Logan Councillor proposes LRT in Logan
Unable to see any details or comments due to the fb page having restrictions, however a quick glance of this, Beenleigh is feasible. Logan Central is not.
Best guess they want to convert the SE Busway to an LRT extending to Eight Mile Plains. Only northern part of Logan will benefit from this, the rest of Logan is very sparse.
4 main hubs to interchange with
GC line
Future Beaudesert line
Springfield line with future extension to Ripley etc
Future Beaudesert line in conjuction with inland rail
Southeast Busway
If they can find a corrindor to link all these 4 then i could see itcwould be a viable time saver
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Calling this a âproposalâ is being very generous. Itâs a thought bubble from Councillor Lisa Bradley, who represents the Springwood and Rochedale areas, and itâs not an uncommon occurrence
The reasoning behind the three locations suggested is due to Loganâs city planning - Springwood and Beenleigh are the cityâs two Principal Activity Centres (aka CBDs), while Logan Central is the cityâs Civic Centre - these three centres are the top of the pile as far as city centres go (with the cityâs two major shopping centres - Hyperdome and Grand Plaza - sitting one rung below them).
An intra city tram network for Logan is pie in the sky stuff, but I do agree that transport connections between these 5 centres do need to be bolstered. Some of them are connected relatively well (Springwood and Logan Central is connected via the half hourly 550, Beenleigh and Woodridge are connected by the train), but others are connected by a number of low frequency, meandering bus routes. Take the hourly 552 between Loganholme and Woodridge, or the hourly 553 from Beenleigh to Trinder Park via the Hyperdome and Woodridge.
Notably, one connection that doesnât exist at all as a single route is Beenleigh to Springwood - this canât be done without needing to change buses, with one of those buses most likely being an hourly one like a 565, 553 or the dreaded 563 (Beenleigh to Loganholme in 40 minutes!). While I understand that not everywhere can be connected with single seat journeys, we are talking about two major locations locally that are less than 20 minutes apart, that would, in most likelihood, take ~40 minutes by bus in all but the best timed cases.
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My half baked idea is 2 Light rail lines; Garden City to Browns Plains via Sunnybank (mostly along Mains Rd), and Browns Plains to Springwood via Logan Central (Wembley/Kingston Rds).
Browns Plains can then be an interchange with the new Beaudesert line, and the tram lines connect it to the GC line and SE Busway. Beenleigh is accessible via the train. Surely in the interim they could just do bus lanes and high frequency services to build the demand
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I really do think a more cost-effective solution to Logan Light Rail is to introduce a network of ârapidâ buses within Logan City Council LGA, fulfilling very direct routes between major economic, industrial, and commercial activity centres within LCC.
Start off with the basics like:
- higher connectivity between Browns Plains and Loganholme, via Loganlea station (introduce a bus route that is a more streamlined, and efficient 560).
- higher connectivity between Browns Plains and Springwood, via Kingston station (introduce a bus route that is a more streamlined version of the 550).
- generally speaking, more bus frequencies allotted to bus station park nâ rides (ie. Greenbank Park nâ Ride RSL, and Park Ridge Park nâ Ride).
And if done correctly, it may be a crucial step in making Loganâs bus network more on-par/competitive with the private, motor-vehicle.
If it wasnât obvious already, I greatly dislike the 550 and 560, because they take very indirect, and windy routes, which - if taken out of the equation - would otherwise make them an attractive journey (ie. solid east-west cross-town routes). If only Logan City Council didnât have sprawling suburbs..
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IMHO the 545 is first cab off the rank for an HF upgrade. I guess weâll see what happens with the funding package.
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I very much agree with the broad idea. Any proposal for light rail should first demonstrate that the trip can be well-used with buses before itâs upgraded to vastly more expensive infrastructure. Buses are the cheapest and easiest PT mode to implement.
Now sure, I like to dream about top notch PT infrastructure just as the rest of us do. And I wish we lived in the sort of society that would be pounding the table for light rail lines everywhere. But we donât, especially in outer suburbs like Logan. So I think itâs definitely worth looking at more realistic proposals like more frequent bus routes, which if effective can build the case for things like light rail. Otherwise, weâre all just dreaming.
But being a PT foamer online is fine, at the end of the day itâs harmless. Itâs different to put up an unrealistic idea as an elected politician, because that sets higher public expectations, often followed by disappointment and eventually cynicism over PT infrastructure proposals. So I think it was a bit irresponsible for the councillor to float this idea and only allow a yes/no response through reactions instead of letting people air detailed feedback. Particularly for a non-BCC councillor, as no other council would ever have the funds to pay a large percentage of the construction cost themselves. Itâs easy to ask people if they want big money projects when itâs not your government thatâll be paying for it.
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I completely agree - the 545 really is the backbone route through the western side of Logan, and the one that should be made HF. Itâs also now a much more usable connection for the eastern side of Logan to access, thanks to re-routing it via Rochedale. Catching a 555 to Rochedale to interchange to a 545 and backtrack to Woodridge is a decent option; catching a 555 to Garden City to back track from there was much less palatable.
I donât necessarily agree that we need to introduce brand new routes for these purposes. Boosting the frequency on the 545 could negate the need to alter or duplicate the 560 - the 560 is relatively direct between Loganholme and Marsden, itâs only after Marsden where it deviates through Crestmead, Heritage Park & Regents Park (albeit a relatively direct deviation which I think will become more popular as the sections of Park Ridge along Green Road continue to be developed). However, with a more frequent 545, transferring between a 560 and 545 at Marsden could become much more viable for anyone after a quicker journey from Hyperdome to Browns Plains.
The 550, for the locations that it covers, is still relatively direct route. Between Springwood and Marsden, it takes mostly main roads - Park Road, Kingston Road, Wembley Road, Jacaranda Avenue. Yes, it does take some detours along Haig Road and Muchow Road for coverage purposes, but I never found them too much of an issue (getting so close to Loganlea Station but not servicing it I did take exception to). Even going through Marsden to Browns Plains, it takes a route fairly parallel to Browns Plains Road, and it isnât that much different in terms of time than the straight running 545.
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Weâre in the process of lining up a meeting with Logan Mayor Jon Raven, so it would be good to address this in that meeting, and also talk about upgrading the 545 etc.
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Wouldnât the best Beenleigh to Springwood connection be train to Kingston, then 550 to Springwood?
This type of mode-first technology focused proposal is very common.
Firstly, could we map out proposed routes or lines? Then weâll have a better idea.
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God no! Translink plots going via Kingston and taking either a 550 as taking 51 minutes travel time!
The faster option in Translink is usually catching a bus to the Hyperdome and connecting there, which takes either 34 or 40 minutes, depending on what bus from Beenleigh you get (the difference seems to be dwell time between buses - both the 565 and 553 buses follow the same route through Loganholme and Tanah Merah now).
The point still remains that driving directly from Beenleigh Station to Springwood Station takes 17 minutes according to Google, and 24 minutes if the Hyperdome is added as an intermediate stop. The 565+555 option at 34 minutes isnât a terrible option, except that the 565 is an hourly service and so too is the slightly longer 553.