Mid Week Linkfest

This sure would have been a lot easier if we had some money for a Dunbarton rail bridge no?
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Growing up instead of sprawling out in Melbourne.

The report says just 10 per cent of the existing urban area could be used to accommodate projected growth in Melbourne's population from about 4 million to 5 million by 2030. About 34,000 sites on major corridors could be suitable for multi-level development, it says. These include more than 12,400 sites along tram lines and 22,000 along priority bus routes such as Johnston Street. The sites could accommodate about 500,000 new dwellings in total.

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There's also two big elevated freeways on that side of town.

If you had doubts that air pollution from nearby industries exacerbated asthma in children, this map may quell them.

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I've been harsh on LaHood. Maybe I should give him some slack since he's a runner! Just like me a long time ago.
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I think they need both Smart and Streetcars. Though I still think that ignoring downtown Novato is a dumb move.
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I guess Blago wasn't the only one who likes to block transit in Chicago.

One Car, Two Car, Three Car, Blue Car

When you have access to transit, you use it. I'm looking at maps and doing GIS analysis on American Cities for most of my day. So I'm really interested in looking at these types of maps in cities outside of the US. In this instance, this is a map of car ownership and transit ridership in Melbourne, one of the cities that kept its streetcars. What is fascinating is the amount of single car ownership along the transit lines. Now it isn't controlled for income levels, self selection or the size of the household, but it would be interesting to take a look at the household costs for living near the lines vs. living away from them. Anyways, check it out at Transport Textbook.

Build Near Tram Lines, Cut Sprawl

So says an article in the Age.

A Greater Melbourne Authority could take control of the city's public transport and help push through multi-storey buildings along tram and train corridors, in a bid to stop the suburbs sprawling further.

I wonder if the only thing that can really stop the suburbs is people getting fed up with paying too much for transportation. Anyone know how Toronto and Melbourne compare to American cities the same size? Seems like we can get at least a little glimpse of what we messed up when we ripped our trams out of the ground.

H/T NJH

Combino Cracks

Looks like the Combino is having more problems. In 2004, there were issues with car bodies slightly cracking.

On March 12, 2004, Siemens admitted to problems concerning the stability of the car bodies and, as a precautionary measure, instructed all public transportation services to take all Combinos with a service distance of more than 120,000 kilometres (74,565 mi) out of service. Torsion forces generated in S-curves were much higher than anticipated, leading to cracks around the articulations between the car modules. Subsequently, hairline cracks were found in the joints of the aluminium bodies, which could cause the roof to collapse in the case of an accident.

The Caterpillars of Budapest had issues and were delayed due to door issues in 06. While not as bad as the issues the European versions had, Melbourne is going to make fixes due to the fractures that have occurred on their trainsets. I've heard that subsequent redesigns have fixed the problem on the current model.

Savannah Streetcar Coming Back

The tracks are there, and a Melbourne heritage car will be there soon.

33 Lines, $14 Billion Dollars

That's the green transport plan for Melbourne.

Greens transport spokesman, Greg Barber, says freeways and road tunnels are inefficient transport options. "They're hugely expensive and actually not very efficient at carrying people," he said. "Clifton Hill railway station actually shifts more people than the Eastern Freeway next door. Just goes to show how inefficient freeways are at moving people."

There's also a really cool blog folks should check out called Transport Textbook. They are covering the investment line by line.

Another Short Film: What If the Trams Were Gone?

A very cool video that probably saved Melbourne's Tram system from the usual suspects back in the day. Visit Keep Melbourne Moving for More...