on a three-stop spur line, why not use the original trams which ran on the route all the way to Paradise?
These were coupled pairs of cute little trams, affectionately known as Bib and Bub (ask your grandparents). The tram museums might be pleased to lease one or two.
This whole tram affair is an economic and political disgrace. There has never been an economic justification for an orphan line, unless it was preceded by the development of the RAH site.
The explanations given to the public by the government for the shortcomings of the development, especially about the corner, have been essentially spurious and totally non-convincing. The whole story of the tram can lead to only one conclusion. This infrastructure project was devised and produced for electoral purposes.
It is patently obvious that the plan was to convince voters that the Weatherill Government deserves to be re-elected in March. But it has backfired.
The overwhelming proportion of people to whom I speak are strongly in favour of extending the tram network.
They are equally of the opinion that the North Terrace tram is of little value to the public, and certainly not value for money.