Call for trams on Oxford St
Light rail along Oxford St would help make it safer, a City of Sydney Council candidate proposed this week after it was revealed the strip had the second highest number of pedestrian accidents in the local government area last year.
Darlinghurst Business Partnership president Andrew Duckmanton, a local council candidate with Clover Moore’s Independent Team, said the strip’s 2005 upgrade was handled poorly but light rail would fix the problems by returning the balance between pedestrians and vehicles.
Oxford St should be a pleasant boulevard to sit and drink coffee in the morning, but then you get a bus whizzing past at 50-60kph and they tend not to stick to their lanes. Bus drivers are really part of the problem, Duckmanton told Sydney Star Observer.
Anything that can get traffic down to a manageable pace of 40kph down Oxford St would be fantastic, but the long-term solution is centred around light rail.
Duckmanton said some irrational pedestrians were always going to exist, and streets should be designed to accept that reality by having a median strip.
With the median strip taken out during the upgrade, there’s nowhere for a pedestrian to catch their breath. But a light rail strip could serve the same purpose, he said.
The Darlinghurst Business Partnership really supports the 2030 vision for light rail up George St, and I’d like to get it up Oxford St to Bondi Junction.
A more relaxed street will also help local businesses and allow people to feel they own the turf. This is something that is uniquely achievable in Darlinghurst.
Duckmanton said the state government had a shameful record on public transport, but adding more buses wouldn’t solve the problem but rather create more traffic chaos.
George St topped the accident list with 33 pedestrian accidents, followed by Oxford St with 20, then Elizabeth and Pitt streets tied with 17.
The City has issued a warning to pedestrians to be careful during peak accident times between 3pm and 6pm as part of its new awareness campaign Watch Out Cars About.
Young men were the most likely to be injured while crossing the street, with 73 mowed down in the city last year.
The City is committed to making the city centre safer and people-friendly as part of Sustainable Sydney 2030 which proposes making George St a livable green corridor with enhanced public transport and priority given to pedestrians and cyclists, City of Sydney CEO Monica Barone said.
We also continue to advocate for a 40kph speed limit on local streets across the entire Local Government Area to increase pedestrian safety.
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i agree with the idea of lightrail through oxford street. i think the saving of oxford street depends on developing a local, village feel. thiscan be found already off oxford street, behind oxford and along bourke,crown and riley streets. perhaps the lightrail should run from the city, or cross city and go on, on the other end to bondi beach, taking the rail along oxford through paddington, or threading it’s way around oxford. either way, it should be a destination tram and be useful for locals and tourists as a daytripper and a transit vehicle. the laneways around the strip could be called into use as local holes in the wall and small cafes. ala soho in london and sanfrancisco. come on! we have the ideas.. it can’t be that hard to realise! above all .. the strip needs to be calmed and contained as a destination and stopoff in itself.
An excellent idea that could become a crystallizing axis of the Sydney city planning.
It would be quieter, greener, safer, most probably more efficient and would render to the whole stretch the soul and nostalgic character that makes locals and visitors love the city.
A tram (or light rail) on Oxford Street and joining other tram/light rail lines would cost up to $500 million. I guess taxpayers are fotting the bill.
GJS..Clover didn’t rip down the fences…the Roads and Traffic Authority (RTA ) did .They own the road .
Trams are a good idea!
However why did clover rip down the fences in the middle of oxford st on both sides of oxford st.The fences made pedestrians cross at the pedestrian crossings.Now people play chicken with the traffic.
Wouldn’t it make sense that the 3 road identified as having the highest amount of casualties – George & William Streets followed by Oxford St – all have trams? Or a tram that does a giant apex down Oxford Street, right at George St, right at Park St and a loop of the Cross before returning to Oxford St and end up in the Bondi Junction?
Ive just come back from Melbourne and I have to say Trams are much more pleasant to ride on. The buses along Oxford St and other major roads here in Sydney are Annoying, Loud and Smell!!
Oxford St is large enough to fit a tramline so why not? By the time plans get approval and construction gets under way I probably wont live to see it.
Restoring the tramline along Oxford Street is a fabulous idea. Trams would improve the look and ambiance of the Oxford Street precinct in many ways. First of all, trams are cleaner and much more quiet than buses. Because trams do not lurch and jerk their way through traffic, they are more comfortable to ride, carry more seated passengers and are safer for pedestrians, bicyclists and motorists alike. Unlike buses, trams have their own dedicated lane of traffic and, therefore, can move people across the city faster.
Well designed light rail trams are also seen as adding visual appeal to the urban landscape. This should be an important consideration for revitalising the Oxford Street precinct. Furthermore, there is a symbolic value of having a light rail system, owing to the cost and effort required to install, it can be seen as proof that the New South Wales Government is truly committed to public transport.
Presently Oxford Street is a major bus throroughfare. Noisy, diesel-belching buses competing with the ceaseless car traffic is unpleasant and discourages a vibrant street life. Oxford Street is one area in particular where traffic-calming measures are desperately needed to achieve the outcomes of creating safer and more pleasant entertainment district. But we will never attract commuters out of their cars by offering them a bus. Trams are the way to go.
And while they are at it, why stop at just Bondi Junction? Certainly a tram loop from Central along Oxford Street to the Moore Park sporting grounds, Centennial Park and the University of New South Wales should also be given serious consideration. I think any sports fan who has had to hike up Foveaux Street from Central would agree a better mode of transport is needed.