Melbourne traffic is worsening, and politicians are to blame
IF you think Melbourne’s gridlock is rapidly going from plain hideous to absolute hell, just think what it’s going to be like by Christmas Day, writes Susie O’Brien.
Susie O'Brien
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MELBOURNE’S gridlock is rapidly going from plain hideous to absolute hell. We no longer just have a weekday peak, but a weekend peak as well that seems to last from 8am Saturday to 7pm Sunday.
A few days ago, it took us half an hour to travel a kilometre or so from Watsonia in the northeast and up on to the Metro Ring Road. It was 2pm on a Saturday.
The same thing happened the next day when we were crawling along the Tullamarine Freeway on the way to Essendon, going 25kmh an hour for about 5km. That was 5pm on a Sunday.
In both cases, there were absolutely no reasons for any delays. No accidents, no roadworks, no breakdowns, no lane closures.
Just crappy roads that have not kept up with the demands of a rapidly growing, modern city.
Just imagine what it’s going to be like by Christmas Day. If you want to get somewhere for lunch on time, you’d be well advised to leave before breakfast.
And don’t even think about trying to get to the beach on Boxing Day — you won’t hit the sand until well after dark.
A report by Infrastructure Victoria shows the average speed during the morning peak will drop to only 31kmh in coming years, even with all the billions of dollars promised on infrastructure upgrades.
Although that doesn’t sound too bad, it’s been a while since I’ve gone that fast during most peak times.
Experts predict that within two decades, half of all car trips in Melbourne will be significantly affected by congestion. I’d say it feels like this future is already here.
It’s all very well for planners to say building more roads just leads to more congestion, but what’s the alternative? Our politicians are so backwards, we don’t even have a rail link to the airport, so we can’t count on them to come up with clever solutions.
MELBOURNE, THE CONGESTION CITY
COMMUTERS FED UP WITH MELBOURNE PUBLIC TRANSPORT
Here are some of my transport pet hates:
ROADWORKS that close lanes and hold people up even when no work is being done. Why are we still going 40kmh instead of 100kmh?
ROADS in transition that are unsafe because of all the conflicting line markings and merges;
LACK of certainty over the traffic patterns: I can leave the CBD at 5.15pm some days and be home by 6pm. Other days, I leave at 7pm and it still takes an hour;
MILLIONS spent on road upgrades that don’t make things better. There’s a stretch of road coming out of Yea which has been upgraded but is now 80kmh;
A REFUSAL to consider options such as dual lanes which go into the city at peak morning times and out of the city in the afternoon. Many major roads are chockers one way and empty the other, and yet this is never discussed;
ROADWORKS that take years instead of months for no good reason. Swan St Bridge is a good example. It’s a tiny $30 million project that’s just been delayed five months because the original plans were wrong. Now there are signs up saying: “Four lanes, thank you drivers”. But it had four lanes in the first place before the so-called upgrade, so that’s hardly a big improvement; and
WHY not have more extended clearways to open up major roads to traffic at peak times? I know shoppers hate it, but if we keep going the way we are, no one’s going to be able to get anywhere, let alone the shops.
So, what can be done? A congestion charge is a popular solution which might work for those who have a choice about where they go and when, but it’s only going to make commuters who have little say about their movements poorer and more annoyed.
Those who live in the outer suburbs which are badly serviced by trains and buses don’t need extra charges to make it harder to get to work.
Half of those making suggestions clearly don’t use our roads. Staggering our work start times doesn’t make sense given that our peak already starts at 6.30am. The Eastern Freeway is bumper to bumper by 7am in the stretch leading up to Hoddle St. The same goes for the evening peak, which now starts at 3pm in many places.
METRO SPRUIKS BOLD TRAIN PHONE SCAN PLAN
MELBOURNE PUBLIC TRANSPORT GOING ‘BACKWARDS’
Consultants continue to come up with solutions, but many of the best ideas have been around for years, such as a rail link along the Eastern Freeway to Doncaster.
Even the existence of a rail link isn’t always the answer; often commuters have nowhere to park at stations, or can’t be sure of getting on packed trains at peak times.
There is also a complete lack of co-ordination, which means a one-lane blockage because of a crash can almost bring half the city’s arterial roads to a standstill.
It’s time frustrated Melburnians put our political parties on notice. The next state election must be fought on roads. We need to get Melbourne moving again.
Susie O’Brien is a Herald Sun columnist
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