Priority bus lanes and co-ordinated traffic lines part of State Government’s plan to ease traffic congestion

CLEARING bottlenecks, cutting back travel times and streamlining thoroughfares — the State Government has released plans that promise to ease traffic congestion. But how will they do it?

30.1.2015. Heavy congested traffic in the Adelaide City CBD at approx 8:20am. Looking east toward Flinders Street near the intersection of King William Street. Photo Sam Wundke

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PRIORITY bus lanes on more major thoroughfares and better co-ordinated traffic lights head a raft of changes the State Government has put forward in an attempt to clear worsening congestion on Adelaide roads.

Transport Minister Stephen Mullighan will today release the results of public consultation and transport department modelling under the Operation Moving Traffic initiative.

It is designed to streamline traffic, cut travel times and clear bottlenecks.

But some proposals are likely to draw criticism from motorists.

Some of the proposals will require legislative change while others will be considered further while some are already being trialled.

There are plans to trial an extension of the city-bound bus lane on Anzac Highway, between South Rd and Greenhill Rd, and seek feedback on introducing bus priority lanes on other congested routes such as Henley Beach Rd, Main North Rd and O’Connell St.

The introduction of priority bus lanes on Grenfell and Currie streets in the CBD in mid-2012 has caused irritation for some drivers, as travel times spiked for motorists using the remaining lanes.

However, the Government argues they have improved on-time running and reliability of bus services, which it hopes will encourage more people to use public transport.

Other changes outlined in the report to be released today include:

BETTER co-ordinating traffic lights, starting with a trial which has begun along Hutt St in the city. Giving north-south traffic longer green lights is saving motorists about one minute in travel time so far.

CHANGING traffic light settings on freight routes to improve the movement of trucks.

TRIALLING technology to feed the real-time locations of buses and trams into the system which organises traffic light signals — which could give public transport priority when services are running late.

Mr Mullighan said changes were necessary to deal with a 20 per cent increase in the number of vehicles on our roads over the past decade.

Valdman’s take on the State Government’s plans to reduce traffic congestion.

Transport Department figures show the average speed of cars driving in morning and afternoon peak periods has fallen about 8 per cent to about 42km/h.

Mr Mullighan said reducing congestion would bring down the price of goods and services by cutting freight costs.

“And it improves the efficiency of people who use our roads for work, such as delivery drivers and tradespeople,” he said.

“We can make life easier for motorists by adopting simple, sensible measures which don’t cost billions of dollars.”

The Advertiser revealed last July that the Government had allocated $1.7 million to Operation Moving Traffic.

Public consultation closed in September.

Internal Government documents, obtained by The Advertiser in February, showed authorities were warned that introducing CBD priority bus lanes risked increasing traffic congestion on other city roads as motorists adapted their route and used parallel roads.

The RAA has been critical of the impact of the bus lanes on traffic flows.

RAA road safety senior manager Charles Mountain yesterday said bus lanes had the potential to improve traffic movement if they were thoughtfully implemented.

Mr Mountain suggested they would be most useful in peak periods. Councillors have suggested they should be open to carpooling drivers carrying multiple passengers.

“If it’s done in a way that doesn’t significantly impact the traffic flow then I think most people can understand that there’s a potential benefit,” Mr Mountain said.

“Motorists who drive on bus routes will know they stop every 300m or so and a lot of people try to get out from behind the buses anyway.”

The Government is also considering reducing the number of stops buses make along some routes, investigating where indented bus bays could enable them to pull out of the flow of traffic to pick up passengers and choosing a popular bus route to turn into an express service which runs so often it would not need a timetable.

Mr Mullighan said road congestion cost about $1 billion in lost productivity across greater Adelaide in 2011. It was forecast to grow to $4 billion by 2031 if improvements were not made.

Mr Mountain said annual RAA travel time surveys showed worsening congestion on Main North, Fullarton, Marion and Brighton roads in particular.

Transport Department modelling has shown that restricting parking in clearways on arterial roads which carry more than 800 vehicles an hour in each traffic lane could significantly improve traffic flow.

Monitoring of traffic in the city has found greater uptake of cycling has reduced pressure on routes into the city during peak hours by as many as 10,000 trips on an average day.

However, the online survey conducted for Operation Moving Traffic last year revealed a third of people found public transport too complex to use.

The State Government plans to reduce traffic congestion like this across Adelaide. Picture: Sam Wundke

OPERATION MOVING TRAFFIC

Plans to reduce congestion also include:

EXTENDING the city-bound bus lane on Anzac Highway and considering bus priority lanes on congested routes such as Henley Beach Rd, Main North Rd and O’Connell St.

BANNING the right-hand turn at the intersection of Anzac Highway, Greenhill Rd and Richmond Rd and seeking feedback on banning right-hand turns at other key intersections.

TRIALLING longer clearway parking restrictions on Greenhill Rd and South Rd and considering giving council and Transport Department authorities more power to tow vehicles parked illegally in clearways or bus or bike lanes.

INTRODUCING penalties for roadworks crews which leave speed restriction signs out when no work is being done, close lanes for no reason, set signs too far from where the work is happening, fail to put out return-to-speed signs or allow works to spill over into peak traffic periods.

UPDATING 35 bus routes on the city fringe to improve running times and investigate reducing the number of stops buses make on certain routes.

INVESTIGATING where indented bus bays could be built so buses can pull out of the flow of traffic to pick up passengers — possibly starting with Glen Osmond Rd.

CONSIDERING turning a popular bus route into an express service which runs so often it would not need a timetable.

AUDITING traffic signs in the metropolitan area to ensure they are giving motorists the clearest possible directions.

ENCOURAGING early-bird pricing at city car parks to encourage people to drive into work earlier.

DEVELOPING a better process for lodging notice of roadworks or events which would impact on traffic.

SURVEYING councils about priority changes in their areas and developing a series of Moving Traffic Plans.

GIVING pedestrians more time to get across major intersection crossings — starting with Magill Rd at Kensington Park and Port Rd at Hindmarsh.

EXPANDING coverage of the Bluetooth system which collects traffic movement data across the transport network.

INVESTIGATING establishing bicycle share schemes across the city.

MAKING more real-time traffic data available to the public to use in mobile phone applications etc.