$90 million upgrade for Stirling bus bridge

[TP1462]

McGowan Government commits $45 million to Stirling Bus Interchange

Saturday, 12 December 2020

McGowan Government allocates $45 million to Stirling Bus Interchange project
Brings total amount for project to $90 million with Commonwealth contribution
Project will upgrade Stirling Bus Interchange to a modern 30-stand facility
Upgrade to be delivered by Main Roads as part of Stephenson Avenue Extension project
The McGowan Government has allocated $45 million to upgrade one of Perth's busiest bus interchanges in the northern suburbs.

The Stirling Bus Interchange, adjoining Stirling Station and the Mitchell Freeway, will undergo a $90 million upgrade, with the State's $45 million contribution matching the Commonwealth Government contribution.

The project includes upgrading the existing 18-stand facility to a 30-stand bus interchange, along with construction of a new pedestrian access bridge between Stirling Station and the southern car park.

Rail patronage at Stirling is predicted to almost double by 2031, based on planned land use intensification and population growth as part of the Stirling City Centre, which is expected to result in an increase in bus patronage.

With 65 buses using the existing 18-stand facility per hour during peak, the interchange is often full and buses sometimes need to loop around onto Cedric Street between dropping off and picking up passengers, contributing to traffic congestion on the busy arterial road.

By co-ordinating the project with the Stephenson Avenue works, the Public Transport Authority and Main Roads WA will be able to streamline the design and construction process minimising disruption to motorists, bus and rail passengers and the surrounding community.

Contract award for the project is anticipated to take place in mid-2021, with construction to begin soon after and works to be completed in 2023.

Comments attributed to Transport Minister Rita Saffioti:

"Through the Mid-year Review process we have allocated $45 million towards the Stirling Bus Interchange project, which combined with the Commonwealth Government's funding contribution earlier this year, will see the current 18-stand facility upgraded to a 30-stand facility.

"The City of Stirling is a thriving city, with significant employment, retail and commercial opportunities and will grow over coming decades so it's important we continue to plan and deliver the infrastructure needed for the future.

"This new facility will improve efficiency for bus commuters, and combined with other major transport upgrades for the area, will make it easier for people to travel to and from the City of Stirling.

"Work on Stage 1 of Stephenson Avenue is well underway, and by delivering the Stirling Bus Interchange works consecutively with the roadworks, it will streamline the construction process and reduce disruption impacts for residents."

Comments attributed to Balcatta MLA David Michael:

"The Stirling Bus Interchange is one of the busiest bus interchanges in Perth.

"Many people use the bus interchange to access the train station, and with rail patronage at Stirling Station set to double by 2031, this will only increase.

"I'm proud to have worked hard to secure the State Government's contribution to this project, which will support local jobs while providing much needed upgraded facilities.

"Combined with the Mitchell Freeway northbound upgrades, that are almost complete, along with Stage 1 of Stephenson Avenue works which are well underway, we are continuing to deliver for Balcatta residents."


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[TP1462]

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[1whoknows]

As an out of stater I'd like more justification as to why $90 million is needed to change the workload from 4 buses per hour on each stand to 2.2 per hour. It sounds more like there is excessive layover time due to poor rostering.

[Merc1107]

That station is quite a mess in peak on the few occasions I've been unfortunate enough to pay it a visit. What little layover they have is probably in use for meal breaks, and anyone that cannot immediately proceed to stand must loop around Cedric St., a very slow process given the buses don't have any real priority (like most interchanges on the network). This will help with that.

The $90m cost is likely the result of this being an interchange on top of a freeway (cost of bridge). I'm not a fan of this arrangement myself (as these interchanges seem to lack any reasonable places to expand into) but it is what it is.

[tonyp]

If Sterling is going to have that much growth, they should be giving some high priority to rectifying the station platform gap issue that stands in the way of the interchange being fully accessibility compliant. This is the site of the famous incident where people had to rock a train to free a guy who got his leg down the gap.

[TP1462]

That station is quite a mess in peak on the few occasions I've been unfortunate enough to pay it a visit. What little layover they have is probably in use for meal breaks, and anyone that cannot immediately proceed to stand must loop around Cedric St., a very slow process given the buses don't have any real priority (like most interchanges on the network). This will help with that.

The $90m cost is likely the result of this being an interchange on top of a freeway (cost of bridge). I'm not a fan of this arrangement myself (as these interchanges seem to lack any reasonable places to expand into) but it is what it is.

I have to agree not a huge fan either of the design but it is what it is. A number of other stations are having their bus interchanges upgraded I believe Cannington & Canning Bridge are on the list too I’ll have to check Another gripe is the poor pedestrian connectivity between the station and the commercial centre on Ellen Stirling it’s not that great everyone mostly cuts through the fence to access Westfield Stirling, IKEA and DoT etc it’s just a very poorly designed ToD


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[TP1462]

As an out of stater I'd like more justification as to why $90 million is needed to change the workload from 4 buses per hour on each stand to 2.2 per hour. It sounds more like there is excessive layover time due to poor rostering.

To basically increase capacity as well to improve bus and passenger flow a number of other bus interchanges on the network are due for upgrades this one is being fast tracked because of the Stephenson Ave extension project Cedric Street will be closed off to the freeway Stephenson Ave will become the new freeway ramp entrance


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[Enviro 500]

I thought the Stephenson Avenue extension was abandoned years ago?

[Enviro 500]

That station is quite a mess in peak on the few occasions I've been unfortunate enough to pay it a visit. What little layover they have is probably in use for meal breaks, and anyone that cannot immediately proceed to stand must loop around Cedric St., a very slow process given the buses don't have any real priority (like most interchanges on the network). This will help with that.

The $90m cost is likely the result of this being an interchange on top of a freeway (cost of bridge). I'm not a fan of this arrangement myself (as these interchanges seem to lack any reasonable places to expand into) but it is what it is.

I have to agree not a huge fan either of the design but it is what it is. A number of other stations are having their bus interchanges upgraded I believe Cannington & Canning Bridge are on the list too I’ll have to check Another gripe is the poor pedestrian connectivity between the station and the commercial centre on Ellen Stirling it’s not that great everyone mostly cuts through the fence to access Westfield Stirling, IKEA and DoT etc it’s just a very poorly designed ToD


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When Cannington gets upgraded will 202/203, 229 and 294 terminate there? These routes currently operate out of Westfield Carousel.

[Off The Rails]

I doubt they will terminate at Cannington - the main use for the 202 and 203 (at least those two) is the connection it offers for East Cannington residents to go shopping at Carousel.

Cheers!

[TP1462]

I thought the Stephenson Avenue extension was abandoned years ago?

No just very significant changes from the original masterplan which was included as part of the circular freeway network which also included roe 8/9 and the Fremantle Eastern Bypass


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[Bus-1809]

It sounds more like there is excessive layover time due to poor rostering.

You must be talking out of stater language? There is no such thing as layover time in the modern Transperth Era... Unless you call 1 or 2 minutes between trips excessive?

[tonyp]

You must be talking out of stater language? There is no such thing as layover time in the modern Transperth Era... Unless you call 1 or 2 minutes between trips excessive?

Surely you're being a little tongue-in-cheek? There's layover at the ends of routes. Even 998/999 layover at Fremantle (to the annoyance of anybody wanting an unbroken trip from south of Fremantle to north of Fremantle!). However, there's certainly no layover that I know of at these railway interchanges like Stirling.

[Merc1107]

You must be talking out of stater language? There is no such thing as layover time in the modern Transperth Era... Unless you call 1 or 2 minutes between trips excessive?

Surely you're being a little tongue-in-cheek? There's layover at the ends of routes. Even 998/999 layover at Fremantle (to the annoyance of anybody wanting an unbroken trip from south of Fremantle to north of Fremantle!). However, there's certainly no layover that I know of at these railway interchanges like Stirling.

Not entirely. Very short turns are not at all an uncommon phenomena in Perth. There are always exceptions, generally on those runs out to the backwaters of suburbia rather than those between interchanges.

With Circles being as long as they are, there is a lot of waiting time around the major interchanges to help keep the service to schedule, or recover lost time. Which is good, drivers aren't robots and do actually need to stretch their legs from time to time, too. (As we all know, sitting around for prolonged periods is actually quite detrimental to our health).

[Enviro 500]

Surely you're being a little tongue-in-cheek? There's layover at the ends of routes. Even 998/999 layover at Fremantle (to the annoyance of anybody wanting an unbroken trip from south of Fremantle to north of Fremantle!). However, there's certainly no layover that I know of at these railway interchanges like Stirling.

Not entirely. Very short turns are not at all an uncommon phenomena in Perth. There are always exceptions, generally on those runs out to the backwaters of suburbia rather than those between interchanges.

With Circles being as long as they are, there is a lot of waiting time around the major interchanges to help keep the service to schedule, or recover lost time. Which is good, drivers aren't robots and do actually need to stretch their legs from time to time, too. (As we all know, sitting around for prolonged periods is actually quite detrimental to our health).

Sometimes there will be a driver change for the 999 at Southlands. The next driver usually waits for the incoming 999 with a spare bus from CV.

[Merc1107]

Yep, that one is a relatively common relief point. Have witnessed it at Murdoch once or twice, too.

[Bus-1809]

Sometimes there will be a driver change for the 999 at Southlands. The next driver usually waits for the incoming 999 with a spare bus from CV.

Morley, OATS STREET, Southlands, Murdoch Park'n'Ride and Stirling are all relief points on the Circle.

tonyp: Regarding Fremantle Station, it's the start point for the circle. Only Transdev have trips that start and finish there (so they show as one complete trip on the driver's running journal). Swan and PATH Shifts, due to not starting at Fremantle Station, show as 2 separate trips on the running journals, as they are technically 2 different trips. This is why some buses can de-bus all passengers at Freo, as technically they have layover time there, rather than it being a continuous trip, if that makes sense.

As Merc1107 said, Trips out to whoop whoop suburbia attract a longer layover time between trips than trips into Interchanges. There is usually insufficient time for any kind of layover at an interchange (and I mean interchange, not bus stations), unless of course it's for a rostered meal.

[Enviro 500]

Sometimes there will be a driver change for the 999 at Southlands. The next driver usually waits for the incoming 999 with a spare bus from CV.

Morley, OATS STREET, Southlands, Murdoch Park'n'Ride and Stirling are all relief points on the Circle.

tonyp: Regarding Fremantle Station, it's the start point for the circle. Only Transdev have trips that start and finish there (so they show as one complete trip on the driver's running journal). Swan and PATH Shifts, due to not starting at Fremantle Station, show as 2 separate trips on the running journals, as they are technically 2 different trips. This is why some buses can de-bus all passengers at Freo, as technically they have layover time there, rather than it being a continuous trip, if that makes sense.

As Merc1107 said, Trips out to whoop whoop suburbia attract a longer layover time between trips than trips into Interchanges. There is usually insufficient time for any kind of layover at an interchange (and I mean interchange, not bus stations), unless of course it's for a rostered meal.

Well, Transdev practically owns Freo anyway. I've seen a 999 bus operated by Transdev de-bus everyone upon reaching Freo, then change to 511 bound for Murdoch.

[Squiddy]

Well, Transdev practically owns Freo anyway. I've seen a 999 bus operated by Transdev de-bus everyone upon reaching Freo, then change to 511 bound for Murdoch.

So what? You do realise shifts can contain more than just circle, right???

[TP1462]

Morley, OATS STREET, Southlands, Murdoch Park'n'Ride and Stirling are all relief points on the Circle.

tonyp: Regarding Fremantle Station, it's the start point for the circle. Only Transdev have trips that start and finish there (so they show as one complete trip on the driver's running journal). Swan and PATH Shifts, due to not starting at Fremantle Station, show as 2 separate trips on the running journals, as they are technically 2 different trips. This is why some buses can de-bus all passengers at Freo, as technically they have layover time there, rather than it being a continuous trip, if that makes sense.

As Merc1107 said, Trips out to whoop whoop suburbia attract a longer layover time between trips than trips into Interchanges. There is usually insufficient time for any kind of layover at an interchange (and I mean interchange, not bus stations), unless of course it's for a rostered meal.

Well, Transdev practically owns Freo anyway. I've seen a 999 bus operated by Transdev de-bus everyone upon reaching Freo, then change to 511 bound for Murdoch.

It’s almost as if Transdev are operating normally within their contract


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[Enviro 500]

Well, Transdev practically owns Freo anyway. I've seen a 999 bus operated by Transdev de-bus everyone upon reaching Freo, then change to 511 bound for Murdoch.

It’s almost as if Transdev are operating normally within their contract


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It was usually a Swan or Path run whereby I didn't have to disembark upon arriving Fremantle. Occasionally some of them would display "Terminates Fremantle" on their EDS.

[Mr OC Benz]

Moderator note: Could we please refrain from taking this thread further off-topic? A number of recent posts made in this thread as well as in other threads do not contribute anything meaningful to the topics being discussed.

Please consider whether your contributions are beneficial to the topic being discussed before posting to ensure that discussion on this forum remains relevant, informative and enjoyable for all.

[shinjiman]

Hopefully they may include a footbridge or a subway to provide pedestrian access to/from Sunday Drive including IKEA. (as orange line added onto there)

f91d54f0de1537d91a75977eb80cfba0_2.jpg (59.4 KiB) Viewed 4161 times

[perthbus]

The original article is a tad misleading, so for complete transparency the current Stirling Interchange only 9 stands (8 original sheltered stands + the one that was tacked on down the west end of the facility a number of years back and is currently utilised by the 402/403 and 422 services.

Interesting to note in the legend, specific bays appear to be assigned for artics which would certainly make for some scheduling and operational headaches.

It would be interesting to see how the Stephenson Ave project aligns with the current road network as work is currently in full swing alongside Ellen Stirling Blvd, Innaloo.

Note that when the Joondalup line opened back in 1992/93 the layout and stand configurations such as Warwick and Whitfords weren’t designed for artics, so any allocation even today causes additional congestion and bottlenecks, this is partly counteracted by short stand dwell times.

[Enviro 500]

If the infrastructure wasn't designed for artics, at least it should be configured for double deckers. How else would it accommodate high capacity buses?