"West": No end in sight to traffic snarls

[<smarTTrams>]

Perth's only daily newspaper continues to sow discontent in the minds of its readers with the story No end in sight to traffic snarls on page 3 of its 19.08.06 issue. There is a large colour graphic showing a map of the CBD with several stop signs superimposed on it to mark the main traffic snarls.

The story (minus the graphic) is on The West Australian's website at
http://www.thewest.com.au/default.aspx? ... entID=3706

<smarTTrams>

PS
Note that one of the two city drivers that intrepid West reporters took the trouble to interview has had to resort to catching the train!!

... City drivers questioned by The West Australian were not placated.

“The whole city centre is basically a mess,” complained Daniel Grigson, who works in St Georges Terrace. “It’s so frustrating I’ve almost given up driving in altogether and catch the train instead.”

His resentment was shared by Alice Hodge, whose office is also in the CBD. “It’s like watching a grand comedy in action — there seems to be no proper structural planning and I’ve yet to find someone who actually wants this railway,” she said.

Which is where the story ends -- nicely structured to finish on an anti-railway note!

[PoweredByCNG]

Which is where the story ends -- nicely structured to finish on an anti-railway note!

Let's see what The West will have to say about the SWMR when it becomes the busiest line on the network!

And people were complaining about the NMR when it was under construction. Try closing that down and see what northern suburbs residents have to say!

Regards,
Dave

[ABS]

I find it inconcievable that the sand gropers have any reason to complain about traffic in Perth. Compared to other capital cities there is no congestion in Perth.

[tbc1983_]

Some people are actually ditching their cars in favour of catching PT to and from work? What is this place (Perth) coming to?

*shakes head in disgust*

I swear to God, some of these Latté office-workers give me the shits (Metamucil, eat your heart out). They're snobby as $#!+, these punks are and anything that interferes or affects their cosy lil lifestyle which they lead, while living in, say Como, South Perth, or where ever, they regard it as anathema and kcuf the rest, we're the best. If they're so worried about time travel, leave earlier. I used to leave at 0600hrs from Armadale to get to Subi TAFE, but did I ever have a bloody bitchfest? NO!!!

Personally, these people are as dim as 0.000001 Watt lightbulb and deserve no say (they're probably the same people that dunno the "Bus Bay-Give Way" and "Do Not Overtake Turning Vehicle" rules). To them, long term is 3 months and they have no idea about the long term, nor do they care about Perth's/WA's future. Sometimes I wonder if the majority of the population here are worse than retarded; do you know what it's like being surrounded by idiots?!! You don't know whether to kill them or kill yourself!

I say, The West (brought to you by Kleenex) is nothing but a propagandist, PoS, newspaper. *Spits on fkn floor*

Dave, you hit it on the nail with everything you said in your post, I regret to say (regarding the punks in the northern suburbs). To those dudes up north, if you're living anything farther south than say...I dunno...Vick Park, you're worse than XXX and quite frankly they couldn't give a rat's arse...well, they probably would, but we'd (the residents, not you, personally) have to share it amongst ourselves.

I honestly can't wait till the Mandurah train line is complete.

End of Rant!

[Dennis96]

Wow, that was a serious rant from TBC 1983.

Interestingly, some of the letters to the Editor of "The West Australian" newspaper criticising the Mandurah railway were written by the same individuals that criticised the decision to build the Northern Suburbs Railway as a chronic waste of taxpayers money.

No doubt they thoroughly supported the actions of the government of Sir Charles Court that closed the Fremantle line in 1979 and left just the Midland and Armadale lines withering on the vine.

Yes, there was an unsatisfactory side of the performance of the government of Biran Burke with the ills and excesses of the 1980's and WA Inc. But the residents of Perth can be thankful for that government's legacy of re-opening the Fremantle line so soon after being elected to power, electrifying the three lines and then building the Northern suburbs railway.

Perth and environs is a city approaching 2 million people. The selfish CBD worker clots interviewed by "The West Australian" that resent the difficulties of commuting to work by private motor car don't deserve commenting on. Mind you, IMHO, the cheap all day parking available to workers in the Perth CBD is unrealistic in this day and age. Unfortunately it does make it financially viable for those living in the outer suburbs to commute the the CBD by car, and even more viable when there are two people in the same household working in the CBD. In the absence of a substantial hike in the price of all day parking in Perth, perhaps some form of fare price structuring could be considered as an incentive for people in this situation to us public transport.

[City Bus Observer]

If my feeble brain remember correctly the Mandurah railway project was the handywork of the government of Richard Fairfax Court, He wanted the line to via Kenwick. Maybe these CBD types have it in for the sheer cheek of Geoffrey Ian Gallops's government to use the more direct route via William Street.
You would think that the young dames of the CBD were all widowed because they all seem to wear black.

[<smarTTrams>]

Minister MacTiernan was given the right of reply on page 46 of the Wednesday 23.08.06 issue of The West Australian in a report headed "Most accept train pain: MacTiernan". It can be read on The West's website at

http://www.thewest.com.au/default.aspx? ... entID=4159

<smarTTrams>

[Fleabag]

After the completion of the Mandurah line the next project the Government should tackle is to persuade someone - anyone - to start a second newspaper in this city.

[City Bus Observer]

"However, her positive forecast is not shared by Healthway’s visiting research fellow, Professor Susan Handy, in Perth to discuss health and transport issues with local government authorities.
Professor Handy, from the University of California, is renowned for her knowledge on understanding urban design factors that influence travel behaviour, in particular walking and cycling.

She says the problem of traffic bottlenecks will get worse, not better, that “there is no end in sight to traffic snarls in Perth” — and if the State Government is seriously determined to tackle the problem effectively it should concentrate on making it easier for cyclists to commute into the CBD. And more money should be made available to build new cycle paths and companies encouraged to create bike storage areas."

Snip from the "West" from<smarTTrams>posting.
Los Angeles California the automobile interests bought up the railroads serving that area and shut them down. Now General Motors,Ford and Chrysler are in the poo due to the current oil prices and the dependence of Americans of cars for personal transportation. Brilliant Californian example.
This lady asks for more cycleways Where? You can enter the CBD from all pionts of the compass by cycle and get within 400 metres from the Town Hall exclusively on cycleways. So what is the "learned" professor talking about. Will she also suggest that we drive on the right side of the road so that American engineers can design our transport infrastucture? Perhaps we should be geting Ken Livingstone the Mayor of London or some person from the administration of Amsterdam to discuss "health and transport issues". Or was JENNIFER CURTIS told to put that rubbish in to give Alannah MacTiernan's comments some balance?

Now the DPI is conducting a survey in the Nedlands,Claremont and Cottesloe areas asking the punters to tell what their modes of transport are and the buses circulating in that area are plastered with posters to that effect.

On 2006:08:08 the Australian Bureau of Stastistics on their Census form asked exactly the same questions, which was put in there at the instigation of bodies such as the DPI.Surely DPI could wait until the figures coming out of that census came out to assess the transport and infrastucture needs of the populace instead of engaging in a bit of nosey -parkery.
The folk in the western suburbs dont live there because of their lack of intelligence of their means of transport. Though they would appreciate the benefits of sound public transport which is available to them now.