Christchurch - LRT/Public Transport for an ever-growing city
With the shift of Christchurch citizens from east to west and development of new sub-divisions to both the outskirts of the North and the expanding Rolleston, It blows my mind that Ecan and the NZTA would not fund Light rail transport for Christchurch as the cost of $10 Million was deemed too high and the short term gains were not profitable. In the long term however, it seems like a viable solution to the current congestion problems as well as the future ones when the rebuild is over and the population has grown. I was hoping for a way that a policy would exist in which the government would be able to fund this or at least for matters like this have more of a public vote and discussion before final decisions are made.
Murray Kinsman Tue 29 Jul 2014 10:42PM
PRT looks and sounds very cool, I agree that once it's up and running it will be cheaper/Faster and probably more comfortable but, the costs involved (80 million USD for 200KM of track) seem pretty steep for a start. With LRT the infastructure already exists and it wont take two years to implement, You could do a combination of both I guess? Use LRT for the interim and start building PRT? I would vote for a PRT loop around the Christchurch if it were possible.
Colin Davies Wed 30 Jul 2014 12:50AM
PRT Like Skytran Would be much faster to build then Light Rail. You could easily have that 200km in urban settings built with in a year. Whilst light rail on the ground has to contend with roads streets commerce etc.
The big bonus for any city is that PRT improves moral. And Christchurch needs that more than anything else.
Murray Kinsman Wed 20 Aug 2014 9:28PM
1) In Israel where Skytran is currently building it's first track they have already stated it will take two years to build.
2) The Cost is 16 times over what the estimated (by Ecan) cost of implementing light rail would be
3)As i stated before, The infastructure (The rails/crossings/Stations) All exist (Stations need a spruce up though), The costs goes to the trains and the implementation.
4) CHCH people are dispersed around the city thanks to the quakes, Traffic on badly maintained roads are congesting up to levels you expect in Auckland/ Wellington.
I'm purely asking for a band-aid solution to the current issues faced by Christchurch. I'm not against PRT, I just believe that PRT is still a few years away from NZ. I'm Sure PRT from one end of the country to the other would be cool. Rail is proven to work (both Wellington and Auckland have it) and as far as expanding, most of the rail goes to where CHCH is planned to expand to anyway.
PRT would be suited more in a place like Auckland which is larger and more denser, plus it would be come a tourist attraction (as stated in the Skytran video).
Poll Created Wed 20 Aug 2014 9:35PM
Light Rail Transport for Christchurch Closed Sat 23 Aug 2014 9:07PM
Based on votes (and yes, @MarcWhinery PRT is better than LRT). The members that have voted have unanimously agreed that the government should fund LRT in Christchurch or at least let the public decide on this issue rather than shutting them out.
I'm asking for a Vote on if the government should fund LRT in Christchurch as our own local government has informed Christchurch that the $10 Million for LRT is too expensive.
(please don't slam this based on the PRT vs LRT argument).
I just want to know if you think the Government should commit to this or not.
Results
| Results | Option | % of points | Voters | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
|
Agree | 100.0% | 5 |
|
| Abstain | 0.0% | 0 | ||
| Disagree | 0.0% | 0 | ||
| Block | 0.0% | 0 | ||
| Undecided | 0% | 11 |
|
5 of 16 people have participated (31%)
Murray Kinsman
Wed 20 Aug 2014 9:36PM
I've lived in Christchurch my whole 20-something years of my life, I've been to Wellington and Auckland and know LRT works. I don't understand why we have never had it.
Colin Davies
Wed 20 Aug 2014 11:58PM
Lets start drawing up the plans.
Colin England
Thu 21 Aug 2014 3:44AM
More public transport.
More public say in their cities.
Marc Whinery
Sat 23 Aug 2014 7:44PM
PRT is better
Marc Whinery · Tue 29 Jul 2014 10:21PM
http://www.skytran.us/intro/ is cheaper and faster. Why go slow expensive rail that's less expandable?
Fund rail? Never. Fund personal rapid transit? Yes.