Council Minutes - Town of Cambridge

COUNCIL MINUTES
TUESDAY 28 AUGUST 2012
5. Detail design modification needed for staging
The concept design developed was on the basis of a continual section of single lane in
each direction from Northwood St to Southport St as this was the original intent of the
project. During development of the 2012/2103 Budget, it was determined that the first
part of the works, from Northwood Street to Holyrood / Kerr Streets would be
undertaken and a decision made at a later date to undertake further works from
Holyrood / Kerr Streets to Southport Street.
This will necessitate during detail design of the necessary tapers and kerb treatments
where two lanes in each direction revert to one lane in each direction near the Holyrood
/ Kerr Streets intersection.
6. Bus Stop Details
The concept design identified two bus stop locations, the first generally at the West
Leederville Shopping Centre and the second generally aligned with Leederville Town
Hall. This is consistent with existing arrangements. During design discussions with PTA,
the Leederville Town Hall bus stops were to be used by PTA as 'timed' stops where the
buses may be standing for some time to catch up to their timetable. This led to the
design of indented bus stops for this area to better manage traffic flow.
The West Leederville Shopping Centre bus stops, on the other hand, were not proposed
to be indented but rather on road.
Some comments received were concerned as to the impacts on traffic flow when buses
are standing at these bus stops for passenger alighting/disembarking. Whilst the
average frequency over a full day of bus movements hardly warrants this concern (less
than 1.5 bus movements per hour); it is relevant that in peak hour there are as many as
four buses in a 15 minute period and as time progresses it is certain that bus
frequencies would increase.
On the City Bound lane, installation of an indented bay would require removal of all of
the footpath and verge. Alternatively, Cambridge Street could be realigned further south
to allow an indented bus bay to be built, albeit with a very narrow footpath. This would
have a knock on effect of reducing the southern verge as well as requiring further
removal of car bays on the west bound side of the road.
On the west bound lane, an indented bay could be built at the cost of the removal of four
on street parking bays.
As an option, the bus stops near the West Leederville Shopping Centre could be
relocated immediately west of Northwood Street, where Cambridge Street remains two
lanes in each direction. This extends the walking distance from bus stop to shopping
centre by 80 metres.
The PTA has been canvassed on this matter. Their view is that bus movements are
more efficient if 'on lane' standing is utilised for bus stops, as buses do not have to enter
a traffic lane if indented bays were used. They also believe that the bus stops opposite
the shopping centre are located to serve a demand for that location, and relocation
further away appears counter intuitive. Finally, it is their view that the improvements
made in use of boarding technology (Smartrider) reduce standing times at bus stops. It
is their view that relocation would be a poor outcome.
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