7 March 2011

Bunda Street truly rectified

| johnboy
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Bunda Street stripped bare

We did warn that Bunda Street in Civic was going to well and truly get resurfaced.

Well as you can see they’ve taken it back to the dirt.

Which road will be the replacement target of industrial grade whinging?

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random said :

Case in point for why the Childers Street “shared zone” is a joke. You don’t need pedestrian crossings in a shared zone, because pedestrians have right of way!

Pedestrian crossing or not, the speed limit needs to be enforced. No way am i going to claim my “right of way” as a pedestrian when walking towards an car going 6 times the speed limit.

Davo111 said :

what he said, i’ve seen people do at least 60 down the “shared zone”. Ive seen people speed up even more to try and “beat me” to the pedestrian crossing so they dont have to stop.

Case in point for why the Childers Street “shared zone” is a joke. You don’t need pedestrian crossings in a shared zone, because pedestrians have right of way!

Architecturally, it’s just a road: the road is separated from the surrounding footpaths by on-street parking, planters and bicycle racks, which encourages separate car and pedestrian corridors. There’s no need for any sharing, just crossing.

Thoroughly Smashed said :

KaptnKaos said :

Another Canberra road “wrecktified”.

It’s okay, they’re not going to leave it like that.

Oh good, so it will be fixed like the Erindale Drive/Ashley Drive roundabout – 3 weeks and no work done except to scrape the road enough to wreck tyres – yes fix my street contacted or Marcus Clarke St/Hobart Place dug up and nothing for two weeks, just fencing erected to block motorcycle parking or the GDE – we’ll just leave that one alone or Drakeford Drive, relaid but you don’t need lines for lanes, make your own.

But agree to the shared zone concept for Bunda, Childers Street has shown it can work well.

Gungahlin Al10:25 am 08 Mar 11

m_ratt said :

Replacement target of whinging?
Horse Park Drive and Majura Road – what were they thinking with the recent patching and pot hole filling on Horse Park – it’s like driving on Braille.
And the full Majura Resurface in late 2008 (where the new surface was laid directly over the old crap one, pot holes and all, without any grading), was woeful.

This appears to be “the Canberra way”…

Thoroughly Smashed10:19 am 08 Mar 11

KaptnKaos said :

Another Canberra road “wrecktified”.

It’s okay, they’re not going to leave it like that.

Replacement target of whinging?
Horse Park Drive and Majura Road – what were they thinking with the recent patching and pot hole filling on Horse Park – it’s like driving on Braille.
And the full Majura Resurface in late 2008 (where the new surface was laid directly over the old crap one, pot holes and all, without any grading), was woeful.

The ability for pedestrians to flow freely on Bunda Street today without worrying about traffic on the road to nowhere was excellent. I couldn’t help but chuckle seeing the people ignoring the road closed ahead warnings then to try and do a u-turn when they came to the end.

The Government choosing not to turn the area into a pedestrian area with local access for delivery vehicles is absolutely idiotic. Bunda St does not go anywhere nor do any of the side streets, the businesses there are not going to lose any business, more likely to gain business when the impediment of the road is not there.

thy_dungeonman said :

You can watch the driver behaviour on the shared zone at the ANU for a bit more evidence of that.

what he said, i’ve seen people do at least 60 down the “shared zone”. Ive seen people speed up even more to try and “beat me” to the pedestrian crossing so they dont have to stop.

thy_dungeonman7:38 pm 07 Mar 11

artuoui said :

arescarti42 said :

Sgt.Bungers said :

Shared zones work all over Europe, with no cons except for the initial cost. Are Australians really incapable of adapting to them?

In a society where the motorists have “the road is for cars only” pretty heavily ingrained into their heads, probably.

I’m still amazed at how people fail to use this as a shared zone consider the large electronic signs that say “shared zone” at every entrance. The initially removed the pedestrian crossing when it was made into a shared zone but now they have had to put them back. I once saw someone doing (the posted limit) 10km hour there, true story, with an angry convoy behind them. Cars don’t seem to realise also that shared zone includes cyclists and I’m always careful to ride slowly around them but I they never seem to realise that I have right of way.

You can watch the driver behaviour on the shared zone at the ANU for a bit more evidence of that.

Gungahlin Al5:26 pm 07 Mar 11

artuoui said :

arescarti42 said :

Sgt.Bungers said :

Shared zones work all over Europe, with no cons except for the initial cost. Are Australians really incapable of adapting to them?

In a society where the motorists have “the road is for cars only” pretty heavily ingrained into their heads, probably.

You can watch the driver behaviour on the shared zone at the ANU for a bit more evidence of that.

The shared zone of Childers Street was working fine. Until a few months ago when they ripped the main choke points out to accommodate the trucks hauling fill out of the student accommodation site at the north end. Now it is functioning just like any other 60kph street. A real shame.

I am with Sgt Bungers on this. I was part of the Maroochy Council that built such a shared zone on Duporth Ave and Ocean Street in central Maroochydore. To this day it works a treat, and formerly deserted commercial zones have been reinvigorated. Drivers and pedestrians need to ensure eye contact and then “negotiate” who goes first. And generally, through traffic finds a path with less “friction”.

Article on and photos of it in this issue of our newsletter: http://gcc.asn.au/images/Gunsmoke/2010/issue_117.pdf

It is precisely what Bunda Street needs. (And Hibberson Street!!)

arescarti42 said :

Sgt.Bungers said :

Shared zones work all over Europe, with no cons except for the initial cost. Are Australians really incapable of adapting to them?

In a society where the motorists have “the road is for cars only” pretty heavily ingrained into their heads, probably.

You can watch the driver behaviour on the shared zone at the ANU for a bit more evidence of that.

Sgt.Bungers said :

Shared zones work all over Europe, with no cons except for the initial cost. Are Australians really incapable of adapting to them?

In a society where the motorists have “the road is for cars only” pretty heavily ingrained into their heads, probably.

Shame they’re not using this opportunity to turn it into a proper shared zone. No more frustrated drivers driving dangerously fast between pedestrian crossings only to have to stop for 2 minutes at each one, thanks to pedestrians being forced to converge on the crossing due to the dangerously fast moving motor vehicle traffic between them… because of the frustrated drivers trying to get through the crossings… hmm.

In a properly designed shared zone, motor vehivle traffic will just roll along at walking pace along the entire length of the road, in a fashion not different to how the occasional service vehicle must proceed down city walk at the moment… slowly, carefully, with the driver paying full attention to the pedestrians all over the place who have right of way.

Shared zones work all over Europe, with no cons except for the initial cost. Are Australians really incapable of adapting to them?

Another Canberra road “wrecktified”.

Yep, pave it and close to all but local traffic and goods/services vehicles. While they’re at it, convert Alinga Street in West Civic to a bus-only thoroughfare.

Gungahlin Al12:43 pm 07 Mar 11

I’m entirely for paving it and turning it into a shared zone. You don’t close it altogether, so in quiet times, vehicles can use it, and at the same time provide casual surveillance for the surrounding businesses. But during busy times it becomes a high friction zone where has in-built deterrance for anyone thinking they might drive through the area.

This is the solution I’ve been promoting for two years for Hibberson Street in Gungahlin (and I think starting to get some traction on).

Meanwhile for anyone thinking that Bunda Street needs more traffic lights, I say that is precisely what it doesn’t need. Lights give drivers certainty of time to get through. So more people drive that way – the reverse of what you actually want.

As a pedestrian around Bunda Street during the busiest period, I have no sympathy for drivers who choose to go through there, and delight in seeing them hung up at the crossings for ages. Each person stuck there that way is another who’ll never go that way again in the middle of the day.

Yep close it – and take the opportunity to open up City Walk / Garema Place. It would obviously be a very complex problem to solve, especially the commercial side of it, but something needs to be done to even out the old and new areas of Civic, while making more space for events like the multicult festival.

Mothy said :

Seriously though, lights are needed (similar to the lights at the Bunda Street part of the Canberra Centre).

lights would be handy, but there really is no reason for non commercial vehicles to be driving down there anyway.

Davo111 said :

imho closing the street would be a great idea. Kinda sick of all the drivers who get angry/aggressive for stopping at pedestrian crossings.

Seriously though, lights are needed (similar to the lights at the Bunda Street part of the Canberra Centre) for the two ped crossings on either side of the Supabarn section. One needs to be mighty patient to find a gap in the foot traffic to cross either of those crossings (Peitrie Street & Scotts Crossing).

+ one for closing the street.

imho closing the street would be a great idea. Kinda sick of all the drivers who get angry/aggressive for stopping at pedestrian crossings.

EvanJames said :

They should pave it and close it to cars.

The Canberra Centre would love that – they would then be able to close in the part where the pedestrian crossing lights are now and build more shops. Not to mention filling in the space between their buildings right along Bunda St.

They should pave it and close it to cars. Many people nowadays don’t realise that Garema Place and Petrie Plaza were normal streets a few decades back. And Ainslie Ave used to run right through what is now the Canberra Centre mall.

Which road will be the replacement target of industrial grade whinging?

The road surface was utter, utter crap, and Bunda St is one of the busiest streets and arguably a focal point (or what passes for one here ) in the commmercial centre of what’s supposed to be the national capital. Why are repeated requests for a serious resurfacing to bring it up to a reasonable standard “whingeing”?

Hmmm – can’t be long now ’til we close Bunda St to motor traffic.

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