4 November 2011

The bus lane is returning on Adelaide Avenue

| johnboy
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adelaide avenue

Territory And Municipal Services inform us that the completion of the GDE means they are going to put the bus lane back on Adelaide Avenue:

With the Gungahlin Drive Extension (GDE) now fully open to traffic, the T2 transit lane on Adelaide Avenue between Melrose Drive and State Circle will be returned for use as a bus lane, Director, Roads ACT, Tony Gill has announced.

The change will become effective from Monday 14 November 2011.

“The T2 transit lane was introduced in 2009 as a temporary measure to help alleviate increased congestion on Adelaide Avenue associated with construction work on the GDE by encouraging people to car pool or travel together,” Mr Gill said.


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Encouraging buses and bikes is great but so is encouraging people to carry more than one person in the car (funnily enough taking the bus to work is not a great option when you have to ferry small children around to multiple locations). Yes, they can all coexist and have happily done so on Adelaide Ave for some time now. Frankly I’m mystified about the suggestion that the opening of GDE will magically lighten the load on Adelaide Ave – perhaps, at the very least, the T2 lane should remain open until there is some evidence to prove it’s no longer needed?

Bussie said :

yellowsnow said :

I catch the bus down Adelaide Ave regularly and – seriously – T2 traffic is never a problem. Why penalise carpoolers, who should be encouraged, when it’s rare for more than two buses to travel down the lane per minute. If the road capacity is there, use it.

I don’t currently drive on Adelaide Avenue but I did on my previous shift and the T2 traffic was a problem. At least once a fortnight there was some clown doing 70 in the T2 even though the other lanes were moving quickly too. No amount of driving 1m behind them, honking the horn and flashing the high beams ever seemed to get these idiots to speed up or change lanes.

The T2/bus lane is about 5km. So once a fortnight your bus was about 30 seconds late in to Civic. Wow! I had no idea that Action bus times were so accurate. Action must have apoplexy because of the buses broken down on the side of Adelaide Avenue that I see about once a fortnight.

If the other lanes were flowing so smoothly, you could go around the dopey (but legal) driver rather than demonstrating road rage. If slow drivers were really a problem, minimum speed limits in the T2 lane might help stop this behaviour or change the lane to T3 if it is really interfering with bus times.

yellowsnow said :

I catch the bus down Adelaide Ave regularly and – seriously – T2 traffic is never a problem. Why penalise carpoolers, who should be encouraged, when it’s rare for more than two buses to travel down the lane per minute. If the road capacity is there, use it.

I don’t currently drive on Adelaide Avenue but I did on my previous shift and the T2 traffic was a problem. At least once a fortnight there was some clown doing 70 in the T2 even though the other lanes were moving quickly too. No amount of driving 1m behind them, honking the horn and flashing the high beams ever seemed to get these idiots to speed up or change lanes.

Might just be confirmation bias, but I feel like Adelaide Ave has been a lot quieter for the last week or so at my usual time (8:45ish). As was suggested above, I’m thinking that the people coming from the south who were using Adelaide Ave to avoid the Glenloch Interchange were the source of the “increased congestion”.

Personally I think this is a giant dick move. I’m still trying to figure out how the GDE fits in with this exactly. They say now it’s finished that traffic along Adelaide Ave has improved… uhhhh have they actually tried driving in peak hour to Civic via Adelaide Ave in the past week or two? It’s a car park! I was one of the folks who actually had two people in my car and used the T2 regularly to fly past this traffic standstill; such an awesome feeling. Well, no more, I guess I’ll be stuck with the rest of the poor buggers while there is a perfectly usable lane next to me which will be empty for about 90% of the time. Stupid, stupid decision.

Eppo said :

As a motorcyclist, I approve of this!

At 7.45 on the way to work each morning, I’d rarely see a bus in the T2 lane, but I DO see plenty of cagers slowing me down.

This will essentially give me my own private lane into work each day. Win!

Obviously you are new to the two-wheeling lifestyle, because the veteran motorcyclist knows that there are narrow unmarked motorcycle-only lanes located between each of the usual traffic lanes.

Spykler said :

Help me with this one, I am still trying to come up with a link between traffic coming from this direction and the GDE..

The roadworks aren’t just on the GDE, they affect all traffic coming through the Glenloch interchange, including traffic from the south. That may well have affected the decisions made by people living in, say, Waramanga or Fisher or similar suburbs, some of who might well have decided that Adelaide Avenue became a better choice with the slowdown due to the roadworks.

We all knew that they were planning to do this once the Glenloch interchange roadworks stopped (yes, if you moved to Canberra in the last couple of years, I’m not talking about you) . If it’s such a big issue for you, why didn’t you put forward a suggestion through the appropriate channels that they leave the transit lane in place ages ago, instead on having a whinge once they’ve make the announcement. So many whingers; but so few people willing to actually get off their backside about issues that they believe to be important.

Chilli, the traffic lights for Floriade come out at the end of next week. I don’t understand Mr.Gill. The alternative to Adelaide Avenue is to use the Tuggeranong Parkway. That’s acceptable when it is flowing. But then you then need to go onto Parkes Way to the City. Whoops!!! It’s a parking lot in the mornings. We will only add to the problems there and make it worse. And leaving Civic to go south means joining queues to get onto Parkes Way to the Tuggeranong Parkway. Thats adding many extra kilometers to the trip and wasting our resources. What are they thinking??? If they do this then they should rename Parkes Way to Parking Lot Way. It appears TAMS is not in touch with what the traffic situation is in Canberra.

creative_canberran2:10 am 05 Nov 11

I honestly wonder whether the folks at RoadsACT ever spend much time on ACT roads. And if they don’t, what do they spend all their time on? Certainly not memorising the Australian Standards for road signage or data on road usage if recent examples are anything to go by.

Wow. And here I was thinking I’ve seen everything. Government decision making (and communication) has just stooped to new lows

I catch the bus down Adelaide Ave regularly and – seriously – T2 traffic is never a problem. Why penalise carpoolers, who should be encouraged, when it’s rare for more than two buses to travel down the lane per minute. If the road capacity is there, use it.

As for interaction between GDE and Adelaide traffic – if anything traffic has INCREASED since the GDE was completed. This is because many folks from Gungahlin now use GDE-Tugg Parkway-Lady Denman Drive – Cotter Rd – Adelaide Ave route to get into the Parliamentary Triangle, Deakin, Kingston etc. Previously many would have gone via Northbourne and Cmth Ave Bridge, which tends to be slower

It’s amazing that the road planning ‘professionals’ over at Roads ACT can get basic things like this so wrong. It’s like when they for years resisted duplicating Cotter Rd east of the Pkw ‘until 2036’ (yes, their forecast was that specific) because they didn’t think traffic there was a problem, when anyone who saw the road at peak times would have told them otherwise. Similarly, it was always obvious traffic on Cotter Rd would only increase with GDE completion, followed by Molonglo ramping up – but no, the govt knew better. Luckily they’ve finally come to their senses following actual analysis of traffic flow, and are due to commence duplication this financial year (on the downside – two years of construction delays, simultaneous to Parkes Way roadworks. Interesting times)

“The T2 transit lane was introduced in 2009 as a temporary measure to help alleviate increased congestion on Adelaide Avenue associated with construction work on the GDE by encouraging people to car pool or travel together,” Mr Gill said.
Help me with this one, I am still trying to come up with a link between traffic coming from this direction and the GDE..

Stop your whinging!

The amount of 1 person occupied cars using this lane is a joke. I say return it to bus lane only like it has been for decades.

Postalgeek said :

Jezuz Krats, how long are you going to remain off your Anti-Caps medication? Do any of the nurses know you have access to an keyboard?

I Hope It’s Not Catching…

Not Funny…

Thoroughly Smashed3:04 pm 04 Nov 11

Why don’t we make all of Canberra’s roads T2?

Jezuz Krats, how long are you going to remain off your Anti-Caps medication? Do any of the nurses know you have access to an keyboard?

Holden Caulfield2:20 pm 04 Nov 11

Won’t somebody please think of the residents of Aranda!

krats said :

The Witt Brothers Must be Working At TAMS These Days…You Know…Half…Dim… And…

Krass, You Know Every Single Word Doesn’t Need To Be Capitalized? Sorry, But It Gets Really Annoying After A While. Thanks.

In all seriousness, it confuses me. Adelaide Avenue is mainly used for Woden/South Canberra to Civic, and visa-versa. GDE is mainly used for gungahlin/belconnen to civic (and Tuggeranong parkway.) They are completely different roads. Huh?

The Witt Brothers Must be Working At TAMS These Days…You Know…Half…Dim… And…

BallOfMonkey said :

Innovation said :

Eppo said :

As a motorcyclist, I approve of this!

At 7.45 on the way to work each morning, I’d rarely see a bus in the T2 lane, but I DO see plenty of cagers slowing me down.

This will essentially give me my own private lane into work each day. Win!

I suggest an Occupy the Transit Lanes protest. Everyone get hold of 50cc scooters (speed restricted to 50km/h) and travel legally in the transit lanes…

Apologies for my naivety, but where does it say that a motorcyclist can use a dedicated bus lane? As a motorcyclist who uses this T2 lane on a daily basis my levels of smugness will go through the roof if I’m entitled to continue to use it after it reverts to a bus lane.

BallOfMonkey,

http://www.tams.act.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0014/14054/buslanesad.pdf

That was just the first google search result. There are a few other sources.

BallOfMonkey1:18 pm 04 Nov 11

Innovation said :

Eppo said :

As a motorcyclist, I approve of this!

At 7.45 on the way to work each morning, I’d rarely see a bus in the T2 lane, but I DO see plenty of cagers slowing me down.

This will essentially give me my own private lane into work each day. Win!

I suggest an Occupy the Transit Lanes protest. Everyone get hold of 50cc scooters (speed restricted to 50km/h) and travel legally in the transit lanes…

Apologies for my naivety, but where does it say that a motorcyclist can use a dedicated bus lane? As a motorcyclist who uses this T2 lane on a daily basis my levels of smugness will go through the roof if I’m entitled to continue to use it after it reverts to a bus lane.

Eppo said :

As a motorcyclist, I approve of this!

At 7.45 on the way to work each morning, I’d rarely see a bus in the T2 lane, but I DO see plenty of cagers slowing me down.

This will essentially give me my own private lane into work each day. Win!

I suggest an Occupy the Transit Lanes protest. Everyone get hold of 50cc scooters (speed restricted to 50km/h) and travel legally in the transit lanes…

arb said :

I am of the opinion that all bus lanes should be T2 transit lanes. We now have a lovely new wide 3 lane road into the city from Belconnen (Barry Dr from Belconnen Way to Clunies Ross St) and one lane is dedicated to those useless slow orange things on the road and therefore empty 90% of the time. What a waste.

Waa Waa… the Belconnen bus lane was built to be a bus lane and all the majority of buses during peak hour are chockers. I’m happy sit in traffic for extra 5 minutes and let those who catch the bus have some benefit…. if they all got off the bus and drove, my drive would be even worse.

As for the Adelaide Avenue bus lane, well it used to be a bus lane and they changed it to T2 for the GDE construction. It was always going to be temporary – if you really want to use it hop on a motorbike or god forbide catch the bus.

As a motorcyclist, I approve of this!

At 7.45 on the way to work each morning, I’d rarely see a bus in the T2 lane, but I DO see plenty of cagers slowing me down.

This will essentially give me my own private lane into work each day. Win!

I know it the T2 lane was supposed to be only temporary but I was hoping that the ACT Gov’t had forgotten.

This is a rubbish decision to remove the T2 lane! The cars and bikes on Adelaide Ave don’t impede the buses and taxis (except perhaps to slow them down to 80k’s) and it encourages car pooling which is what everyone wants. I agree that all transit lanes in the ACT should be T2 lanes and then start to be restricted (eg to T3 and then if necessary, buses and taxis only) only if it can be shown that cars and bikes are interfering with other public transport.

Nooooooooooooooooo!!!!!

now i will have to be stuck behind all the knobs that slow right down in the right lane as soon as any other car in the left lanes merges or brakes

I am of the opinion that all bus lanes should be T2 transit lanes. We now have a lovely new wide 3 lane road into the city from Belconnen (Barry Dr from Belconnen Way to Clunies Ross St) and one lane is dedicated to those useless slow orange things on the road and therefore empty 90% of the time. What a waste.

chilli said :

Any word about when the traffic lights for Floriade on Commonwealth Ave will be removed and the speed limit returned to 60kms? It’s been a while now.

Or are they going to stay permanently?

Do you mean 70kms? 60 is the current limit with the traffic lights in place.

They better not stay permanently… there’s a perfectly serviceable pedestrian path under the bridge.

BicycleCanberra11:47 am 04 Nov 11

alloneword said :

I don’t get this.
One reason for adding the T2 lane was to encourage car pooling? I guess they all want us in separate cars now.

You can still ‘car pool’ without having a special lane.The Government wants you to use the Bus. This was always a dedicated bus lane and was the first dedicated bus lane in Australia in fact. If we want better public transport then dedicated busways is one way of achieving this.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CxmqyF5M_rw

Getting rid of the T2? Madness. It’s not like having the few cars with multiple people in them slowed the buses down, but it reduced traffic in other lanes and encouraged people to car pool.

It seems this government is more about command control than common sense!

I thought the T2 was a permanent thing, don’t live south so cant comment on how congested it gets during peak hour.

ABC129 said :

What the? This is complete BS! The T2 lane is a fantastic way to encourage carpooling and the only thing that makes me feel more smug than cruising past stopped traffic in the T2 lane with my wife or child in the car is overtaking stopped cars on my bike!
PLUS it gives the plods an extra place to revenue raise and book the ungrateful sods that drive in the T2 lane without a passenger! Boy that gets my goat!

Dumb idea TAMS.

Agreed the T2 lane makes my drive to work a breeze and throw in the 3 for free car pooling and your set

smiling politely11:19 am 04 Nov 11

alloneword said :

I don’t get this. …One reason for adding the T2 lane was to encourage car pooling?

+1. Heads up Mr Gill, it’s still congested during the peak times. Have there been any problems with the limited numbers of cars sharing that lane with the busses, taxis and motorbikes? May as well just keep it as it is.

What the? This is complete BS! The T2 lane is a fantastic way to encourage carpooling and the only thing that makes me feel more smug than cruising past stopped traffic in the T2 lane with my wife or child in the car is overtaking stopped cars on my bike!
PLUS it gives the plods an extra place to revenue raise and book the ungrateful sods that drive in the T2 lane without a passenger! Boy that gets my goat!

Dumb idea TAMS.

I don’t get this.

Now there is the GDE there will be less cars on Adelaide Ave? How many cars on Adelaide Ave would stop in Civic on the Parli Triangle and never go near the GDE?

One reason for adding the T2 lane was to encourage car pooling? I guess they all want us in separate cars now.

Any word about when the traffic lights for Floriade on Commonwealth Ave will be removed and the speed limit returned to 60kms? It’s been a while now.

Or are they going to stay permanently?

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