The state government that rules Sydney is
giving signs that it's ready to tear down the city's
monorail,
ostensibly for a rebuild of the convention centre but also to remove
some obstacles to surface light rail, including game-changing new line
down the middle of Sydney's CBD spine, George Street. Jake Saulwick
has the story in today's
Sydney Morning Herald.
A source from one consortium [bidding to build a new convention
centre] said no decision had been made ''but the word from the
government is 'don't let the monorail constrain your thinking' ''.
''Conversely they say the light rail is quite important.''
This could be read as a story about big bad developers destroying a
crucial transit resource, but it's not. The Sydney Monorail, opened in
1988, is the red line in the map below: a
one way loop connecting the CBD to the nearby tourism-entertainment-convention district of Darling Harbour:
Like many transit toys, it was built cheaply on the assumption that
the joy of the technology itself would transcend its lack of usefulness.
Its most obvious use is for travel between the convention/exhibition
area on the west side of the loop to the city centre in the east, but
the key stations on the west side of the loop, serving the
convention/exhibition area and Paddy's Markets, are attached to parking
structures, offering an unattractive walk to the destination itself.
The fare is $5.00. Meanwhile, it's less than 1.5 km (1 mile) walk from
one side of the loop to the other, mostly along reasonably pleasant
paths that lead to the front door of your destination, though to be fair
there is one elevated waterfront freeway in the way.
more about urban transportation in Sydney:
It's very sad to hear that monorail system in Sydney is going to be scrapped. I hope this won't happend because it's such an important transportation utility for residents and tourists alike.
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