the b-line bus program is a trojan horse
for intensifying development on
the northern beaches
B-Line buses run every 5 minutes in peak hours and every 10 minutes at other times. Has anyone seen how empty these B-Line buses are at certain times of the day? To substantiate the huge expense of this program $650 million the Government will say that they new need to intensify development on the Northern Beaches to make the B-Line buses viable and continue their running. Governments do not upgrade public transport for the current users, they upgrade it to cater for more and more users through more and more development that is on the B-Line route. Just like high-rise is now being built near train stations the same will happen on the B-Line route. The 9 B-Line bus stops (10 when Newport comes on line in 2018/2019) are compared to train stations. Commuters have to get to train stations to get to work etc. Commuters now need to get to the B-Line Bus stops in a similar way. The B-Line (Train) bus stops only at certain bus stops, just like a train will stop at Lindfield, Killara, Gordon etc. The B-Line Buses are nothing more than a train on wheels that runs on the public road.
infrastructure will never keep ahead of development
In a letter to the Editor the author Tony Recsei says it very well.
The increasingly depressing scenario described for Dee Why accurately portrays the reality of high-density policies. It is completely naive to believe infrastructure will ever catch up. With dwellings continually being pumped into the area, where will there be space for adequate roads and other requirements? There is no large high-density city anywhere that does not experience stifling congestion. Yet things could be very much better. Options other than developer-friendly high-density policies are practical, such as those in the US sunbelt cities. But our government refuses to even contemplate them.
Tony Recsei, Warrawee
Tony Recsei, Warrawee