Councillor Chris Harris

With all the talk on climate change, greenhouse emissions, traffic congestion, childhood obesity and safety at school you would think that our councils and government would have whole departments supporting walking school buses.

But here in NSW, the premier state, there appears to be no council or government initiative directed at promoting or encouraging walking school buses. Such initiatives are left to individual schools and their P&Cs and it seems that no walking school buses operate in the whole of Sydney or the state of NSW.

So much for our politicians’ bleatings about looking after our children and the environment.

But that will change if Deputy Lord Mayor and Greens candidate for Sydney Chris Harris has his way. Read the rest of this entry »

Sydney’s CBD has been sentenced to a future of congestion, noise, pollution and economic disadvantage by a Transport Plan recently released by the State Government

Like the State Plan it is a plan to deceive, using selective arguments and pages of spin to gloss over its defects.

Key to the plan is its rejection of light rail in favour of more buses, argued in a one-page pro-bus rationale which ignores both international trends and local experts who have made a strong case for light rail based on detailed research.

This will cost Sydney dearly in many ways, both economically and in terms of amenity. Here are just some of the compelling arguments in favour of light rail the state plan has ignored:

The CBD already suffers 7,400 buses per day and growth estimates predict this will increase to 9,400 by 2021.

One light rail set can replace three buses. Do the math! With a single driver, light rail has lower operating costs even while offering the convenience and efficiency of a conductor.

Sydney’s bus system is at capacity yet still carries fewer than half the passengers our trams carried in the 1940s.

Trams, although wider than buses, actually take up less road space because they travel on rails and do not meander between traffic lanes. Such predictability also makes trams much safer for pedestrians, cyclists and other drivers.

Their higher capacity would reduce or eliminate that bane of inner city bus travellers - standing helplessly at a stop while bus after bus roars past, full.

Buses are also subject to ‘bunching’ whereby buses on the same route catch each other so passengers suffer a feast-or-famine effect and waiting times can double from say ten to twenty minutes.

On the other hand, fewer trams travelling on their defined routes are far easier to regulate.

Buses cause much of the congestion they suffer from. Already in the CBD peaks, long lines of buses queue up nose to tail along George Street, with space for layovers at a premium.

Buses are far noisier than trams especially as they hurry to make up lost time, roaring along often only a metre or so from pedestrians. Read the rest of this entry »

Greens MP Lee Rhiannon has called on journalist Anita Quigley to retract her comments about her ‘desire to swerve towards’ cyclists’ reported in today’s Daily Telegraph.Quigley in her Daily Telegraph column writes “all cyclists in the city are irritating and I find bring on an overwhelming desire to swerve towards.”

“This is highly irresponsible journalism. Cyclists are regularly injured and too many are killed because some car drivers engage in dangerous driving when they see a cyclist,” Ms Rhiannon said.

“If the same comments about swerving towards children or a pregnant woman were made there would be outrage. Ms Quigley’s comments would leave readers thinking that cyclists are fair game.

“Her comments about swerving towards cyclists effectively incites road rage against cyclists.

“Cyclists have a legal right to use our roads. Ms Quigley is effectively encouraging people to break the law.

“These comments show the need for driver education programs. The government has a responsibility to change community attitudes. But unfortunately there was nothing for cyclists in the government’s Urban Transport Plan released last week.

“The number of cyclists using city streets is on the increase because of rising fuel prices, traffic congestion and concern about climate change.

It is disappointing that the Daily Telegraph has not extended their new found climate change concern to backing more cycle paths in the city, suburbs and regional areas,” Ms Rhiannon said.

Picture: Lee Rhiannon with yesterday’s critical mass annual harbour bridge ride.

Editor’s note: The Telegraph also published the mobile number of one of the critical mass organisers — without permission. SMS messages have been running approximately 2:1 against critical mass.

Sydney residents are dependent on their cars because in many cases there is no alternative. Successive Liberal and Labor Governments have failed to invest in efficient and integrated public transport. Instead they have poured billions of dollars into roads and tollways.

Residents in the Seat of Sydney feel the brunt of this failure to invest in public transport because their streets are parked out and flooded with commuter traffic. Some of the worst situations have been addressed by road closures (eg Bourke St at Taylor square) but we can’t close all roads to through traffic otherwise Sydney would grind to a halt, businesses would suffer and people would not be able to access their own neighbourhoods. We have seen this happen with the closure of Bourke St at the south side of William St. Fortunately this intersection has been partially reopened following a widespread community campaign and support from Greens Parliamentarian Lee Rhiannon MLC and myself.

The only permanent solution to our reliance on cars is large investment in public transport. The following plan is the Greens vision for public transport. It calls for large investments in heavy rail, light rail, buses and cycleways together with integrated ticketing and high quality interchanges serviced by real time timetable information. This investment is to be financed by Public Transport Infrastructure Bonds that would be ideal investments for DIY and institutional superannuation funds.

I have developed this plan in conjunction with many Greens members throughout Sydney and Greens Transport spokesperson Lee Rhiannon MLC.

Please feel free to comment.

• View the plan

Media Release

At last night’s City of Sydney Council meeting, Greens Cr Chris Harris moved a budget amendment to include a contribution by the City of Sydney Council to a light rail link between Railway Square and Circular Quay down Castlereagh Street.

Read the rest of this entry »