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“Some of the best engineers, designers and builders from across Australia
and around the world have worked for years
to refine the design of North East Link to ensure it delivers
the best outcome for the whole community.”
Duncan Elliott, Chief Executive of the North East Link project
Sunday Herald Sun, pg 30, 12 February 2023
North East Link - the $26 billion 'Half Project'
Although North East Link is the most expensive transport infrastructure project in Australia's history, the official eye-watering total project cost of $26 billion (in 2024) does not cover the cost of all the road upgrades that will be needed, to make it work.
As well as the poor, dangerous and inadequate design issues described on my 'Wrong Design ...' and 'Complete Disinterest ...' pages,
here are some of other necessary associated projects that are not being considered:
"Not our problem": outside the scope of the North East Link project
1. Local Bulleen Issues
(1a) A Clearway Along Thompsons Road from Manningham Road to Bulleen Road
The 2022 North East Link (NEL) project decision to shift the northerly interchange ramps (leading under the Yarra River to Watsonia and the Ring Road) from Greenaway Street (near Manningham Road) to Thompsons Road just east of Bulleen Road means that there will be much more traffic on Thompsons Road. This road has two traffic lanes in each direction, plus a central two-way right turn lane. This section of road has no Clearway and relies on residents 'doing the right thing' and parking in their own driveways or in a side street. But with the increasing conversion of houses to rental properties, and with the high cost of rentals, young people join together to rent 'share houses'. They each have a car and so some of these vehicles end up parked in the left traffic lane on Thompsons Road for very long periods - mainly because it's the most convenient place and no one in authority has told them not to. This generally does not happen on Manningham Road, as it has AM and PM peak weekday Clearways.
These few parked vehicles disrupt bus services (most of which are supposed to be assisted by the new busway being built as part of the NEL project) and disrupt traffic movements generally, obstruct sight lines from driveways and side streets, and create unnecessary hazardous driving conditions for the thousands of drivers who pass along Thompsons Road, simply for the convenience of a few able bodied young people, who in all cases have the option of parking in a driveway or a side street.
With the increased traffic that will use Thompsons Road once North East Link opens, it is essential that on-road parking is eliminated in peak periods and only permitted for short-stop pick-up and set down at other times (The shops half way along this section of road have their own service road with parking; they will be unaffected by this proposal). It would be my recommendation that Thompsons Road has the following parking restrictions implemented, as soon as possible:
between Bulleen Road and Barak Street - a Clearway at all times (both sides)
between Manningham Road and Kathleen Grove - a Clearway at all times (both sides)
Between Barak Street and Kathleen Grove - a Clearway 6-10am and 3-7pm, Monday - Friday, with No Parking (which enables pick-up and set-down) at all other times. Some sections like bus stops, near signals and on the main roadway near the shops will need permanent No Stopping.
(1b) Traffic Signals at the Intersection of Thompsons Road and Barak Street
Barak Street is the main access out of the area to the north, to reach the Eastern Freeway or Bulleen Road in North Balwyn. Because of the increased traffic along Thompsons Road once NEL opens, it will be more difficult for local people to turn right out of Barak Street onto Thompsons Road. There is currently a set of pedestrian signals on Thompsons Road, west of Barak Street. These will need to be replaced by intersection signals at Barak Street. In addition, the bus stops will need to be relocated and the Thompons Road service road deviated out onto Thompsons Road, instead of leading directly into Barak Street.
So far as I can establish neither of these projects is being considered by North East Link (it's outside their project scope), the Department of Transport and Planning (formerly VicRoads) or Manningham City Council.
2. At Hoddle Street and Alexandra Parade
(2a) Hoddle Street (Eastern Freeway to Victoria Parade)
needs a Permanent Bus Lane in Both Directions
The North East Link project erroneously claims that (as part of the NEL project) it will provide a 'New busway, Doncaster to city'. The busway will start in Doncaster (just within Doncaster, at Doncaster Road opposite High Street) but it ends nowhere near the city. It ends at the Eastern Freeway intersection with Hoddle Street. From there the freeway express buses travel along Hoddle Street and Victoria Parade. There are permanent bus lanes in both directions along Victoria Street (although parking manoeuvres interrupt buses at several locations, and parking needs to be permanently banned on Victoria Parade from Islington Street to Hoddle Street - it can be relocated to spare land at the Hoddle Street corner).
But on Hoddle Street there are major problems that are receiving no attention at all:
Southbound (Eastern Freeway to Victoria Street), there is kerbside bus lane 6-10 am, Monday - Friday, but at other times this left lane is obstructed by parked vehicles. This causes significant delays to buses in the PM peak, as well as at other times. A permanent bus lane was proposed here a few years ago, but adjacent businesses (rightly) complained about the loss of parking, so it was reduced to a 4 hour AM weekday bus lane. The silly thing is that the footpaths along this section of Hoddle Street are 4.0 m wide. That is enough room to provide indented parking bays 2.5 m wide, interspersed between the street trees, and still have a standard footpath width of 1.5 m. With indented bays, the businesses can have 24 hour access to parking for customers and the bus service can have a permanent bus lane, clear of any parking. This is the simple solution for southbound buses on Hoddle Street. I do not understand why it was not implemented with the Hoddle Street upgrade works, a few years ago.
Southbound buses in Hoddle Street
obstructed by parking in the PM peak
Northbound is a bigger issue. There is no bus lane at all between Victoria Parade and Vere Street and every afternoon/evening northbound buses are caught up in general traffic. The only solution is to widen the carriageway on the west side and ban the parking (Simply removing the parking (without widening the road) is not an option, as the space is too narrow for buses to travel). There is ample room to widen the carriageway between Langridge Street and Vere Street, as there is a service road with an generous outer separator. Between Victoria Parade and Langridge Street a northbound bus lane can be fitted in by banning parking and doing minor road widening works. The buildings fronting Hoddle Street on this section are set back a little. The opportunity existing to widen the road reservation - before some major redevelopment occurs, up to the existing property line. Hence, providing a permanent north bound bus lane on Hoddle Street is entirely feasible, but it will cost millions of dollars.
Construction works for both a permanent southbound bus lane and a permanent north bound bus lane on Hoddle Street have not been given any consideration as part of the busway scheme which is part of the North East Link Project. Nor is the cost of these essential works included in the $26 billion (2024) project cost.
Back in 1974, I was the first person to propose a 'Doncaster Busway' between the City of Doncaster and Templestowe and the Melbourne Central Business District (CBD). You can download a copy of my original report from my Free Downloads page.
I support the implementation of an effective 'Doncaster Busway'. So it is galling to see, with the current scheme, no action being proposed along Hoddle Street to expedite buses, and also see the Bulleen Bus Interchange having been reduced in size and squashed into its smaller site, so that the problematic North East Link northerly ramps can be connected to Thompsons Road, rather than connecting to Greenaway Street, near Manningham Road (see 'The Wrong Design for Bulleen' page for details).
Perhaps I should content myself with the North East Link CEO's view, quoted at the top of this page, that “Some of the best engineers, designers and builders from across Australia and around the world have worked for years to refine the design of North East Link to ensure it delivers the best outcome for the whole community.”
(2b) Where Will All the Westbound Traffic Go?
This is the biggest elephant in the North East Link room, that no one in the government wishes to talk about.
North East Link not only provides a Ring Road connection around Melbourne, linking the Eastlink freeway (tollway) with the northern Ring Road freeway. It also brings traffic down from the north east suburbs (north of the Yarra River) and allows that traffic to go west on the Eastern Freeway, towards the city and inner suburbs. But that traffic will get to Hoddle Street / Alexandra Parade and have nowhere to go. Both these roads already carry heavy volumes of traffic and are badly congested at peak periods (including at times on weekends). As soon as North East Link opens, the Eastern Freeway westbound between Bulleen and Hoddle Street will become severely congested.
What is the plan? There is no plan. In fact it is worse than there being no plan, because there was a plan - to build the East-West Link, an underground freeway extending the Eastern Freeway at Hoddle Street through to connect with the Tullamarine Freeway (CityLink) - and further west as a second stage. But for purely political reasons the current state government, when it came to power in November 2014 cancelled the East-West Link, at a cost to the public of over $1 billion.
A Triple Disaster
Instead of proceeding with the East-West Link, the state government chose to build the North East Link. (Should we add the $1 billion+ cost of cancelling the East West Link to the overall cost of implementing the North East Link?). And so once the North East Link opens it will finally dawn on the public that this state government has created a triple disaster:
(1) More congestion on the Eastern Freeway (Bulleen to Hoddle Street) due to the creation of the North East Link, (2) Nowhere for that traffic to go, due to the current government having cancelled the East-West Link, and
(3) Over $1 billion thrown away, in order to create this traffic disaster.
$1 billion wasted here. $2 billion wasted on longer North East Link tunnels past Macleod . . .
If you are going to tell a lie, tell a whopper.
"What we've got here is failure to govern."
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