Retired traffic engineer warns safety audit omitted from initial plans for B-Line bus project
A RETIRED traffic engineer says it will be too late for B-Line authorities to consider a safety audit after the release of the project’s initial plans.
Mosman
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A RETIRED traffic engineer believes that the northern beaches’ B-Line rapid bus service project has put “the cart before the horse” when it comes to public safety.
Cremorne resident Peter Twiney has 30 years’ experience as a transport planning and traffic engineering consultant.
Mr Twiney worked on major development projects in Sydney such as Barangaroo and Darling Harbour.
“My main concern is that the traffic report which accompanied the statement of effects has no analysis of accidents at all,” he said last week.
“This has surprised me. That’s usually the basis of trying to understand what’s good and what’s bad about the piece of road you’re studying.
“The latest publication, the submissions report, which replies to the various issues raised by individuals and councils, states there will be a safety audit done, but that’s really too late.
“You don’t design something and then try and see whether it’s safe.”
“You build the analysis of the safety into the design.”
Mr Twiney said the B-Line plans raised some real potential accident issues.
“Particularly if you’re moving bus stops, you want to be very concerned about pedestrian accidents and the way pedestrians are going to get safely to and from the bus stops,” he said.
“The other aspect to this is, looking at the business case for this proposal, usually the change in accidents is a component of the benefit that you have.
“In this case, you might actually get a disbenefit; there might be a higher accident rate under the proposal, than under the existing situation.
“But no one knows because there has been no analysis.”
A Transport for NSW spokesman said that an independent road safety audit was done last month in accordance with the NSW Centre for Road Safety’s Guidelines for Road Safety Audit Practices.
“The design for the road improvements is currently being reviewed to address the feedback we’ve received from the Review of Environmental Factors and any findings of the audit,” the spokesman said.
“Safety is our number one priority and we’ll notify the community of any changes, including those safety measures that will be put in place, at the conclusion of this process.”
Transport for NSW expects to publicly release the safety audit next month.
Mr Twiney said the B-Line’s impact on Cremorne’s main shopping strip would be wholly negative.
“In summary, because B-Line buses will not stop at Cremorne, the proposal has only negative effects for the centre: reducing vehicular and bus passenger access to shopping, raising safety issues, increasing ‘rat running” and likely reducing local bus services,” he said.
“Proposed turning bans will force more peak hour traffic through local streets and past schools.
“Addressing safety after the design is too late.
“The traffic report is inadequate as it ignores downstream effects, changes to local buses and does not report on queue lengths at intersections.
“The northern beaches tunnel will make the B-Line traffic works redundant and so all the required money, delays, noise, etc., would be in vain.”
A community petition against the B-line in the Cremorne Town Centre has collected more than 4000 signatures so far.
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