Done 
(as a start!)
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Since we are hoping for Gympie Road to become more pedestrian and PT friendly after the completion of the bypass tunnel, there media release from Hon Bart Mellish MP has no mention of reforming Gympie Road into such, only stating that there will be freed capacity on Gympie Road and Gateway Motorway. It also says that Gympie Road will remain as a free alternative to the toll tunnel.
Edit: The media release does mention of an opportunity to improve PT and AT on Gympie Road in a single quote. But because the mention is very brief, I have a bad feeling that the PT and AT improvement on Gympie Road will be overlooked or forgotten.
Thatās why I have always said from the onset of this is to advocate for something delivered together.
At least they should complete the section inbound from Kedron to the existing two way underground busway portal heading outbound.
They should also complete the section from Federation St to Lutwyche.
I donāt think they will allocate money to anything else PT related to Chermside other than the above. Although it would be nice for them to start planning for the new train tunnel from Albion to Bald Hills via Chermside as well.
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Itās very expensive at $10b, probably will cost more now.
There is a good chance it will simply be too expensive. BCR is 0.2, with rising cost that might be 0.1.
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I think with all the other committed projects (hospitals, roads, rail, Olympics), plus escalating costs and an appalling BCR this project will hopefully be forgotten about.
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Do you reckon that a median busway on Gympie Road to Chermside would be viable without the construction of the bypass tunnel? One thing that Chermside would definitely need is a decent right-of-way PT connection to the city; I feel that the peak-only bus lanes on Gympie Road are not enough to cater for the demand of PT to one of the largest shopping centres in Australia.
With 4 lanes (including bus lanes) in each direction on Gympie Road, it seems that there would be enough space for the middle four lanes to be converted into a median busway with smaller busway stops (around the size of Truro St, Federation St).Iām pretty sure this can be done for a relatively low cost since due to construction of the busway mostly being road-median curb works. This would leave Gympie Road four lanes in each direction for motor traffic.
Would this be viable without building the bypass tunnel?
Bus lanes easily doable but against verge though as long-term this should be a REAL Metro.
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I think the argument from Bart Melish when he was transport minister was that the toll tunnel would enable a fully grade separated busway. Though that was informal talk and never a promised part of the project so highly likely to be shelved as an idea before the tollway was complete.
I think the more realistic and likely outcome is extending the transitway, make it 24/7, and run Metrobus/BERTies down it.
I also think that accepting expensive toll roads to get moderate public transport improvements is a long term recipe for public transport failure. Though I also recognise a small improvement is better than nothing.
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There is a bit of stapling going on to present PT improvements as dependent or conditional on accepting the motorway component of the tunnel.
However, you can have one and not the other. The Northern Busway was a PT improvement plan that didnāt feature a motorway, so thatās the proof they are logically separate things.
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Wasnāt the northern busway somehow related to Airport Link construction?
Iām not saying it should be the case, but it was.
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Iām referring to the shelved plans to Chermside with a busway.
Hope so!
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it was and look at how that got botched up!
Freeway and road capacity expansion to ābust congestion and get everyone home faster and saferā is the enemy of public transport.
it is the direct competitor for both passengers and funding.
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This project has been compared to the Sandgate Rd bypass in Nundah. While that bypass has certainly reduced the through traffic in the centre of Nundah, has it done anything to improve public transport? If not, then I donāt really expect this toll tunnel to do so either.
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As a former local, once again I say that we dont need this stupid as and expensive tunnel to improve PT on Gympie Road. The easiest of the easy solutions is right there already: turn the transit lane into a 24/7 bus lane.
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I was a local residing in Chermside too a while back and that Gympie Road corridor from Carsildine to Kedron is atrocious, due to traffic coming from further north.
Remember the tunnel will be built and run privately. The PT solutions can be built by the same company with the Qld Government paying the bill for the portion.
We should start advocating for a PT solution now alongside and delivered together. If we donāt start now we wonāt have the solutions in place for a very long time after the tunnel is completed.
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Nundah did have a train station before moving Sandgate Rd into a tunnel and it wasnāt a desert for right-of-way PT. The next PT improvement at Nundah will be the opening of CRR, where Nundah might be seeing trains every 7.5min.
Chermside is a bit of a different story. There are 3 BUZ routes that connect Chermside to the city, but there is very limited priority for the bus routes from Kedron to Chermside. Furthermore, the buses enter the Northern Busway or Airport Link Tunnels via the right lane of Gympie Road; the bus would have to cut through 3 lanes of vehicle traffic to access the busway or tunnel.
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Campaigning along side is futile. It plays straight into the car lobbyist hands!
You will get nothing but promises and thatās it. Same traffic on surface and more traffic below!
Private or not the Govt will not deliver anything but words! Clem 7 and Airport link promosed reduced traffic and petter active/public transport and delivered zilch!!
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^^This is the time you should be advocating for segregated active transport lanes from Windsor to Kedron
We did get the busway through Lutwyche though. The only reason Lutwyche Road is busy is because of the traffic North of Aspley. Hopefully a new tunnel will divert most of that traffic underground.
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Youāre not listening! It creates its own congestion so you donāt get less traffic anywhere!! Never have Never will
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