NZ In Tranzit

The Crown Plaza Hotel (ugly bloody thing) and its neighbour, the fairly nondescript Copthorne Hotel (Durham Street) were among the hundreds of buildings compromised by the violence of Christchurch earthquakes, since demolished (amazing machines) and ground to dust (amazing machines). The city now needs tens of thousands of construction workers and rail could play a part.   The March/April 2012 edition of   Architecture NZ   magazine features a big article on the post quake rebuild in Christchurch.  Over 40 new major construction projects are identified, each with a small illustration and expected time of completion, The great majority are blocks of shops/offices/apartments (often a combination of two or even all three), mostly three to six storey buildings, though one or two bucking the new trend not get to get too far off the ground with up to 10 storeys.  Almost all are expected to be completed in 2012 and 2013. And this is only the tip of the ...

These two photos were taken on different days but as I was catching the same timed transfer they are essentially a pair - above about 8.22a.m. or close. Photo above; several buses have just removed a large crowd of transfer commuters (including kids heading to various schools); photo below about five minutes before the time of the above photo the same area with passengers crowding in, people being jostled, stepping on bus lane to get past each other etc. See how the fence creates a sort of divide - a miniature Berlin wall - limited space for thousands of bus passengers - maximises parking space for five extra cars  (driven by the superior race!).  Why in an area of heavy vehicle movements mingling with pedestrians are the platform widths so utterly budget??  It must almost be a health and safety issue! Let us please remember bus services are recovering - bloody quickly it seems, even with a central city employment hub that barely exists  - and within a y...

It would be harder to find a more absurd state-the-obvious report than that made recently in West Australia following research by Austroads, the body representing all Australian road authorities.  According to an article in  The West.com.au   Dedicated bus lanes - a centrepiece of the State Government's public transport strategy for the next 20 years - it says could be contributing to Perth's traffic congestion woes.  Research conducted for Main Roads and other Australian transport and traffic authorities has found some bus lanes have an adverse impact on other road users. While dedicated lanes allowed buses to queue-jump and avoid congestion, they could add to delays facing the motorists they were overtaking. Has someone missed a cog here? The world is running out of space in central urban areas for everyone to drive to work or make other minor journeys that could as easily be made by public transport. The option is of creating more lanes for cars, typi...

Road Sign from Singapore (Wikimedia Commons) Lately the enormous post earthquake sewer replacement works in Edgeware Road St Albans, and now further major works in Keyes Road New Brighton, have sent the Metrostar crashing off the straight and narrow, taking the bumpy road of life around some alternative streets. Two major deviations - In St Albans Edgeware Road East of the shopping centre diverts via Sherborne Street, Canon Street and back onto Barbadoes Street; in North New Brighton beach bound buses from Keyes Road/Bowhill roundabout onwards divert via Baker Street and New Brighton Road to New Brighton. What a marvellous improvement to the Metrostar route this would be, once these same new roads are repaired, if these became the standard Metrostar route! Let's face it, the previous (proper) route is a bit "effete" - all very polite and squeaky clean, zooting nicely along, - that is  along the side of rivers, wetlands, QEII vast lawn area, golf courses - one...

Roadside berm approaching Memorial Avenue on Russley Road ready for conversion to four lanes and a planned over-bridge on this road over Memorial Avenue. The government arm responsible for planning transport infrastructure in New Zealand - several name changes down the track called New Zealand Transport Agency - appears to be putting the economic future of Christchurch at risk. NZTA is planning to build an over-bridge to replace the current roundabout at the intersection of Russley Road and Memorial Avenue. The pamphlet they produced to explain this states ; The existing two-lane section of  Russley  Road between Yaldhurst Road and Wairakei Road is proposed to be upgraded to a four-lane median separated road. In this proposal the  Russley  Road/Memorial Avenue roundabout will be upgraded to become a grade separated interchange with  Russley  Road going over Memorial Avenue. Four laning  Russley  Road between Yaldhurst Ro...

Nottingham, UK, city bus -  Nottingham has the  UK's second-highest per capita bus usage after London.  Photo -  Wikimedia Commons Long a leader in communications technology for vehicles, Tait Electronics , began in Christchurch many years ago specialising in radio telephones. Now the English arm of Taits has created a system to monitor and adjust bus movements in Nottingham City, without the drivers themselves having to call in their situation. Data retrieved from the new system is also expected to enhance long turn planning. Tait worked together with German transportation technology company Init Communications to install the radio and data system at the depot and on 340 buses. The spacious new Broadmarsh Bus Station in Central Nottingham - Wikimedia Commons Nottingham has long punched above its weight in public transport, quality and patronage. Nottingham has a metropolitan base population of 680,000 with another 400,000 people living in a...

From the International Energy Agency Oil relies upon pressure to get it out of the ground. Everyone is familiar with the iconic photos of gushers, new oil wells that have broken through into an underground pool shooting oil many metres into the air. Oilmen look for such underground pools, formed over millions of years, on harder impervious rock but once this is used up, the rest of the oil takes years to ooze out of the surrounding rocks, like a sponge slowly dripping into the basin. Sometimes steam can be pumped down into the area helping to push the oil out; other times rocks full of oil, if close enough to the surface, can be crushed (using a huge amount of electric energy) and oil extracted that way. Both systems are slow and expensive. As is drilling into the seabed. Not cheap oil as in the past. The reason why world oil production has probably plateaued (as predicted back in the 1950s)  and will eventually start to decline (as was also predicted back in ...

This Biblical (?) quotation above reminds me a bit of the guy walking on a beach north of Christchurch a few years ago who was hit by forked lightning and survived.  A reporter commented in the paper that when he said to this guy,  "You were so lucky" this guy replied "Well it depends how you look at it doesn't it?"

  Eastgate Mall - a hub-point for seven different bus routes  - unfortunately current bus services and support structures are organised like the proverbial dog's breakfast.  A example above; Buckleys Road outstop - a major busy stop yet very exposed to noise and fumes pollution from accelerating vehicles;  inaccessible to shopping trolleys despite supermarket and mall proximity; a four-lane road that can be difficult, even frightening for for those with small children, aged, infirm or disabled to get across; also potentially dangerous crossing place with children or teenagers making risky runs between vehicles to catch a bus; in bound and out bound (and exchange) stops split across a wide and busy road, with bus stops for two other "connecting" services up to 500 metres away!!    How NOT to do public transport infrastructure? NZ in Tranzit thinks so and asks when will the Council start putting their money where their mouth is on transfer stations? ......

Many places around the world are seeing a surge in public transport use.  Although the spotlight is usually on rail buses carry 80% of  passenger carried by public transport, world-wide, according to the UITP  (The International Association of Public Transport =  L'Union internationale des transports publics) the world's major federation of public transport operators. In the United Kingdom, as elsewhere,  the role the bus plays in sustaining the economy and social infrastructure is being re-evaluated, seen through fresh eyes. In many ways the bus is so successful, even without supportive funding and priority status on roads, that it gets overlooked.   The United Kingdom daily paper/website  The Telegraph recently carried a story about this process of re-evaluation, with accompanying You Tubes of a panel discussion,  under the headline   " Buses to provide good return for investment"   The story noted - ...