<p data-end="256" data-start="0"><a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/developers/sunland-group">Sunland Group</a> has officially lodged plans for its first Gold Coast apartment project since the departure of the Abedian family from the company three years ago, unveiling a new high-rise proposal for a prominent Broadbeach corner site on Old Burleigh Road.</p>

<p data-end="446" data-start="258">The application was submitted by an entity directed by Tom Jamieson, stepson of longtime Sunland leader Soheil Abedian, and Riaz Rezvanipour, brother-in-law of Sahba Abedian, Soheil’s son.</p>

<p data-end="645" data-is-last-node="" data-is-only-node="" data-start="448">Sunland acquired the 1,283 sqm site on the corner of Old Burleigh Road and Armrick Avenue for $9.5 million late last year and is now seeking approval for a <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/new-apartments/99-101-old-burleigh-road-broadbeach-qld-4218">42-storey tower with 81 apartments</a>.</p>

<p><img alt="First look: Sunland Group returns to Broadbeach with new Old Burleigh Road tower plans" data-entity-type="file" data-entity-uuid="fea2946d-90ee-4cfc-babe-2a8ad5db2cb6" src="https://s3.ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/www.urban.com.au/s3fs-public/inline-images/pers.png?VersionId=BV0fihJw31nDIQ8ozY_h3GbS8mxDyhnm" /></p>

<p>Designed by <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/architects/contreras-earl-architecture">Contreras Earl Architecture</a>, the proposed tower at 99-101 Old Burleigh Road would deliver a predominantly larger-format apartment mix aimed at the owner-occupier market. Plans include 17 two-bedroom apartments, 55 three-bedroom apartments, and nine four-bedroom residences across 35 residential levels.</p>

<p>The development also incorporates three basement levels, four podium parking levels, two levels of communal recreation facilities, and rooftop plant and equipment. A total of 189 car spaces are proposed, significantly exceeding the 90 spaces required under the planning scheme.</p>

<p>The architecture adopts a sculpted, curvilinear form, with deep wraparound balconies and integrated landscaping intended to soften the tower’s vertical expression. The planning report states the building’s “slender footprint/form provides a complimentary yet varied built form within the local streetscape” and contributes to “a varied, yet ordered skyline.”</p>

<p data-end="626" data-start="350">Contreras Earl noted in its Architectural Statement that from the early stages, the project addressed a fundamental challenge: how to accommodate the required residential yield while avoiding the conventional model of a tower sitting on a rigid, fully resolved parking podium.</p>

<p data-end="928" data-start="628">“The most direct response would have been to consolidate parking into a singular, flat podium and extrude a repetitive tower above,” the statement said. “While efficient, this approach would result in a consolidated built form with limited engagement with the surrounding landscape and public realm.”</p>

<p data-end="1147" data-start="930">Instead, the conventional podium model was “deliberately rejected”. The architects described the base of the building as “a landscaped architectural condition where structure, planting and circulation are integrated”.</p>

<p data-end="1510" data-start="1149">“Rather than presenting a continuous built mass, the base of the building is articulated through a series of concrete planter elements that organise the podium into a fragmented system,” the statement said. “This approach reduces the perceived bulk of the lower levels while establishing a more permeable interface with the streetscape and adjacent open space.”</p>

<p data-end="1510" data-start="1149"><img alt="Sunland" data-entity-type="file" data-entity-uuid="923fad8d-c960-4527-8fbe-975cf1ddf88d" src="https://s3.ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/www.urban.com.au/s3fs-public/inline-images/Screenshot%202026-05-25%20at%2010.32.03%E2%80%AFAM.png?VersionId=pngwb0hYOIUpq9vDw6F2EsOiVuHF3DiX" /></p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>

<p>The site sits within the High Density Residential Zone and inside the City of Gold Coast’s unrestricted “HX” building height area, where the planning framework anticipates intensified residential development tied to the expanding light rail corridor. The planning report notes the area is undergoing “transition toward more intense development forms” given its proximity to Broadbeach, Surfers Paradise, and high-frequency public transport infrastructure.</p>

<p>Positioned directly opposite Broadbeach Park and within walking distance of Florida Gardens light rail station, the development would sit among a rapidly evolving stretch of Old Burleigh Road that has become one of the Gold Coast’s most active apartment development corridors.</p>

<p>The application joins a growing pipeline of luxury residential projects reshaping Broadbeach, including nearby developments by 5Point Projects, Polycell, and Graya.</p>

<p>The planning report argues the project contributes toward the Gold Coast’s long-term housing targets under the South East Queensland Regional Plan, which forecasts the need for more than 100,000 additional high-rise dwellings across the city by 2046.</p>

<section data-scroll-anchor="false" data-testid="conversation-turn-4" data-turn="assistant" data-turn-id="request-WEB:84a2af5e-d7cf-4ddf-922a-f4d44d6c6caa-1" data-turn-id-container="request-WEB:84a2af5e-d7cf-4ddf-922a-f4d44d6c6caa-1" dir="auto">
<p data-end="305" data-is-last-node="" data-is-only-node="" data-start="0">The Abedian family departed Sunland Group in late 2023, ending a four-decade association with the company, and subsequently established the private development firm Abedian &amp; Co. The group is currently delivering <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/new-apartments/greenmount-residences-cnr-hill-street-and-marine-parade-coolangatta-qld-4225">Greenmount Residences</a> at Rainbow Bay and recently launched <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/new-apartments/18-mary-avenue-14-18-mary-avenue-broadbeach-qld-4218">18 Mary Avenue</a> in Broadbeach.</p>
</section>


Joel Robinson

First look: Sunland Group returns to Broadbeach new apartment market with new Old Burleigh Road tower plans

<p style="text-align:start">The Minns Labor Government has established the new Bays West Delivery Authority to lead the development&nbsp;of the Bays West Precinct and Blackwattle Bay Precinct.&nbsp;</p>

<p>The Authority is charged with creating Sydney’s newest precinct, a thriving, connected, sustainable hub with White Bay Power Station as its cultural heart. Its vision is to build on the area’s natural, cultural and industrial history to shape a vibrant new neighbourhood.</p>

<p>The precinct will deliver up to 8,500 well-located homes, including a minimum of 10 per cent affordable and essential worker homes. Combine new housing with public open space, opening public access to the waterfront for the first time in more than 100 years, while retaining important deep-water facilities to support Sydney’s working harbour.</p>

<p>Located just minutes from the Sydney CBD and connected to a world-class metro, ferry, walking and cycling links, the Bays West precinct will rebalance housing growth towards well-serviced inner-city locations and help tackle the state’s housing crisis.</p>

<p>The Bays West Delivery Authority,&nbsp;an agency of the Department of Planning, Housing and Infrastructure, will report to the NSW Minister for Lands and Property who already has oversight of major precinct renewal projects including at Blackwattle Bay and Barangaroo.</p>

<p>As part of the broader Bays West transformation, the Minns Government recently announced that a proposal from Lendlease to redevelop part of the Bays West Precinct has progressed to Stage 2 of the NSW Government’s unsolicited proposals process.</p>

<p><img alt="Sydney" data-entity-type="file" data-entity-uuid="2ed71eb9-d8e8-4fa7-b9d1-de4531dcf2f3" src="https://s3.ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/www.urban.com.au/s3fs-public/inline-images/Screenshot%202026-05-25%20at%209.42.31%E2%80%AFAM.png?VersionId=IDryFIbped9SNDg72LEN_EecvhUsOPvp" /></p>

<p>The Minns Labor Government has also confirmed the Bays West precinct will have a new suburb name. This will be the first major suburb built in close proximity to Sydney’s CBD in decades and will encompass the area currently being referred to as Bays West, including Glebe Island and the White Bay Power Station. Served by a new Metro station just five minutes from the CBD, it will become one of the most populous suburbs in the Inner West and one of Sydney’s premier cultural destinations.</p>

<p>An early works program is taking shape, which&nbsp;includes the first stages of an international design competition.&nbsp;</p>

<p>The aim of the Bays West&nbsp;International&nbsp;Design Competition is to&nbsp;ensure design excellence is embedded in the project from the start. The competition will deliver an&nbsp;urban framework that defines the character, ambition and long-term identity of&nbsp;this&nbsp;former industrial precinct as it transitions to a vibrant, inclusive and sustainable residential&nbsp;neighbourhood.</p>

<p>The competition will be led by the Bays West Delivery Authority in partnership with Government Architect NSW.&nbsp;</p>

<p>It will launch with an invitation for a global Expressions of Interest, before moving to an invitation-only stage that will be assessed by a panel that&nbsp;will provide advice to Cabinet who will select a winner.</p>

<p>Premier of NSW, Chris Minns said the establishment of the new Authority is the first step in transforming the Bays West precinct into a vibrant, livable suburb minutes from the Sydney CBD and two stops from Hunter St Station on the Metro West line.</p>

<p>“The Authority will deliver well-located homes close to the heart of the city and integrate the new precinct with Blackwattle Bay and the new Sydney Fish Market.</p>

<p>“This is a generational opportunity to build a new suburb on the city’s edge and open the harbour foreshore to the public for the first time in a century.”&nbsp;</p>

<p>Minister for Lands and Property Steve Kamper said the new Bays West Delivery Authority established by the Minns Government will turbocharge the development of Sydney’s newest suburb.</p>

<p>“The Authority is working at a record pace to deliver an international design competition, planning pathways and a financial model so that this development benefits Sydney with well-designed homes in a central location, close to public transport, jobs, entertainment and essential services.</p>

<p>“If we want Sydney to stay liveable and affordable, we need to be bold about using underutilised government-owned land to deliver homes for the future while making sure essential working harbour functions can be accommodated.”</p>


Bays West Delivery Authority established to "turbocharge" Sydney’s newest suburb

<p>Around 400 additional homes could be built at Southwark Grounds on Port Road, lifting total site capacity from 1300 to around 1700 dwellings.</p>

<p>A recently approved code amendment would allow apartment towers of up to 14 storeys in some areas of Renewal SA’s redevelopment of the former West End Brewery.</p>

<p>Renewal SA Acting Chief Executive Shane Wingard said he welcomed the code amendment, with the increase in heights and homes making a positive impact on the supply of high-quality, well-connected housing close to the city.</p>

<p>“By going higher across some parts of Southwark Grounds, we are adding a substantial number of very well-located homes with little impact on project delivery time or planned open space,” Mr Wingard said.</p>

<p>Since the project officially launched in 2025, Mr Wingard said more than 12,000 enquiries had been received about living at Southwark Grounds.</p>

<p>“The very strong early interest we’ve seen since homes were first released in the precinct reinforces our plans to create more housing opportunities,” he said.</p>

<p>The Southwark Grounds code amendment was launched in December last year, with community engagement undertaken over five weeks from January.</p>

<p>It proposed increasing maximum building heights from eight to 14 storeys on the eastern section of Southwark Grounds, and to 12 storeys across the remainder of the site, with minimum building heights ranging from two to four storeys.</p>

<p>The code amendment was implemented through an Early Commencement policy in late January, allowing developers to quickly explore the viability of increased height and housing yield while other planning processes continue.</p>

<p>One of the first developers delivering apartment sites have already finalised redesigns to increase the number of apartments following the code amendment.</p>

<p>Samaras’ development adjacent to the future Colonel Light Park is now planning to deliver 125 apartments across 11 storeys, significantly greater than original plans of around 50 apartments across four storeys.</p>

<p>The developer is also exploring the potential for additional affordable housing outcomes.</p>

<p>Most of the apartments at Southwark Grounds will be delivered within a master-planned precinct on a large parcel of land on the eastern portion of the site, covering around two-thirds of its 8.4 hectares.</p>

<p>Wingard said detailed precinct planning over the coming months may identify further opportunities to increase yield further that could see total apartment numbers at Southwark Grounds, exceed this number.</p>

<p>Affordable homes at Southwark Grounds will also see a net increase, with Renewal SA maintaining its commitment to a minimum of 20 per cent affordable housing across the development.</p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>

<p>&nbsp;</p>

<p>Civil works have begun across the site, with construction under way on the first new roads surrounding a townhouse precinct in the south‑west corner of Southwark Grounds. This includes Renewal SA’s 17 Founder’s Row homes, which are on track for completion by Christmas.</p>

<p>“We expect to have people living at Southwark Grounds by the end of the year, so delivering roads and public spaces for those residents is among our highest priorities.”</p>

<p>Construction of 40 townhouses off Anderson Street, known as West Village and being delivered by Contour, is forecast to begin in mid‑2026. Kolabb’s Anderson Lane development will follow shortly after, delivering a further 26 townhouses.</p>

<p>Southwark Grounds is a state government‑led urban renewal project now set to deliver around 1,700 homes over the next decade.</p>

<p>Homes will be supported by a supermarket, a range of retail and hospitality offerings anchored by a revitalised Walkerville Brew Tower, a childcare centre, car parking and well‑connected public spaces.</p>


400 new homes planned for Adelaide's former West End Brewery site

<p>Brisbane developer&nbsp;<a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/developers/cavcorp">Cavcorp</a> has lodged plans for a new mixed-use residential development at <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/new-apartments/55-wyandra-street-teneriffe-qld-4005">55 Wyandra Street</a>, Teneriffe, anchored by an 85-metre public laneway designed to reconnect the suburb’s riverfront with the Gasworks precinct.</p>

<p>The buildings, known as Teneriffe House and Teneriffe Lane, would replace the existing Queensland Cotton head office site with a 15-storey residential tower transitioning to eight storeys toward Helen Street. The project has been designed by Plazibat Architects and lodged as a code assessable development application for 93 apartments across a 3,401 sqm mixed-use site within the Newstead and Teneriffe Waterfront neighbourhood plan.</p>

<p>Central to the scheme is the transformation of an existing service easement into a publicly accessible cross-block connection linking Wyandra and Helen Streets. Cavcorp says the new laneway will act as both a pedestrian shortcut and a landscaped civic space between the Teneriffe Riverwalk, ferry terminal, and Gasworks precinct.</p>

<p><img alt="First Look: Cavcorp unveils Teneriffe House and Teneriffe Lane plans for landmark wellness tower in Teneriffe" data-entity-type="file" data-entity-uuid="26e7f058-b065-4de8-b13d-a2b8cb64dfcc" src="https://s3.ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/www.urban.com.au/s3fs-public/inline-images/bldg.png?VersionId=sELS0ZKYi361oYipUa1BIKfe_.DLZoFV" /></p>

<p>“The revised proposal delivers a legacy public-realm cross-block link, permanently secured for community use, transforming an existing private easement into a safe, high-quality pedestrian connection between the Teneriffe heritage riverwalk and the Gasworks–Long Island precinct,” the planning report states.</p>

<p>The laneway will sit beneath a large subtropical loggia integrated into the podium levels of the development. The design incorporates deep landscaping, water gardens, lobby spaces, business lounges, and ground-floor apartments to create what Cavcorp describes as a climate-responsive “urban verandah.”</p>

<p>The tower itself has been designed as a slender form with recessed floorplates and curved translucent corners inspired by contemporary Japanese architecture. The building height aligns with the Commercial Road precinct controls, which permit towers up to 15 storeys within proximity to Longland Street.</p>

<p><img alt="First Look: Cavcorp unveils Teneriffe House and Teneriffe Lane plans for landmark wellness tower in Teneriffe" data-entity-type="file" data-entity-uuid="a8a17d40-43b6-4718-b3fd-67676fcbb485" src="https://s3.ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/www.urban.com.au/s3fs-public/inline-images/pers%202_1.png?VersionId=i3VwDtp5AmL_8InW7w4qRbDFEpb744Jt" /></p>

<p>The project will comprise a mix of larger-format apartments aimed at owner-occupiers, downsizers, and families. The proposed apartment mix includes 11 loggia apartments across the lower levels, 50 four-bedroom Sky-Terrace apartments from levels three to seven, and 32 Sky-Pool Homes occupying the upper tower levels. The Sky-Pool Homes will feature private thermal plunge pools integrated into oversized balconies.</p>

<p>According to the application, the apartments are intended to reinterpret the scale and character of Teneriffe’s woolstore conversions and Queensland homes within a vertical residential format.</p>

<p>“The sky-pool homes build on Cavcorp’s previous projects and introduce a distinct apartment typology to Teneriffe, informed by both local and international precedent and responding to an identified market demand for enhanced safety, space and amenity,” the planning submission notes.</p>

<p>A major focus of the proposal is its five-level wellness and lifestyle offering, extending from the basement through to the rooftop.</p>

<p>Amenities proposed include a rooftop Swim &amp; Racquet Club with a 25-metre Olympic lap pool and tennis court, coworking spaces and libraries, golf simulators, wine storage, concierge facilities, business lounges, pet wash areas, and rooftop longevity-focused wellness spaces with spas, outdoor fitness zones, and landscaped terraces.</p>

<p><img alt="First Look: Cavcorp unveils Teneriffe House and Teneriffe Lane plans for landmark wellness tower in Teneriffe" data-entity-type="file" data-entity-uuid="944b352c-49b9-4247-a4c6-5967b4b69fda" src="https://s3.ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/www.urban.com.au/s3fs-public/inline-images/amenity.png?VersionId=Ed_qKjAtMwFT.5gfl3jiA9QwdWxSMsaX" /></p>

<p>All parking will be concealed within basement levels accessed from Wyandra and Helen Streets. Cavcorp says the deep-basement engineering approach allows the entire ground plane to prioritise landscaping, pedestrian movement, and active frontage rather than vehicle infrastructure.</p>

<p>The development continues Cavcorp’s concentration in Newstead and Teneriffe, where the Brisbane developer has delivered a number of apartment projects including Lucent, Le Bain, and Luminare, as well as the Long Island Wellness Precinct nearby. Several of those projects have received national design and architecture awards, including recognition under Brisbane’s “Buildings that Breathe” program.</p>


Cavcorp unveils wellness-focused Teneriffe House and Teneriffe Lane apartment buildings

<p>Focus Group Investments has lodged plans for a new apartment development at <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/new-apartments/64-70-hanover-street-fitzroy-vic-3065">64–70 Hanover Street</a> in Fitzroy, seeking to utilise the Victorian Government’s recently introduced Great Design Fast Track pathway to accelerate approvals for the project.</p>

<p>The proposal is among the latest developments to emerge through the state-led initiative, which was established to fast-track well-designed residential projects in activity centres and transport-connected inner-city locations. The pathway allows qualifying developments that meet elevated design and housing benchmarks to bypass traditional council planning timeframes and instead be assessed directly by the Department of Transport and Planning.</p>

<p>Designed by SJB, the development will comprise a mix of apartments above activated lower levels, with a strong focus on architectural articulation, landscaping, and communal amenity. The design response seeks to balance the industrial character of Richmond’s former warehouse precincts with a more contemporary residential form.</p>

<p><img alt="First look: Focus Group Investments taps Victoria’s Great Design Fast Track for Richmond apartments" data-entity-type="file" data-entity-uuid="abea51cc-d85b-479e-9aef-a589f3b37ca7" src="https://s3.ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/www.urban.com.au/s3fs-public/inline-images/ground.png?VersionId=e1Kf8EyPWwyiVumtqQ4rM5S4GpOR3CCz" /></p>

<p>Proposed are 63 new dwellings, a wide ranging mix of studio, one-, two-, and three-bedroom apartments, and townhouses and duplexes. They will be spread across a part-three, part-eight storey building.</p>

<p>The Planning and Urban Context Report by Tract says the development is of an "exemplary architectural standard" and has been carefully crafted by SJB Architects.</p>

<p>"Dwellings&nbsp;will benefit from excellent access to natural light, cross-ventilation opportunities and extensive communal space," the report noted.</p>

<p>The architectural material highlights the project’s integration of landscaped elements and communal spaces throughout the building. The proposal also incorporates sustainability initiatives aligned with the Victorian Government’s push for higher-performing apartment developments under the fast-track program.</p>

<p>The Great Design Fast Track was unveiled by the Victorian Government in 2024 as part of a broader housing supply strategy aimed at accelerating the delivery of new homes. Projects assessed through the pathway must demonstrate high-quality architecture, sustainability outcomes, and housing diversity while being located close to public transport and existing infrastructure.</p>

<p><img alt="First look: Focus Group Investments taps Victoria’s Great Design Fast Track for Richmond apartments" data-entity-type="file" data-entity-uuid="afdbe834-8dc4-4a77-a943-ba07bc927348" src="https://s3.ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/www.urban.com.au/s3fs-public/inline-images/site_11.png?VersionId=0J657j.TaChAZfp93wqJYBTqSsnREJx2" /></p>

<p>Focus Group, founder and led by Paul De Lutiis, is increasingly active across Melbourne’s inner suburbs, targeting well-connected urban renewal locations suited to medium and higher-density residential development. The Fitzroy proposal continues that strategy, leveraging the area’s strong transport links, established retail amenity, and proximity to the CBD.</p>

<p>Fitzroy has been one of the most popular spots for developers and buyers in recent years. The likes of PACE Development Group, SMA Projects, Crema Group and Chapter Group, currently selling projects in the suburb.</p>


First look: Focus Group Investments taps Victoria’s Great Design Fast Track for Fitzroy apartments

Trams

<html><body>
<p>Weighing in at 43 projects, the route 19 tram on the Sydney Road corridor has the potential for a very big uplift in public transport passenger carrying capacity thanks to the Upfield line running adjacent to the tram.</p>

<p>Having said that, the Upfield line is a long way from seeing train frequencies increase (a significant boost is not likely to come before the completion of the Melbourne Metro Rail project) and I'd expect the route 19 to do the bulk of the work of delivering frequent transit through the heart of Brunswick for a long while yet.</p>

<p>The route 19 begins at the Flinders Street Station terminus on Elizabeth Street in the CBD and travels up to the Haymarket roundabout and then heads directly north up Royal Parade and Sydney Road. The scope of this case study begins at the boundary of the City of Melbourne and City of Moreland on Park Street.</p>

<p>The majority of the development pipeline is in Brunswick, south of Moreland Road, with a major cluster around Albion Street/Anstey Station and from Anstey southwards, the pipeline is quite consistently spaced all the way down to the City of Moreland municipality boundary.</p>

<p>North of Moreland Road, through the upper-end of Brunswick and into Coburg, the tram corridor has a handful of projects with a smaller cluster of projects around the periphery of Coburg, including in the former Pentridge prison grounds. Batman station, near the end of route 19, has two projects in the pipeline.</p>

<h2>The numbers</h2>

<table border="1" cellpadding="1" cellspacing="1" style="width:100%;">
<thead><tr>
<th scope="col">Aspect</th>
			<th scope="col">Number of projects</th>
			<th scope="col">Number of dwellings</th>
		</tr></thead>
<tbody>
<tr>
<td>Residential projects: Planning Assessment</td>
			<td class="rtecenter">6</td>
			<td class="rtecenter">313</td>
		</tr>
<tr>
<td>Residential projects: Approved</td>
			<td class="rtecenter">20</td>
			<td class="rtecenter">1,410</td>
		</tr>
<tr>
<td>Residential projects: Registration and Sales</td>
			<td class="rtecenter">9</td>
			<td class="rtecenter">522</td>
		</tr>
<tr>
<td>Residential projects: Under Construction</td>
			<td class="rtecenter">8</td>
			<td class="rtecenter">693</td>
		</tr>
<tr>
<td><strong>TOTAL</strong></td>
			<td class="rtecenter"><b>43</b></td>
			<td class="rtecenter"><b>2,938</b></td>
		</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
<p><span style="font-size:10px;">*Residential projects includes mixed-use projects.</span></p>

<figure><a class="colorbox colorbox-insert-image" href="https://res.cloudinary.com/dz9xllyip/image/fetch/q_auto:good/https://s3-ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/www.urban.com.au/s3fs-public/pictures/article-images/725_tram19.gif" rel="gallery-all" title="Linear route 19 map. Yarra Trams"><img alt="" class="image-article-full-width-580px" height="1868" src="/sites/urban.melbourne/files/styles/article_full_width_580px/public/pictures/article-images/725_tram19.gif?itok=tGuKMwif" title="Linear route 19 map. Yarra Trams" width="580"></a>

<figcaption>Linear route 19 map. Yarra Trams</figcaption></figure><table border="1" cellpadding="1" cellspacing="1" style="width:100%;">
<thead><tr>
<th scope="col">Tram route 19</th>
			<th scope="col">Further information</th>
		</tr></thead>
<tbody>
<tr>
<td>Timetabled weekday peak frequency</td>
			<td>5 minutes (12 trams per hour)</td>
		</tr>
<tr>
<td>Timetabled weekday off-peak frequency</td>
			<td>6 minutes (10 trams per hour)</td>
		</tr>
<tr>
<td>Timetabled weekend daytime frequency</td>
			<td>7-8 minutes (7-8 trams per hour)</td>
		</tr>
<tr>
<td>Timetabled night-time frequency</td>
			<td>20 minutes (3 trams per hour); 30 minutes/2 trams per hour (Sunday nights), 24/7 operation Friday/Saturday nights</td>
		</tr>
<tr>
<td>Raised-platform stops?</td>
			<td>
			<p>Limited outside City of Melbourne.</p>
			</td>
		</tr>
<tr>
<td>Where do the trams go to sleep?</td>
			<td>
<a href="http://vicsig.net/index.php?page=trams&amp;depot=brunswick">Brunswick Depot</a> (Sydney Road, Brunswick)</td>
		</tr>
<tr>
<td>Primary tram class that operates on the route.</td>
			<td>D2 (5-section, low-floor, articulated) - details, see <a href="http://vicsig.net/trams/class/D2">vicsig.net</a>
</td>
		</tr>
<tr>
<td>Annual patronage and rank</td>
			<td>11,400,000 trips annually, Melbourne's 5th busiest tram route. <a href="http://www.yarratrams.com.au/about-us/who-we-are/facts-figures/">Source</a>
</td>
		</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
<h2>Sydney Road (South of Moreland Road)</h2>

<p>The cluster of development around Anstey Station is the main feature in this section of the 19 tram corridor, however there is quite a smattering of new development in the pipeline.</p>

<p>Much of the land between Sydney Road and the Upfield train line, south of Moreland Road, is zoned C1Z. The same being said for properties on the eastern side of the tram corridor and this has resulted in new pipeline projects being evenly spread from Anstey southwards.</p>

<p>South of Anstey, there are 13 projects on the tram 19 corridor, the retail heart of Brunswick.</p>

<figure><a class="colorbox colorbox-insert-image" href="https://res.cloudinary.com/dz9xllyip/image/fetch/q_auto:good/https://s3-ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/www.urban.com.au/s3fs-public/pictures/article-images/image124_1.jpg" rel="gallery-all" title="47 Sydney Road, Brunswick"><img alt="" class="image-article-full-width-580px" height="348" src="/sites/urban.melbourne/files/styles/article_full_width_580px/public/pictures/article-images/image124_1.jpg?itok=iJcIGSBU" title="47 Sydney Road, Brunswick" width="580"></a>

<figcaption><a href="/buildings/6-black-street-brunswick">47 Sydney Road, Brunswick</a></figcaption></figure><p>The Anstey cluster has 15 projects huddled between Sydney Road and the Upfield train line and there are a further three projects between Albion St and Moreland Road. Between Albion Street and Moreland Road, the width of the C1Z narrows to include only properties which face Sydney Road.</p>

<p>Of the combined 18 projects in this region, 3 are under construction, 5 are at sales, 8 sit at an approved status and the remaining 2 at planning assessment.</p>

<figure><a class="colorbox colorbox-insert-image" href="https://res.cloudinary.com/dz9xllyip/image/fetch/q_auto:good/https://s3-ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/www.urban.com.au/s3fs-public/pictures/article-images/image60_4.jpg" rel="gallery-all" title="Cannatella - 625 Sydney Road, Brunswick"><img alt="" class="image-article-full-width-580px" height="371" src="/sites/urban.melbourne/files/styles/article_full_width_580px/public/pictures/article-images/image60_4.jpg?itok=splhFWVp" title="Cannatella - 625 Sydney Road, Brunswick" width="580"></a>

<figcaption><a href="/buildings/cannatella-625-sydney-road-brunswick">Cannatella - 625 Sydney Road, Brunswick</a></figcaption></figure><h2>Sydney Road (North of Moreland Road)</h2>

<p>As soon as the route 19 tram crosses Moreland Road, the most <a href="http://planningschemes.dpcd.vic.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0003/188445/moreland11zn.pdf">recent zone maps</a> for Moreland show the zones switching from C1Z to ACZ1 fronting Sydney Road with "step-down" to General Residential Zone 1 on either side of Sydney Road. And this remains a feature all the way up to Bell Street and the Coburg activities centre.</p>

<p>As discussed in the opening, development is concentrated south of Moreland Road and the thin strip of ACZ1 zoned properties between Moreland Road and the greater Coburg activities centre is quieter in terms of projects on the Apartments.com.au Project Database.</p>

<p>We currently don't register any projects inside the Coburg activities centre at this time - this no doubt has something to do ongoing planning work in Coburg - however just north of Bell Street, both inside and outside the former Pentridge prison, there's a collection of projects.</p>

<figure><a class="colorbox colorbox-insert-image" href="https://res.cloudinary.com/dz9xllyip/image/fetch/q_auto:good/https://s3-ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/www.urban.com.au/s3fs-public/pictures/article-images/03-w-external-elevation_low-contrast.jpg" rel="gallery-all" title="519-537 Sydney Road, Coburg"><img alt="" class="image-article-full-width-580px" height="354" src="/sites/urban.melbourne/files/styles/article_full_width_580px/public/pictures/article-images/03-w-external-elevation_low-contrast.jpg?itok=-qNNSKft" title="519-537 Sydney Road, Coburg" width="580"></a>

<figcaption><a href="/new-apartments/519-537-sydney-road-coburg">519-537 Sydney Road, Coburg</a></figcaption></figure><p>The projects shown above and below are indicative of the area: larger sites to develop on and that's translating into larger buildings when compared to Brunswick.</p>

<figure><a class="colorbox colorbox-insert-image" href="https://res.cloudinary.com/dz9xllyip/image/fetch/q_auto:good/https://s3-ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/www.urban.com.au/s3fs-public/pictures/article-images/setwidth980-web6.jpg" rel="gallery-all" title="718-724 Sydney Road, Coburg North"><img alt="" class="image-article-full-width-580px" height="330" src="/sites/urban.melbourne/files/styles/article_full_width_580px/public/pictures/article-images/setwidth980-web6.jpg?itok=TeA12yfA" title="718-724 Sydney Road, Coburg North" width="580"></a>

<figcaption><a href="/new-apartments/718-724-sydney-road-coburg-north">718-724 Sydney Road, Coburg North</a></figcaption></figure><h2>Future directions</h2>

<p>It's a tough one actually. Sydney Road is perhaps one of the most development-friendly areas on the tram network given the vast amount of C1Z / Activity Centre zoned land.</p>

<p>On one hand, the Upfield train line as it stands has some of the lowest levels of service and the tram 19 has some of the highest levels of service. Over time, the goal should be to shift some of the load from the route 19 tram onto the Upfield train line, but this is not likely to happen for another decade.</p>

<p>That's because increasing frequencies on the Upfield line (and on the Craigieburn line) is dependent on the Sunbury line being removed from the city loop. This is going to happen, but only after the completion of the Melbourne Metro Rail project.</p>

<p>At the same time, the City of Moreland has one of the highest rates of cycling in Melbourne, yet the main thoroughfare is still clogged with cars which on the whole makes Sydney Road not the most pleasant urban environment to walk in. The car still dominates the landscape in this part of Melbourne.</p>

<p>Community initiatives such as <a href="http://www.sydneyroad.org/">Revitalise Sydney Road</a> are seeking to engage with traders in the area to make Sydney Road far more pleasant and it will be interesting to see how the new City of Moreland council proceeds during the next term.</p>

<p>Unlike the East and South of the tram network, there is no cross-town tram route outside of central Melbourne in the north. Cross-town public transport in Brunswick and Coburg is provided by several bus routes which have varying levels of service.</p>

<p>As you'll see in the next two articles in this series, the City of Moreland is shouldering a lot of the out-of-Central Melbourne development burden, directly on tram corridors and while this radial transit is likely to need the most focus to increase capacity as Brunswick sees more and more people move in to the area, cross-town transit will also need a good seeing to.</p>

<p>Especially along Moreland Road where at major intersections (with tram lines no less), there is likely to be increased development focus thanks to more generous high-density zoning.</p>

<h2>Navigation</h2>

<ul>
<li>
<a href="/news/melbournes-development-by-tram-the-55">Anti-clockwise: the 55 West Coburg - Domain Interchange</a>.</li>
	<li><a href="/news/melbournes-development-by-tram-the-1-8">Clockwise: the 1 &amp; 8</a></li>
</ul>
</body></html>

Alastair Taylor

Melbourne's development by tram: the 19

<html><body>
<p>The 55 tram route - which runs from Domain Interchange on St Kilda Road to West Coburg via William Street in the CBD, Royal Park and Brunswick West - is one of the more 'quieter' development corridors in Melbourne.</p>

<p>In fact, in the area which the route 55 runs outside of the City of Melbourne, there are only six projects in the pipeline.</p>

<p>The tram route inside the City of Moreland passes through older inter-war suburbia, and south of Moreland Road, the population density doubles, as Brunswick West saw a large amount of 'walk-up' flat development in 1960/1970s era.</p>

<p>While the total project numbers for the route 55 corridor are small, the number of dwellings is not. That's because The York and The Grove, located on an old textiles factory site, right next to the Tullamarine Freeway, roughly 500 metres from the route 55 tram corridor on Melville Road, combined have over 650 dwellings between them.</p>

<p>The City of Moreland has applied the Residential Growth Zone is multiple areas in Brunswick West, with Grantham Street and Melville Road a particular focus.</p>

<h2>The numbers</h2>

<table border="1" cellpadding="1" cellspacing="1" style="width:100%;">
<thead><tr>
<th scope="col">Aspect</th>
			<th scope="col">Number of projects</th>
			<th scope="col">Number of dwellings</th>
		</tr></thead>
<tbody>
<tr>
<td>Residential projects: Planning Assessment</td>
			<td class="rtecenter">1</td>
			<td class="rtecenter">32</td>
		</tr>
<tr>
<td>Residential projects: Approved</td>
			<td class="rtecenter">-</td>
			<td class="rtecenter">-</td>
		</tr>
<tr>
<td>Residential projects: Registration and Sales</td>
			<td class="rtecenter">3</td>
			<td class="rtecenter">446</td>
		</tr>
<tr>
<td>Residential projects: Under Construction</td>
			<td class="rtecenter">2</td>
			<td class="rtecenter">367</td>
		</tr>
<tr>
<td><strong>TOTAL</strong></td>
			<td class="rtecenter"><b>6</b></td>
			<td class="rtecenter"><strong>845</strong></td>
		</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
<p><span style="font-size:10px;">*Residential projects includes mixed-use projects.</span></p>

<figure><a class="colorbox colorbox-insert-image" href="https://res.cloudinary.com/dz9xllyip/image/fetch/q_auto:good/https://s3-ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/www.urban.com.au/s3fs-public/pictures/article-images/868_tram55.gif" rel="gallery-all" title="Linear route 55 map. Yarra Trams"><img alt="" class="image-article-full-width-580px" height="2089" src="/sites/urban.melbourne/files/styles/article_full_width_580px/public/pictures/article-images/868_tram55.gif?itok=juFYmpwP" title="Linear route 55 map. Yarra Trams" width="580"></a>

<figcaption>Linear route 55 map. Yarra Trams</figcaption></figure><table border="1" cellpadding="1" cellspacing="1" style="width:100%;">
<thead><tr>
<th scope="col">Tram route 55</th>
			<th scope="col">Further information</th>
		</tr></thead>
<tbody>
<tr>
<td>Timetabled weekday peak frequency</td>
			<td>4-6 minutes (~10-12 trams per hour)</td>
		</tr>
<tr>
<td>Timetabled weekday off-peak frequency</td>
			<td>12 minutes (5 trams per hour)</td>
		</tr>
<tr>
<td>Timetabled weekend daytime frequency</td>
			<td>12 minutes (5 trams per hour)</td>
		</tr>
<tr>
<td>Timetabled night-time frequency</td>
			<td>20 minutes (3 trams per hour); 30 minutes/2 trams per hour (Sunday nights)</td>
		</tr>
<tr>
<td>Raised-platform stops?</td>
			<td>
			<p>Limited outside City of Melbourne/Royal Park.</p>
			</td>
		</tr>
<tr>
<td>Where do the trams go to sleep?</td>
			<td>
<a href="http://vicsig.net/index.php?page=trams&amp;depot=essendon">Essendon Depot</a> (Mt. Alexander Road, Ascot Vale)</td>
		</tr>
<tr>
<td>Primary tram class that operates on the route.</td>
			<td>B2 (high-floor, articulated) and Z3 (high-floor) - details, see <a href="http://vicsig.net/trams/class/B2">vicsig.net</a>
</td>
		</tr>
<tr>
<td>Annual patronage and rank</td>
			<td>6,800,000 trips annually, Melbourne's 12th busiest tram route. <a href="http://www.yarratrams.com.au/about-us/who-we-are/facts-figures/">Source</a>
</td>
		</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
<h2>Grantham and Dawson Streets</h2>

<p>Route 55 exits the City of Melbourne at its northern boundary of Royal Park at, you guessed it, Park Street. A short right of way sends the route uphill to the Brunswick Road and Grantham Street intersection where the route passes through a large regional shopping district and then the tram route turns westward onto Dawson Street.</p>

<p>Route 55 runs on Dawson Street for a short distance, then the road turns north and is renamed Melville Road.</p>

<p>The Union Square Shopping Centre on Grantham Street has a liberal amount of the Residential Growth Zone on both sides of the street, and the shopping centre itself is zoned C1Z. There is currently only one project on the Apartments.com.au Project Database in this area, but we would expect that to change in future, given the proximity to the centre of Melbourne and increased proximity to Sydney Road in this south-west corner of Brunswick West.</p>

<figure><a class="colorbox colorbox-insert-image" href="https://res.cloudinary.com/dz9xllyip/image/fetch/q_auto:good/https://s3-ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/www.urban.com.au/s3fs-public/pictures/article-images/centennial_exterior_r.jpg" rel="gallery-all" title="Centennial, Brunswick West"><img alt="" class="image-article-full-width-580px" height="309" src="/sites/urban.melbourne/files/styles/article_full_width_580px/public/pictures/article-images/centennial_exterior_r.jpg?itok=GFgHwg37" title="Centennial, Brunswick West" width="580"></a>

<figcaption>Centennial, Brunswick West</figcaption></figure><h2>Melville Road</h2>

<p>From the point where Dawson Street transitions into Melville Road right up until the end of the route at Bell Street, the 55 straddles close to the eastern ridge of Moonee Valley. In many areas, particularly at the southern end of Melville Road, the views to the west cover the ever-increasing height of Moonee Ponds' skyline and beyond.</p>

<p>The General Residential Zone (GRZ1), Residential Growth Zone (RGZ1) and Commercial Zone (C1Z) are liberally applied directly on the properties fronting Melville Road within Brunswick West (as far north as Moreland Road), and the Neighbourhood Residential Zone (NRZ1) dominant on streets, one back from the Melville Road corridor.</p>

<p>Albion Street, one of the main thoroughfares to cross Melville Road has seen, and is still seeing, an intense redevelopment of an old textiles factory at the valley's floor, right next to the Tullamarine Freeway and the site is located roughly 500 metres down the hill from route 55.</p>

<p>Likewise, the intersection of Moreland Road and Melville Road sees a liberal application of the Residential Growth Zone with two more projects on our database.</p>

<figure><a class="colorbox colorbox-insert-image" href="https://res.cloudinary.com/dz9xllyip/image/fetch/q_auto:good/https://s3-ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/www.urban.com.au/s3fs-public/pictures/article-images/image39_6.jpg" rel="gallery-all" title="The York, Brunswick West"><img alt="" class="image-article-full-width-580px" height="319" src="/sites/urban.melbourne/files/styles/article_full_width_580px/public/pictures/article-images/image39_6.jpg?itok=EIWTv01c" title="The York, Brunswick West" width="580"></a>

<figcaption><a href="/buildings/the-grove-1-5-olive-york-way-brunswick-west">The York, Brunswick West</a></figcaption></figure><h2>Bell Street</h2>

<p>Route 55 terminates at the end of Melville Road on the intersection with Bell Street and this area, like the Moreland and Melville Road intersection, has a smattering of C1Z, RGZ1 and GRZ1 zoned properties. There is one project on our database located within route 55's terminus catchment.</p>

<h2>Future directions</h2>

<p>The large amount of medium and high-density development-friendly zones along the route 55 corridor point to the potential for large-scale redevelopment within this south-western corner of the City of Moreland. And this should be front and centre of tram planner's minds.</p>

<p>As the timetable for route 55 shows, it has a very high amount of peak services and generally settles back into a more typical 12 minute frequency in daytime off-peaks, with the route seeing two classes of tram operate on the route: the longer articulated 76-seater <a href="http://vicsig.net/trams/class/B2">B2 class</a> and the older (and smaller) 42-seater <a href="http://vicsig.net/trams/class/Z3">Z3</a> class.</p>

<p>The route 55 may be renamed and have its route altered (at the city end) soon. The community consultation session has now closed, but the information is still up on PTV's website, for the merging of route 55 and the south-eastern end of route 8 to become <a href="https://www.ptv.vic.gov.au/projects/get-involved/have-your-say-on-proposed-changes-to-your-tram-services/">the 58</a>. This would allow one seat tram journeys from Brunswick West, Flemington Road and the west end of the CBD through to South Yarra and Toorak.</p>

<h2>Navigation</h2>

<ul>
<li>
<a href="/news/melbournes-development-by-tram-the-59">Anti-clockwise: the 59, Airport West - Flinders Street Station, City</a> (first in this series)</li>
	<li><a href="/news/melbournes-development-by-tram-the-19">Clockwise: the 19, North Coburg - Flinders Street Station, City.</a></li>
</ul>
</body></html>

Melbourne's development by tram: the 55

<html><body>
<p>In this series, we'll progressively work our way clockwise around Melbourne's tram network, taking a look at the development pipeline that lies adjacent to each tram route as well as provide some facts and figures about the tram routes along the way.</p>

<p>Given all tram routes, except two, eventually bunch up and run through CBD streets, the Melbourne's development by tram series won't include projects in City of Melbourne or Port Phillip.</p>

<p>With the exception of the Flemington Road, Elizabeth Street and city terminus segments, the 59 Airport West - Flinders Street Station, City (Elizabeth Street) tram line is wholly contained within the City of Moonee Valley.</p>

<p>Upon exiting the City of Melbourne on Flemington Road, the 59 travels along Mount Alexander Road through Travancore, Ascot Vale and Moonee Ponds and after the Moonee Ponds Junction, the route diverges along Pascoe Vale Road and Fletcher Street in Essendon and then rejoins Mount Alexander Road at Essendon Station.</p>

<p>The route then continues up Mount Alexander Road through Essendon North, turns westward along Keilor Road through Niddrie and then northwards to run in its own right of way beside the Tullamarine Freeway and Essendon Fields to the terminus near Airport West shopping centre.</p>

<h2>The numbers</h2>

<table border="1" cellpadding="1" cellspacing="1" style="width:100%;">
<thead><tr>
<th scope="col">Aspect</th>
			<th scope="col">Number of projects</th>
			<th scope="col">Number of dwellings</th>
		</tr></thead>
<tbody>
<tr>
<td>Residential projects: Planning Assessment</td>
			<td class="rtecenter">10</td>
			<td class="rtecenter">1,246</td>
		</tr>
<tr>
<td>Residential projects: Approved</td>
			<td class="rtecenter">10</td>
			<td class="rtecenter">509</td>
		</tr>
<tr>
<td>Residential projects: Registration and Sales</td>
			<td class="rtecenter">10</td>
			<td class="rtecenter">477</td>
		</tr>
<tr>
<td>Residential projects: Under Construction</td>
			<td class="rtecenter">8</td>
			<td class="rtecenter">969</td>
		</tr>
<tr>
<td>Commercial projects</td>
			<td class="rtecenter">1</td>
			<td class="rtecenter">N/A</td>
		</tr>
<tr>
<td>Hotel projects</td>
			<td class="rtecenter">1</td>
			<td class="rtecenter">N/A</td>
		</tr>
<tr>
<td><strong>TOTAL</strong></td>
			<td class="rtecenter"><strong>40</strong></td>
			<td class="rtecenter"><strong>3,201</strong></td>
		</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
<p><span style="font-size:10px;">*Residential projects includes mixed use projects.</span></p>

<p> </p>

<figure><a class="colorbox colorbox-insert-image" href="https://res.cloudinary.com/dz9xllyip/image/fetch/q_auto:good/https://s3-ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/www.urban.com.au/s3fs-public/pictures/article-images/897_tram59.gif" rel="gallery-all" title="Linear route 59 map. Yarra Trams"><img alt="" class="image-article-full-width-580px" height="2279" src="/sites/urban.melbourne/files/styles/article_full_width_580px/public/pictures/article-images/897_tram59.gif?itok=q7DaRYGG" title="Linear route 59 map. Yarra Trams" width="580"></a>

<figcaption>Linear route 59 map. Yarra Trams</figcaption></figure><p>​<span style="font-size:10px;"> </span></p>

<table border="1" cellpadding="1" cellspacing="1" style="width:100%;">
<thead><tr>
<th scope="col">Tram route 59</th>
			<th scope="col">Further information</th>
		</tr></thead>
<tbody>
<tr>
<td>Timetabled weekday peak frequency</td>
			<td>6-7 minutes (~10 trams per hour)</td>
		</tr>
<tr>
<td>Timetabled weekday off-peak frequency</td>
			<td>8 minutes (7-8 trams per hour)</td>
		</tr>
<tr>
<td>Timetabled weekend daytime frequency</td>
			<td>12 minutes (5 trams per hour)</td>
		</tr>
<tr>
<td>Timetabled night-time frequency</td>
			<td>20 minutes (3 trams per hour); 30 minutes/2 trams per hour (Sunday nights)</td>
		</tr>
<tr>
<td>Raised-platform stops?</td>
			<td>
			<p>Limited outside City of Melbourne. New Moonee Ponds junction stop has raised platforms.</p>
			</td>
		</tr>
<tr>
<td>Where do the trams go to sleep?</td>
			<td>
<a href="http://vicsig.net/index.php?page=trams&amp;depot=essendon">Essendon Depot</a> (Mt. Alexander Road, Ascot Vale)</td>
		</tr>
<tr>
<td>Primary tram class that operates on the route.</td>
			<td>B2 (high-floor, articulated) - details, see <a href="http://vicsig.net/trams/class/B2">vicsig.net</a>
</td>
		</tr>
<tr>
<td>Annual patronage and rank</td>
			<td>10,200,000 trips annually, Melbourne's 6th busiest tram route. <a href="http://www.yarratrams.com.au/about-us/who-we-are/facts-figures/">Source</a>
</td>
		</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
<h2>Mount Alexander Road (South)</h2>

<p>With the exception of 484-486 Mt Alexander Road, all the current development along the southern section of Mt. Alexander Road where the 59 tram route runs is concentrated in the Moonee Ponds Activities District. From Travancore, at the boundary with the City of Melbourne, to Moonee Ponds junction, Mt Alexander Road is predominantly zoned <a href="http://planning-schemes.delwp.vic.gov.au/schemes/vpps/34_01.pdf">B2Z</a> (C1Z) on Moonee Valley's planning scheme.</p>

<p>Moonee Ponds junction is a major transit hub with the terminus of the 82 Moonee Ponds: Footscray tram and 10+ bus routes all contained within the Mt. Alexander Road median. The Craigieburn train line forms the western boundary of the Moonee Ponds Activities District and between it and Mt Alexander Road there are no less than 16 projects.</p>

<figure><a class="colorbox colorbox-insert-image" href="https://res.cloudinary.com/dz9xllyip/image/fetch/q_auto:good/https://s3-ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/www.urban.com.au/s3fs-public/pictures/article-images/image34_5_0.jpg" rel="gallery-all" title="343-349 Ascot Vale Road, Moonee Ponds"><img alt="" class="image-article-full-width-580px" height="353" src="/sites/urban.melbourne/files/styles/article_full_width_580px/public/pictures/article-images/image34_5_0.jpg?itok=XuQRSMx9" title="343-349 Ascot Vale Road, Moonee Ponds" width="580"></a>

<figcaption>343-349 Ascot Vale Road, Moonee Ponds</figcaption></figure><h2>Pascoe Vale Road and Fletcher Street</h2>

<p>In this short deviation of the 59 route, Pascoe Vale Road swaps between B2Z and R1Z zoning according to the most recent maps available for the City of Moonee Valley planning scheme. Fletcher Street in Essendon is zoned R1Z except for a Public Use Zone plot on the corner of Hoddle Street.</p>

<p>As such, only two projects on the Apartments.com.au Project Database existing in this section, on Pascoe Vale Road.</p>

<h2>Mount Alexander Road (North)</h2>

<p>Within Essendon, at the junction of Fletcher Street and Mt. Alexander Road, there are 7 projects nestled either side of Essendon train station. Excluding a small section of R1Z zoned land on the northern side of the Craigieburn train line bridge, Mt. Alexander Road like in the south of the city of Moonee Valley is zoned B1Z (C1Z).</p>

<figure><a class="colorbox colorbox-insert-image" href="https://res.cloudinary.com/dz9xllyip/image/fetch/q_auto:good/https://s3-ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/www.urban.com.au/s3fs-public/pictures/article-images/acp008v01aa_s.jpg" rel="gallery-all" title="Alexa - 1048 Mt. Alexander Road, Essendon"><img alt="" class="image-article-full-width-580px" height="396" src="/sites/urban.melbourne/files/styles/article_full_width_580px/public/pictures/article-images/acp008v01aa_s.jpg?itok=M0h_m18n" title="Alexa - 1048 Mt. Alexander Road, Essendon" width="580"></a>

<figcaption><a href="/new-apartments/essendon-vic-3040">Alexa - 1048 Mt. Alexander Road, Essendon</a></figcaption></figure><h2>Keilor Road</h2>

<p>Keilor Road has seen some of the greatest changes in recent years. No longer dominated by car sales yards (although some still do exist), much of the old Calder Highway route has been redeveloped with the street showing a penchant for 4-6 level buildings.</p>

<p>Much like Mt. Alexander Road, Keilor Road is dominated by the mixed-use friendly B1Z and B2Z (C1Z) zones and outside of recently completed projects, there are 5 projects in this corridor, with another at the Mt Alexander Road/Keilor Road junction.</p>

<figure><a class="colorbox colorbox-insert-image" href="https://res.cloudinary.com/dz9xllyip/image/fetch/q_auto:good/https://s3-ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/www.urban.com.au/s3fs-public/pictures/article-images/image52_4.jpg" rel="gallery-all" title="113 Keilor Road, Essendon"><img alt="" class="image-article-full-width-580px" height="351" src="/sites/urban.melbourne/files/styles/article_full_width_580px/public/pictures/article-images/image52_4.jpg?itok=zYVmcNFP" title="113 Keilor Road, Essendon" width="580"></a>

<figcaption><a href="/new-apartments/113-keilor-road-essendon">113 Keilor Road, Essendon</a></figcaption></figure><h2>Matthews Ave</h2>

<p>The tram tracks don't run in Matthews Ave, but in a dedicated right of way between Matthews Ave and the Tullamarine Freeway. To the east is Essendon Fields and to the west is the semi-industrial/commercial area of Airport West and these two areas no stranger to new development.</p>

<p><a href="/new-apartments/83-matthews-avenue-airport-west">Alfa Apartments</a>, located almost at the end of the 59 tram line, is under construction and Essendon Fields is seeing hotel and commercial development.</p>

<figure><a class="colorbox colorbox-insert-image" href="https://res.cloudinary.com/dz9xllyip/image/fetch/q_auto:good/https://s3-ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/www.urban.com.au/s3fs-public/pictures/article-images/hyatt-place-melbourne-essendon-fields-w.jpg" rel="gallery-all" title="Hyatt Place, Essendon Fields"><img alt="" class="image-article-full-width-580px" height="308" src="/sites/urban.melbourne/files/styles/article_full_width_580px/public/pictures/article-images/hyatt-place-melbourne-essendon-fields-w.jpg?itok=GVnFX8FM" title="Hyatt Place, Essendon Fields" width="580"></a>

<figcaption>Hyatt Place, Essendon Fields</figcaption></figure><h2>Future directions</h2>

<p>The bulk of the new development on the 59 tram route is occurring either in Moonee Ponds and Essendon or the northern end of the route with only a single project on Mt. Alexander Road south of Moonee Ponds, which some might expect, given the proximity to the centre of Melbourne, would see the highest levels of new proposals.</p>

<p>The 59 route sees a very good level of service and is well connected in the nodes that matter: at Moonee Ponds and its elaborate bus terminus and at Essendon with the Craigieburn train line.</p>

<p>APAC, the operator of Melbourne Airport, has significant plans to develop the land that now sits adjacent to the new Airport Drive extension yet there has not been any serious proposals to service this employment precinct that will grow over time.</p>

<p>If the 59 tram were to be extended over/under the Western Ring Road to then run down Sharps Road and then turn northward on Airport Drive and run all the way to the Tullamarine Airport terminals, locals who are not serviced by the Skybus service (and those who will also miss out on service if the Airport Rail Link eventually runs along the Albion corridor) would have a fast and frequent service to the airport and the growing employment precinct to the south of the airport.</p>

<h2>Navigation</h2>

<ul>
<li>
<a href="/news/melbournes-development-by-tram-the-55">Clockwise: the 55, Domain Interchange - West Coburg</a> (second in this series)</li>
</ul>
</body></html>

Melbourne's development by tram: the 59

<html><body>
<h2>Comment</h2>

<p>The pig is on the spit, slowly turning, basted at regular intervals. The customary apple in the pig's mouth is looking shiny and the minions, staring at the rotating chunk of pork, are salivating. All of a sudden, due to the lack of foresight and failure to maintain the equipment, the spike falls out of the rotisserie and the pig falls on the coals.</p>

<p>That's how I look at the story of the cynical vote buy in Batman and the in-trouble ALP candidate's breathless <a href="http://davidfeeney.com.au/labor-to-extend-no-11-tram-route/">media release</a> stating that an ALP government would extend the route 11 tram.</p>

<p>The proposal would see $22 million spent on a 1-1.2km tram route extension from the current terminus at Regent Street to 'the end of Gilbert Road'. According to the media release, it is the first stage in the eventual extension to Reservoir station.</p>

<p>'The end of Gilbert Road' would see a tram route, which, at present, terminates at a strip shopping centre, extended to another relatively useless terminus location.</p>

<figure><a class="colorbox colorbox-insert-image" href="https://res.cloudinary.com/dz9xllyip/image/fetch/q_auto:good/https://s3-ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/www.urban.com.au/s3fs-public/pictures/article-images/darebin_how_to_pork_barrel.png" rel="gallery-all" title="'The end of Gilbert Road' would miss out on servicing RGZ in Reservoir. www.planningschemes.dpcd.vic.gov.au"><img alt="" class="image-article-full-width-580px" height="348" src="/sites/urban.melbourne/files/styles/article_full_width_580px/public/pictures/article-images/darebin_how_to_pork_barrel.png?itok=Hf0vFVWS" title="'The end of Gilbert Road' would miss out on servicing RGZ in Reservoir. www.planningschemes.dpcd.vic.gov.au" width="580"></a>

<figcaption>'The end of Gilbert Road' would miss out on servicing RGZ in Reservoir. <a href="http://planningschemes.dpcd.vic.gov.au/schemes/darebin/maps#pso-planningSchemeMaps-grid06">www.planningschemes.dpcd.vic.gov.au</a></figcaption></figure><p>As seen on the map above, the end of Gilbert Road (left of map) misses out on two things: servicing the Residential Growth Zones and connecting with the station at Reservoir. The wider economic benefits of this tram extension would only be higher if the entire route to Reservoir station were built in one go, therefore incentivising the redevelopment of properties on Edwardes Street.</p>

<p>And yes, the Reservoir station area is one of the state government's 50 level crossings that is scheduled to be removed - and that will in all likelihood incentivise new development in the zones shown on the map - but if a political party wanted to wave the cash infront of the electorate, can we at least do the job properly, in one go?</p>

<p>The ALP's figure of $22 million looks set to "buy" 1-1.2km of new track, and it looks as if it would be the same distance again to run the tracks right into Reservoir (down Edwardes Street) to a tram/train interchange, and doubling their own figures to $45-50 million could possibly pass the pub test.</p>

<p>Yet the return on that investment - we're still in pub test mode - would be greater if the line serviced areas which will allow change in land-use and also synchronised with the level crossing removal.</p>

<p>This election-focused policy announcement is a micro case study which has scarce detail, a demonstrated lack of integration with local planning issues/needs and no complimentary affordable housing policy; and furthermore it paints a picture of how far off the mark the Federal Government in Canberra will be if it decides to infringe further on traditional state issue areas.</p>

<p>Here's hoping that by the time of the next federal election, all political parties in Victoria will have a rich transport infrastructure plan - the one Infrastructure Victoria is devising - to cherry-pick for projects for their respective platforms. At least then, the electoral pork-barrelling won't be in danger of being underdone, or burnt to a crisp.</p>

<p><span style="font-size:10px;">Lead image credit: <a href="https://goo.gl/maps/Kzi4UVrst8s">Google Street View</a></span></p>
</body></html>

Route 11 tram extension: pork-barrelling, underdone

<html><body>
<p>Melbourne's tram network is the largest in the world measured by <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tram#Largest_tram_systems">track length</a>.</p>

<table border="1" cellpadding="1" cellspacing="1" style="width:100%;">
<thead><tr>
<th scope="col">City</th>
			<th scope="col">Network Size (track length)</th>
		</tr></thead>
<tbody>
<tr>
<td><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trams_in_Melbourne">Melbourne</a></td>
			<td>250km</td>
		</tr>
<tr>
<td><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kharkiv_tram">Kharkiv</a></td>
			<td>232km</td>
		</tr>
<tr>
<td><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trams_in_Saint_Petersburg">St. Petersburg</a></td>
			<td>220km</td>
		</tr>
<tr>
<td><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trams_in_Berlin">Berlin</a></td>
			<td>190km</td>
		</tr>
<tr>
<td><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trams_in_Moscow">Moscow</a></td>
			<td>181km</td>
		</tr>
<tr>
<td><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trams_in_Vienna">Vienna</a></td>
			<td>172km</td>
		</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
<p>Despite Melbourne's tram network being larger, Berlin's Straßenbahn network had roughly the same amount of passengers trips as Melbourne and Vienna's network was well ahead of both Melbourne &amp; Berlin in the 2013-2014 period.</p>

<table border="1" cellpadding="1" cellspacing="1" style="width:100%;">
<thead><tr>
<th scope="col">Melbourne</th>
			<th scope="col">Berlin</th>
			<th scope="col">Vienna</th>
		</tr></thead>
<tbody>
<tr>
<td>173,400,000 passenger trips</td>
			<td>174,700,000 passenger trips</td>
			<td>293,600,000 passenger trips</td>
		</tr>
<tr>
<td><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trams_in_Melbourne">Source</a></td>
			<td><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trams_in_Berlin#cite_note-ZP2014-5">Source</a></td>
			<td><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trams_in_Vienna">Source</a></td>
		</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
<p>Six of Melbourne's 23 routes have more than 10,000,000 passenger trips per annum:</p>

<table border="1" cellpadding="1" cellspacing="1" style="width:100%;">
<thead><tr>
<th scope="col">Route</th>
			<th scope="col">Annual Passenger Trips</th>
		</tr></thead>
<tbody>
<tr>
<td>#109 - Box Hill to Port Melbourne</td>
			<td>15,600,000</td>
		</tr>
<tr>
<td>#86 - Bundoora RMIT to Waterfront City Docklands</td>
			<td>15,500,000</td>
		</tr>
<tr>
<td>#96 - St Kilda Beach to East Brunswick</td>
			<td>15,400,000</td>
		</tr>
<tr>
<td>#112 - West Preston to St Kilda*</td>
			<td>12,300,000</td>
		</tr>
<tr>
<td>#19 - North Coburg to City</td>
			<td>11,400,000</td>
		</tr>
<tr>
<td>#59 - Airport West to City</td>
			<td>10,200,000</td>
		</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
<p>* I assume the data available on Yarra Tram's <a href="http://www.yarratrams.com.au/about-us/who-we-are/facts-figures/">website</a> reflects statistics before the recent route split.</p>

<h2>Did you also know…</h2>

<p>…finding passenger trip statistics for an 'average weekday' on trams, trains and buses in Melbourne is a convoluted and inaccurate process?</p>

<p>Today's strike has taken place during the middle of the day, between the peaks and it is therefore safe to say that we have avoided a proper #trampocalypse - as many on social media are calling and hashtagging it.</p>

<p>However, without access to readily available data on daily passenger trips on trams for more accurate predictions to be made about the effect the strike has had, reports will be vague on the subject.</p>

<p>Prime example: Yarra Tram's paints woefully inadequate picture of patronage numbers on its <a href="http://www.yarratrams.com.au/about-us/who-we-are/facts-figures/">website</a>. "There are approximately 3.5 million passenger trips taken on the Yarra Trams network every week - including more than 500,000 on weekends".</p>

<p>And even then things don't add up.</p>

<p>If we manually total the numbers in the per-route breakdown (the top six are in the table above) we're left with 179,000,000 passenger trips. And yet their statement, located just above the per-route breakdown, on "3.5 million passenger trips per week" would total 182,000,000 if we attempted to arrive at an annual figure (multiply 3.5 million by 52).</p>

<p>PTV's annual report from 2013-2014 states there were 176.9 million passenger trips taken on trams - there's quite a variety of numbers floating about, but no central "single source of truth" that is regularly updated to get a better picture on the state of patronage.</p>

<h2>Editor's pick of today's social media posts</h2>

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-partner="tweetdeck">
<p dir="ltr" lang="en">Looking north and south from Fed Square <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Tramstrike?src=hash">#Tramstrike</a> (ping <a href="https://twitter.com/774melbourne">@774melbourne</a>) <a href="http://t.co/mhLibTtMJW">pic.twitter.com/mhLibTtMJW</a></p>
— Courtney Carthy (@ccarthy) <a href="https://www.propertyobserver.com.au/https://twitter.com/ccarthy/status/636716463475154945">August 27, 2015</a>
</blockquote>

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-partner="tweetdeck">
<p dir="ltr" lang="en">What's wrong with this picture? <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/tramstrike?src=hash">#tramstrike</a> <a href="http://t.co/zMyjNImvwY">http://t.co/zMyjNImvwY</a> <a href="http://t.co/1s7GAFK5Wo">pic.twitter.com/1s7GAFK5Wo</a></p>
— The Age (@theage) <a href="https://www.propertyobserver.com.au/https://twitter.com/theage/status/636693598520524803">August 27, 2015</a>
</blockquote>
<script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script><blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en">
<p dir="ltr" lang="en"><a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/top10?src=hash">#top10</a> ways to get to work during <a href="https://twitter.com/fakeyarratrams">@fakeyarratrams</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/TramStrike?src=hash">#TramStrike</a> no 1. Horse and Cart <a href="http://t.co/qTepFZDFzg">pic.twitter.com/qTepFZDFzg</a></p>
— Hipstergeddon (@hipstergeddon) <a href="https://www.propertyobserver.com.au/https://twitter.com/hipstergeddon/status/636658396465205248">August 26, 2015</a>
</blockquote>
<script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script><blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en">
<p dir="ltr" lang="en"><a href="https://twitter.com/hipstergeddon">@hipstergeddon</a> No.4. Street Slide. <a href="http://t.co/EJhWnz2vUu">pic.twitter.com/EJhWnz2vUu</a></p>
— Fake Yarra Trams (@fakeyarratrams) <a href="https://www.propertyobserver.com.au/https://twitter.com/fakeyarratrams/status/636663506025099266">August 26, 2015</a>
</blockquote>
<script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script><p>Lead image credit: Wikipedia.</p>
</body></html>

TheHeadOnTheDoor

Less is not more: Why free trams are not our friend

<html><body>
<p>Ah, the Greens. Like your well meaning Nanna who still gives you a Freddo Frog every time you see her, they mean well but... they just don't get it.</p>

<p>While their commitment to better public transport can't be faltered, it seems they have the economic sense of Greece. It's this complete lack of financial responsibility that led them to come up with this gem last week: <a href="http://greens.org.au/sites/greens.org.au/files/140710%20trams%20connections%20backgrounder_FINAL.pdf">Connecting Melbourne's Trams</a>.</p>

<p>To be fair, much of this plan isn't the most crazy idea bandied about in Melbourne's transport planning sphere. That prize is reserved for the Public Transport Users Association's 1991 plan to build a heavy rail spur line to Princes Park, to cater for those millions of fans that used to turn up to watch Fitzroy play the Brisbane Bears and thus couldn't fit on the tram that stopped right outside the ground.</p>

<p>Now there's no denying our tram network needs some love, it is something <a href="/news/car-wars-time-for-trams-to-strike-back">I have spoken about before</a>. However with money for transport projects becoming thinner on the ground, we need to be very selective on where we spend that money. While the Metro Tunnel should be our first priority without a shadow of a doubt, its $9 billion price tag means we must think long and hard as to where the rest of the transport budget is spent. This means setting out a pipeline of projects, ensuring the cost is spread out over time, as well as providing a steady stream of jobs to build them.</p>

<p>In typical Greens fashion, they have thrown common sense out the window and decided it is a better idea to try and fix all our transport woes in one foul swoop; at least the ones involving trams. And so their tram plan was born; containing a collection of 15 different extensions at a cost of $840 million, a price tag that would make that much maligned spendthrift, the drunken sailor, weep tears of pain.</p>

<p>And unfortunately for this bag of mixed sweets, it contains more boiled lollies than it does chocolates.</p>

<p>$840 million may not sound humongous in light of today's infrastructure costs, however it does when it is being spent on lots of little projects that have an overall questionable benefit. Let's analyse some the best and worst suggestions. Inspired by my first viewing of the spaghetti western classic just last week, I have divided them into the Good, the Bad, and the Ugly.</p>

<h2>The Good</h2>

<p><a class="colorbox colorbox-insert-image" href="https://res.cloudinary.com/dz9xllyip/image/fetch/q_auto:good/https://s3-ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/www.urban.com.au/s3fs-public/pictures/article-images/route_48_large.jpg" rel="gallery-all"><img alt="" class="image-article-half-width-290px" height="290" src="/sites/urbanmelbourne.info/files/styles/article_half_width_290px/public/pictures/article-images/route_48_large.jpg?itok=2eFLd6G4" width="290"></a></p>

<h3>1 - North Balwyn to Doncaster Hill</h3>

<p>This actually makes sense which is why I can't understand why the Greens are backing it. For decades now they have been bleating about how a Doncaster heavy rail connection is the most important project in Melbourne, and now they are actually advocating a reasonable alternative. Or more likely, they are very unreasonably advocating we build both. Either way, this could be a winner. As building a Doncaster heavy rail link <a href="/expert-insights/buying/is-doncaster-rail-is-good">has many issues</a>.</p>

<p>This could solve the problem of having a rail link to Doncaster, without the multi billion dollar price tag heavy rail would come with. One down side is the current 39 minute journey time from North Balwyn to the CBD. However with a project 96 style upgrade to light rail, the journey time could be significantly reduced.</p>

<p><a class="colorbox colorbox-insert-image" href="https://res.cloudinary.com/dz9xllyip/image/fetch/q_auto:good/https://s3-ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/www.urban.com.au/s3fs-public/pictures/article-images/route_57.jpg" rel="gallery-all"><img alt="" class="image-article-half-width-290px" height="290" src="/sites/urbanmelbourne.info/files/styles/article_half_width_290px/public/pictures/article-images/route_57.jpg?itok=cEUiPmTj" width="290"></a></p>

<h3>2 - Highpoint to East Keilor</h3>

<p>Given that Avondale Heights/East Keilor are currently not served by heavy or light rail, this would add some value. With no room for a heavy rail line, a grade separated light rail route down Milleara Road would service quite a large residential area much quicker than buses would in the peak. Another tick.</p>

<h2>The Bad</h2>

<p><a class="colorbox colorbox-insert-image" href="https://res.cloudinary.com/dz9xllyip/image/fetch/q_auto:good/https://s3-ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/www.urban.com.au/s3fs-public/pictures/article-images/route_82.jpg" rel="gallery-all"><img alt="" class="image-article-half-width-290px" height="290" src="/sites/urbanmelbourne.info/files/styles/article_half_width_290px/public/pictures/article-images/route_82.jpg?itok=W2cGUFiH" width="290"></a></p>

<h3>1 - Footscray to Docklands and City</h3>

<p>Right thoughts, right words, wrong action. I don't understand why you would run a tram down Footscray Road, not only is there no residents to service, it would also wreak havoc with the trucks going to the Port of Melbourne creating a recipe for disaster.</p>

<p>Beyond Footscray Rd, the tram would then need to turn right at the major truck intersection at the Docklands Highway, run down busy Whitehall Street, before having to turn at another major intersection at Dynon Road. Given the Port of Melbourne own land on both sides of Footscray Road, it would more than likely be vetoed as part of any long term lease deal anyway.</p>

<p>Surely it would make more sense to go from its current terminus in Docklands, run north through the soon to be new residential precinct E Gate, then along Dynon Road where it could eventually service the Dynon urban renewal precinct, sandwiched between the rail line and Dynon Road itself. No trucks impeded, while servicing two high density residential areas, how could the Greens have got something so basic so wrong?</p>

<p><a class="colorbox colorbox-insert-image" href="https://res.cloudinary.com/dz9xllyip/image/fetch/q_auto:good/https://s3-ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/www.urban.com.au/s3fs-public/pictures/article-images/route_3.jpg" rel="gallery-all"><img alt="" class="image-article-half-width-290px" height="290" src="/sites/urbanmelbourne.info/files/styles/article_half_width_290px/public/pictures/article-images/route_3.jpg?itok=QN7a7h6o" width="290"></a></p>

<h3>2 - East Malvern to Chadstone</h3>

<p>There's no doubt that a lack of a rail connection to Chadstone Shopping Centre is one of the great Melbourne planning oversights, however I don't know whether a tram link is the best answer. A tram line down heavily congested Warrigul Road would be a disaster, and there are already options for a heavy rail link from either Alamein or East Malvern that would be better equipped to deal with the numbers that frequent the shopping centre. The <a href="http://www.theage.com.au/victoria/chadstone-station-and-tunnel-on-2b-shopping-list-20121110-29556">East Malvern option</a> would even partially pay for itself by selling off land above the Glen Waverly Line.</p>

<h2>The Ugly</h2>

<p><a class="colorbox colorbox-insert-image" href="https://res.cloudinary.com/dz9xllyip/image/fetch/q_auto:good/https://s3-ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/www.urban.com.au/s3fs-public/pictures/article-images/route_86.jpg" rel="gallery-all"><img alt="" class="image-article-half-width-290px" height="290" src="/sites/urbanmelbourne.info/files/styles/article_half_width_290px/public/pictures/article-images/route_86.jpg?itok=OiHGo-9A" width="290"></a></p>

<h3>1 - Bundoora RMIT to South Morang</h3>

<p>Dear oh dear. The justification for this is that it will ease pressure on the much overcrowded South Morang Line. However with a journey time of over an hour already from Bundoora to the CBD, how much mode shift would we actually see if people could catch the tram instead of the train?</p>

<p>Childless couples could get on at South Morang and have three children ready to start school by the time the tram arrived at Bourke Street! This works out to be nothing but an extension to join the dots.</p>

<p><a class="colorbox colorbox-insert-image" href="https://res.cloudinary.com/dz9xllyip/image/fetch/q_auto:good/https://s3-ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/www.urban.com.au/s3fs-public/pictures/article-images/route_8.jpg" rel="gallery-all"><img alt="" class="image-article-half-width-290px" height="288" src="/sites/urbanmelbourne.info/files/styles/article_half_width_290px/public/pictures/article-images/route_8.jpg?itok=I20ZMO3Q" width="288"></a> <a class="colorbox colorbox-insert-image" href="https://res.cloudinary.com/dz9xllyip/image/fetch/q_auto:good/https://s3-ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/www.urban.com.au/s3fs-public/pictures/article-images/route_new_n_melb-rmond.jpg" rel="gallery-all"><img alt="" class="image-article-half-width-290px" height="288" src="/sites/urbanmelbourne.info/files/styles/article_half_width_290px/public/pictures/article-images/route_new_n_melb-rmond.jpg?itok=YM3YN5jW" width="288"></a></p>

<h3>2 - Toorak to Camberwell Rd &amp; North Melbourne to Richmond</h3>

<p>I don't quite understand what the point of these are. This is the transport version of architect Jahn Gehl's 'Bird Sh*t Architecture' theory.</p>

<p>It is like someone went up in a chopper over Melbourne and said to themselves 'Wouldn't it be nice if those trams lines linked up and completed a pretty pattern?" Routes 8 &amp; 75 already run to the CBD, while the 3.96 km gap is already serviced by route 72. The 1.2km gap in North Melbourne would save about 5 mins by not having to go via Peel and La Trobe Streets.</p>

<p><a class="colorbox colorbox-insert-image" href="https://res.cloudinary.com/dz9xllyip/image/fetch/q_auto:good/https://s3-ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/www.urban.com.au/s3fs-public/pictures/article-images/route_19.jpg" rel="gallery-all"><img alt="" class="image-article-half-width-290px" height="290" src="/sites/urbanmelbourne.info/files/styles/article_half_width_290px/public/pictures/article-images/route_19.jpg?itok=uydCUI6d" width="290"></a></p>

<h3>3 - Coburg to Gowrie Station</h3>

<p>This extension merely hugs an existing low patronage heavy rail line. What is the point of this? It is fast becoming a case of quantity of ideas over quality...</p>

<h2>Summary</h2>

<p>Overall, the Greens proposal does contain a few good ideas. However they seem to have fallen into the trap of trying to flesh it out with too many bad or pointless ideas just to make it look comprehensive. Worse still the cost is just a random number.</p>

<p>With no business case, or even an estimated BCR to back it up, it is hard to justify any of the 15 proposals. There's also no explanation of how they arrived at an average cost of $15 million per km (<a href="http://blogs.crikey.com.au/theurbanist/2014/07/17/can-the-greens-tram-plan-be-taken-seriously/" target="_blank">see Alan Davies blog post on Crikey for a good summary on this point</a>).</p>

<p>Trams are great for short to medium urban journeys as their hop on/hop off nature makes them ideal for trips in high density areas, and/or as connector/feeder services to heavy rail. Conversely, due to the increased number of stops, using them as a high patronage, long distance commuter service to the CBD fast becomes a case of diminishing returns. A concept that seems to have been completely ignored with the idea to extend to places like South Morang and Knox.</p>

<p>The Greens would be much better served to concentrate on getting up a few of the really good ideas, rather than a large series of average ones. But of course, they won't. Welcome to the planet that is the Greens, where populism outranks economic reality - every time!</p>
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Wham Tram Thank You Ma'am - Have the Greens jumped the shark again?

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<p>By <a href="http://theconversation.com/profiles/corinne-mulley-106">Corinne Mulley</a>, <em>University of Sydney</em>.</p>

<p>News of a new bus route will most likely be greeted with indifferent silence, but lobbying for a new train line can keep thousands of potential commuters busy for years on end. It seems that everyone loves rail!</p>

<p>In Australian cities, the answer to the question “how do we improve public transport?” is almost invariably, “with a rail project”. But why? Because, say supporters, rail will make it easier for commuters to get into the city to get to work.</p>

<p>This focus is misdirected for a number of reasons. First, it doesn’t make sense to decide on a mode of transport without having a serious discussion about how many people travel and where to.</p>

<p>We need separate figures on how many people want to make these trips now and how many are likely to want to make these trips in the future. Then we can think about mode.</p>

<p>Second, to focus on the CBD does not make sense. Increasingly, jobs are being decentralized because most governments have a land use policy which is building a hierarchy of centres within cities.</p>

<p>Third, a focus on the CBD when the CBD accounts for only a small proportion of jobs overall does not seem to be for the greater good.</p>

<p>In Sydney and Melbourne, approximately 10% of metropolitan employment is in the CBD; it’s over 20% in Paris and over 15% in Singapore.</p>

<p>Moreover, public transport has to do more than get people to jobs (although commuting is very important) - these other trips are not necessarily to or from the CBD.</p>

<p>In systems predicated on travel to the CBD it is often difficult to get from one side of town to the other.</p>

<p>In Sydney, for example, even where the best transport links exist it is difficult to go by public transport from the Inner West to the Eastern suburbs without changing and without it taking a long time.</p>

<p>In fact, these type of journeys often compete badly with the private car on travel time and on cost - public transport fares (especially when there is no integrated fare system) being much more than the running costs of a car.</p>

<p>To improve this situation, the first step is to consider where services now go, where people go, and where they would like to go.</p>

<p>If public transport links the places people want to go - where they go to work, shop, go to the doctor or take the kids to child care - public transport investment can start to shape urban growth as we build along transport routes.</p>

<p>Improvements which make it easier for more people to get where they want to go on public transport are the projects which we need to implement. These projects improve the lives of existing passengers as well as helping to get people out of their cars.</p>

<p>So how do you choose the right mode to get this job done? Public transport passengers want frequent, reliable and quick journeys. Rail services are perceived to do well on each of these characteristics because rail services usually have their own right of way, separated from other traffic.</p>

<p>Passengers think that modes that share the road with cars and freight - modes like trams and buses - will be delayed and slowed by other traffic, so they prefer trains.</p>

<p>But to prefer trains on this principle does not make sense: road-based buses can be given their own right of way, protected from other traffic.</p>

<p>They can be as fast or faster than commuter based rail - as demonstrated by the implementation of Bus Rapid Transit systems around the world of which the TransMilenio in Bogota is an excellent example.</p>

<p>A second argument is that the rail can carry more passengers than buses. This is not true.</p>

<p>In an urban context, light rail on its own right of way can have a service capacity of between 5,000 and just over 20,000 passengers per hour in one direction.</p>

<p>Brisbane’s South East Busway carries 15,000 passengers per hour, Bogata’s TransMelenio’s Bus Rapid Transit carries 45,000 passengers per hour.</p>

<p>No-one talks about how much cheaper road-based systems are. US evidence points to infrastructure cost for dedicated buses being approximately one third of light rail costs.</p>

<p>This means that for a fixed amount of money, you can have three times as much bus dedicated road space as rail. For many cities this could lead to transformational change. And in terms of running costs, rail might be cheaper in some cases but it is important to compare like with like.</p>

<p>As for emission costs, it all depends on the type of propulsion in use. Electric rail vehicles are cleaner than diesel buses but not significantly cleaner than electric buses. And no electric propulsion is clean if the electricity production is ‘dirty’.</p>

<p>Rail is often seen as being more permanent and leading to economic development benefits.</p>

<p>If permanence is what increases land value and provides greater economic development, then fixed infrastructure road-based bus systems, such as BRT, can provide this too (and the academic literature is beginning to show this is true).</p>

<p>So when might rail be sensible over a bus based system? If the existing network is wholly rail then building new connections to this system might be justified, rather than starting with a new technology for a link. But this is rare.</p>

<p>Most of the arguments in favour of rail stem from cultural differences.</p>

<p>Passengers often perceive buses are for poorer people and this influences how the community feels about buses. More time and money spent solving the cultural differences would be an effective way of ensuring that our public transport systems are improved with value for money enhancements and not by rail links imagined to be what the customer wants.</p>

<p>All this might come over as a lobby for the bus. It is not. It is a plea to consider carefully what the problem is and the most appropriate, cost effective solution.</p>

<p>There is little point to building a new rail link unless it significantly adds to travel opportunities or satisfies the travelling needs of passengers now or in the future.<img alt="The Conversation" height="1" src="https://counter.theconversation.edu.au/content/45/count.gif" width="1"></p>

<p><em>Corinne Mulley does not work for, consult to, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has no relevant affiliations.</em></p>

<p>This article was originally published on <a href="http://theconversation.com">The Conversation</a> in April 2011. Read the <a href="http://theconversation.com/getting-public-transport-right-means-less-emphasis-on-rail-45">original article</a>.</p>
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theconversation

Getting public transport right means less emphasis on rail

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<p>Once upon a time, in a galaxy far far away, lived a band of humble trams. As Melbourne grew rapidly in the 1850's on the back of the gold rush, the trams tirelessly and loyally ferried the expanding population all around the city. With help of their big brothers, the trains, their future looked bright and assured. But then in true Australian fashion, we introduced a foreign species into the natural habitat: the car. Brought here in the misguided idea they would solve all our transport problems, they soon started to cause as much havoc as a cane toad. Getting into every nook and cranny of our roads, it clogged them up like last night's Irish Stew stuffed down the plughole of the kitchen sink. To prove we are nothing but consistent, to deal with this foreign introduced species gone rogue we introduced yet another foreign species: the freeway. History shows of course that they did little to help the problem - in fact the concept of 'induced traffic' proved they did just the opposite - it just made it worse.</p>

<p>So where did that leave the hero of our story, the humble tram? Having had its natural habitat encroached on more and more by the car, it became slower and slower, its usefulness slowly diminishing. So much so, that in the 1980's they approached extinction, with the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lonie_Report">Lonie report</a> proposing to cull half their population. Fortunately they were spared, and they are now the largest colony of their kind in the galaxy... err, world.</p>

<p>Fast forward 30 years and today trams are experiencing somewhat of a renaissance in Australia. Up until roughly a decade ago, the only commuter tram line outside Melbourne was the Glenelg tram in Adelaide. Today Perth, Gold Coast, Sydney, Canberra and Adelaide all have light rail projects planned, under construction or recently completed. All these projects will be true light rail projects (i.e. grade separated), with one line in Adelaide even planning to run dual-voltage trams so that they can share track space with trains. In Melbourne, we have seen no such innovation or upgrades in a very long time. Despite the network's large size (about 250 kilometres of track) and pedestrian-slow average speeds of 15km/h (11 km/h in the CBD - I can actually run faster than that), we seemed to be content to leave this state of neglect as the status quo.</p>

<p>Then a few months ago we saw a glimmer of hope: Project 96. No, not a reboot of the famously risqué 70s TV show Number 96, but an upgrade of the 96 tram line from East Brunswick to St Kilda. With part of the route already grade separated as a legacy of conversion from heavy rail in the late 80s, and both termini located in high volume cafe/restaurant spots, it was an obvious choice to go first. Once completed, it will be the first true end-to-end light rail line in Melbourne, with no shared road space of trams and cars, and tram priority at all traffic lights. It seems everyone wins: trams will run more frequently, will be more reliable, and will have better access (and therefore be safer) through more level access stops. Everyone it seems, except one group. The people who in all likelihood will benefit the most from this upgrade: the Acland Street traders.</p>

<figure><a class="colorbox colorbox-insert-image" href="https://res.cloudinary.com/dz9xllyip/image/fetch/q_auto:good/https://s3-ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/www.urban.com.au/s3fs-public/pictures/article-images/Image2_20.jpg" rel="gallery-all" title="Map outlining expected upgrades over route 96"><img alt="" class="image-article-full-width-702px" src="/sites/urbanmelbourne.info/files/styles/article_full_width_702px/public/pictures/article-images/Image2_20.jpg?itok=Y-QZjdF9" title="Map outlining expected upgrades over route 96" typeof="foaf:Image"></a>

<figcaption>Map outlining expected upgrades over route 96</figcaption></figure><p>Recently the St Kilda Village Traders staged a 'Don't let them kill Acland St' event in protest against the upgrade; an effort that would be paramount to a protest against the building of a childrens' hospital in a third world country. At the heart of their concerns is the plan to remove about 50 car spaces from Acland St and ban cars from it altogether. This according to the traders, will be enough to drive all their customers away screaming like its the beginning of the rapture. "We have surveyed our customers and found most drive" one trader was quoted as saying in The Age. This begs the question: how is a scenario that relies on your customers being able to get a park out the front of your shop a sustainable business model? How will your customer base grow if the number of parking spaces in the street can't grow? How can it grow if car usage in Melbourne has started to flatline, and in some cases, even decrease?</p>

<p>Let's do the maths. Cars usually carry a maximum of five passengers. With 50 spots and assuming an average stay of two hours, this means a potential 125 customers an hour. The new E-class trams have a capacity of 210 passengers and will arrive/leave the new terminus at Acland St every four minutes. That's a staggering 3,150 potential customers an hour, delivered to their doorstep! That's not just double or triple the volume of cars, but an order of magnitude higher; 25 times more tram passengers than car passengers to be exact. And that's not even taking into consideration people who walk and ride there, a number that will surely see a significant rise in the near future as the number of apartment developments steadily rises.</p>

<p>And to add further doubt to an already crumbling argument, the St Kilda Village Traders Association president, Chris Hickey, came up with this gem: "For every tram load of visitors that it brings, there is also a tram load of visitors that it takes away". Of course it does, the visitors need to go home again, don't they!? I can't begin to even make sense of this argument. Do they think people in cars don't leave again? This is possibly the worst opposing argument I've heard yet, and that's saying a lot!</p>

<p>Not to stop there, they keep digging. "We believe it would make St Kilda village a better place if we had the terminus outside O'Donnell Gardens, effectively acting as a gateway". The whole point of public transport is to make it as easy as possible, for as many people as possible, to get to their destination. Making it harder for tram users by having the terminus further away, and easier for motorists by allowing them to remain, does nothing to facilitate the migration from car to public transport that Melbourne is desperately craving.</p>

<figure><img alt="" class="image-article-full-width-702px" src="/sites/urbanmelbourne.info/files/styles/article_full_width_702px/public/pictures/article-images/trams_729-420x0.jpg?itok=dGry7TjQ" title="Image courtesy of www.theage.com.au" typeof="Image"><figcaption>Image courtesy of www.theage.com.au</figcaption></figure><p>Of course we have seen this all before. The East Brunswick traders at the other end of route 96 have jumped on the same bandwagon. Clearways were removed from High Street Prahan, as well as Victoria Street (Richmond), Sydney Road (Moreland) and High Street (Kew), all of which could have improved bus services no end, but for the protests of local traders. And more recently, we had motorists cry like babies when a bike lane was added to Princes Bridge, claiming it would add up to 20 minutes to their daily commute. But once it opened, what did the City of Melbourne's official study find? The commute lengthened by a mere 48 seconds, while cycling increased by 40%. A triumph of common sense over sanctimonious bleating.</p>

<p>For far too long, we have allowed cars, and parking spaces, to be an excuse not to upgrade public transport. But this is a case where the traders, like a petulant child, need to be forced to take their medicine. The community-wide support and obvious universal benefits has to outweigh the unfounded protests of the NIMBY minority. And not only that, but 12 months after this upgrade is completed, and the statistics show there has been an increase in customers in the area, they should be big enough to take out a full-page ad in a newspaper and apologise for their silly stunt.</p>

<p>Despite the clear room for improvement, our tram network remains the jewel in our public transport crown, providing inner-city coverage that even some subway systems around the world can only dream about. With upgrades like this making our network faster, more reliable and more frequent, combined with the many planned heavy rail upgrades, Melbourne could quite conceivably have one of the best public transport systems in the world. And this is why project 96 needs to be just a stepping stone. Route 109, another partial light rail line, would be the obvious next cab off the rank. An upgraded/extended route 24 could be a viable alternative to a Doncaster rail line, while an upgraded/extended route 82 from Docklands to Highpoint could provide Melbourne with its first fast rail link to one of its major shopping centres (the state government will probably build the Death Star before Southland railway station is built!).</p>

<p>It is time to bring back some balance to the force that is our tram network. So to the Public Transport Victoria 'rebel alliance' team battling hard to have our trams upgraded. May the force be with you!</p>
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Car Wars: Time for trams to strike back?

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<p><a href="http://www.docklandsnews.com.au/editions/article/yarras-edge-tram-bridge-outrage_9122/" target="_blank">Docklands News</a> reported (01/10/13) Yarra's Edge residents were growing increasingly worried about the proposed tram bridge as outlined in the Fishermans Bend draft vision.  Under the headline "Yarra's Edge tram bridge outrage", Docklands News quoted boat owners as saying they would oppose any low-level bridge that would restrict access to the Marina.</p>

<p>The article similarly quotes the Planning Minister as saying "the bridge was more than 20 years off from being built" and then quotes a Places Victoria representative as saying "a tram link between Collins Street and Yarra's Edge would be in place within 10 years".  Confused?  You're not alone.</p>

<p>Whilst a tunnel might keep the boat owners of Yarra's Edge happy, we need to look at the overall benefits of building the cheaper option: a low-level bridge:</p>

<ul>
<li>cheaper to construct than a tunnel</li>
	<li>more likely to provide pedestrian &amp; cycle links adjacent to tram tracks</li>
	<li>ability to place a tram stop right on the southern bank of the river - injecting people into an otherwise inactive urban environment</li>
	<li>no unsightly ramp in the middle of Collins Street in Victoria Harbour.</li>
</ul>
<p>One potential idea is to slowly move the berths to the west of the proposed bridge alignment as leases in their current position expire therefore allowing a fixed bridge to be built maximising the public's return on investment in the bridge.  </p>

<p>If you're to believe the Places Victoria representative's timeframe of 10 years then an opening bridge could be built with a view to lock it in position over a longer timeframe once the berths have moved away from their current position.   In 10 years, Fishermans Bend (in particular the Lorimer precinct) isn't likely required to have super-high frequency services traversing the river (therefore periods each hour for opening could be catered for), but in 20 years time (the Planning Minister's quoted timeframe) demand for high frequency access to and from Fishermans Bend is likely to be much greater with the entire redevelopment zone underway in some shape or form.</p>

<p>On the loss of open / green space, it is well within the realms of possibility to acquire the site on the opposite side of Lorimer street (pan the street view below around 180 degrees) to even increase the amount of open space available to existing Yarra's Edge residents, mitigating the obvious loss of existing green space should a low-level bridge be the preferred option.</p>

<p><iframe frameborder="0" height="400" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" scrolling="no" src="https://www.google.com.au/maps?t=h&amp;ie=UTF8&amp;layer=c&amp;cbll=-37.824158,144.942455&amp;panoid=ZWn0RAEWSz6zODMx3I5zag&amp;cbp=13,34.19,,0,4.79&amp;source=embed&amp;ll=-37.824793,144.942777&amp;spn=0.001331,0.003015&amp;z=18&amp;output=svembed" width="100%"></iframe><br><small><a href="https://www.google.com.au/maps?t=h&amp;ie=UTF8&amp;layer=c&amp;cbll=-37.824158,144.942455&amp;panoid=ZWn0RAEWSz6zODMx3I5zag&amp;cbp=13,34.19,,0,4.79&amp;source=embed&amp;ll=-37.824793,144.942777&amp;spn=0.001331,0.003015&amp;z=18" style="color:#0000FF;text-align:left">View Larger Map</a></small></p>

<p>As I <a href="/news/an-overview-of-fishermans-bends-transport-vision" target="_blank">wrote</a> two weeks ago, the most interesting part of the Fishermans Bend draft vision was the eventual form this new link would take.  I just didnt think it would be this quick for the locals to fire up.</p>

<p> </p>
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