Townsville Community Voices

The CV team proposes a complete review of the transportation system as current operated in the Townsville region. This will be conducted in liaison with the Department of Transport and other stake holders to ensure an efficient system is the result, suitable for Townsville in the short, medium and the long term

The CV team will endeavor the deliver an affordable user friendly integrated public transport system that would be attractive to all end users. Something that Townsville could be proud of .

This review strategy will take into consideration the state of the existing public Bus transport system and focus on such issues as

1. Computerized time tables advertising current time tables at the busiest suburban bus stops,
2. Computerized displays with current status of Bus services (on time –delayed etc)
3. Service and maintenances program for Bus shelters.
4. On site lock up facilities for Commuters to safely store their Bicycles and low cost transport options for the cyclists storing bike on site in secure lockups.
5.  Advertised “free” day to encourage the use of Public Transport
6. Audit of existing Bus routes to check utilization and efficient operation of all existing routes and suitability to Townsville needs.
7. Additional needs for expanded services to outer suburbs.
8. Addition competition in the Bus Transport Systems.

Community voices hopes to stimulate the public of Townsville to increase their use of public transport in a way to reduce the overall pollution of the city.

Community Voices will investigate other avenues to improve the cost effectiveness of transportation systems with a view to providing a better Public transport system for the public.

Light Rail

As residents of Townsville, many of the Community Voices team can actually remember when elements of the original light rail system actually worked.

We have followed the mistakes made in south east Queensland where services were removed, in some cases lines were sold for scrap, only to realize some years later that these lines needed to be relayed. Fortunately we still have our primary rail system intact so it is really a matter of scheduling and rail motor availability.

It is therefore an important component of Community Voices election policy that light rail on existing and new rail corridors be investigated to alleviate the need for commuters to spend time and money on using the road network.

In conjunction with Queensland Rail, Community Voice would seek to instigate a trial of light rail patronage to gauge its effectiveness. Rollingstone, Deeragun to Townsville could be seen as one such trial.

It is the nation trend to increase the availability of alternative mass transportation methods to reduce pollution and increase efficiency of use of transport methods. Light rail is one alternative.

Traffic Policy

Community Voices will seek to investigate the overall efficiency of the road traffic network within the Townsville City , in corporation with the Department of Transport and other interested bodies.

Inefficiencies in the road network impact tall those who use it. From the taxi drivers and their customers to the person who buys a bus ticket, they all pay for it in the end.

Community Voices understands that a cooperative approach has to be adopted with all interested parties. This would result in real efficiencies in road transport being realized in the form of Dollar vers Time savings to the residents of Townsville. The environment as a whole would also be advantaged by this initiative.

 CV believes this can be achieved….

Travel time between major centers is increasing instead of decreasing even with additional spending on the network by all road authorities. Additional traffic signal systems installed seem to have little overall effect on the delays being experienced

by Townsville Citizens as this point. Improvements in the road traffic network have also seen decreases in efficiency rather than increasing efficiency. Community Voices will investigate as a priority.

Surveys have indicated that substantial delays are being experienced on and ever increasing scale where once no such delays occurred. With the increased cost of fuel and the increasing distance that residents of Townsville have to travel each day that a cost effective and efficient network should be produced.

We believe that this can be reversed provided a positive approach is developed between the stakeholders in favor of the users. For too long there have been differences of Traffic philosophy between the stake holders as to how to improve the road network. This must stop in the interests of those who use the road network system. 

Parking Policy 

Previous Council parking budgets relied on a significant revenue collection from parking meter and parking station operations in the CBD. Primarily this service paid for the development and operation of parking facilities within the CBD. Very little or no rate revenue was used for parking system development in the business districts within the Townsville region. 

There are five approaches to an efficient parking policy that could be employed to reduce the hassle of parking for Regular city parking user or just the casual user.

1.  
   1.  
      1. The utilization of Ticked parking systems (walk till you find a machine)
      2.   Parking Meters at point of parking
      3.   Parking stations that utilize large parking areas
      4. Zone or CBD parking that require a valid parking ticket displayed on the car.
      5.   Do nothing. 

Community voices favors option 4.

Capital expenditure of the hardware for parking systems is expensive and also accompanying maintenance costs could be prohibitive. In the case of the CBD these cost were passed on to ratepayers in the form of a fee for parking or a fine. 

It is there for important we keep the users and the business in mind when we decide which parking system to use.

Parkers, regular or part time would pre-purchase a valid parking ticket that could be displayed on the dash of the car when parking in the city was required. This ticked would be bar and color coded with a unique number and time of purchase.

These tickets would be available from local business in the CBD and be validated by the seller for a small cost incorporated into the ticket cost. Ensuring that the CBD business participate the operation of their “Parking system”. A Special sign, advertising the place to purchase these parking tickets would also be developed for displayed in the   participating store. 

Short or long term colored parking zones would be established to reduce the probability of store employees parking close to the front of their workplace thus increasing the parking turnover in the CBD. Different Colored zones would indicate different parking time zones and how long one could park in each zone. 

The fine system would still be enforced but the option to purchase a parking ticket would  be offered as and incentive to participate in the proposed system instead of a fine. 

Community Voices believes there is a way to better manage traffic parking system through the Townsville region, after all the last thing that former Thuringowa City Council residents want is parking meters in Thuringowa drive. Revenue raised by this method of parking would be used to improve the streetscape in the business districts where the money was raised.

Bikeway Network  Policy 

Community Voices sees the benefits of further developing of the existing bike way network in the Townsville region. Many people use this form of transport for health and fitness but it has benefits to the environment as well. 

Added emphasis will be given to incorporate the current bike lane network in all forms of development in Townsville. Where new residential development occur bike ways will be included to enhance the existing network. Residential Park development future and existing will be included in this policy.

Where possible additional bike lanes will be included in projects on road networks, being mind full of safety at all times. 

New methods would be implemented to better integrate the current bikeway systems with public transport. Helping the working community fine better ways of attaining a more balanced lifestyle and saving the environment is a priority of the Community Voices team.

CV sees this bike network as continuing to reducing the demand on the over all road network system thereby it reducing the road network’s carbon foot print. It is there for very important that its development should be further encouraged.