One of today’s most read articles on The Age today is one about how tram conductors are better than tram inspectors. Besides the fact that the author refers erroneously to Tram 15 (non-existent since 1995), she makes a good point. Tram conductors are a cheaper and better way of 1) providing some security in the tram, 2) making sure that everyone rides with a ticket, and 3) having someone who you can ask questions to (eg. tourists). Well, we will never go back to having tram conductors but here’s a idea. Pub Tram.

Helsinki, Finland is home to the pub tram called the Spårakoff . Yes, we do have the restaurant trams which are pretty cool but unless you are willing to part with lots of money for mediocre food, then we need a pub tram. OK, it won’t solve any of the tram problems, in fact it probably will cause more, but imagine those hot summer afternoons catching a tram home from work. Imagine having a nice cold beer on the ride home. Forget Myki, bring on Spårakoff .

Links:

Wikipedia: Spårakoff

The Age: Melbourne’s trams are a hostile place

Photo by matz-o-man [via Melbourne Maniac]

A group of friends who conducted door-to-door interviews with folks living in Parkville early this year received generally positive responses relating to the security of the area. Most residents, however, complained about the lack of services and the relative boredom of not having any form of entertainment in the area, ‘lest you trek/hike/drive/ride/hitch-a-ride down towards the busier suburbs.

The Age, today, painted a fresh new outlook for Parkville. According to a RACV analysis of police statistics and census numbers, Parkville came in at the Burglary Chart tops with a burglary rate of one in every 15 homes.

So, considering the calmness (boredom) and the activity (burglary), who would be wanting to live at Parkville? Something has to be wrong - current residents, feel free to correct me.

See The Age article here.

A 3 degree, foggy morning in Doncaster at 8.45AM last Thursday. It was so cold, even the breath coming out of my nose turned misty.

As it turned out, it was the coldest week of May in 27 years.

And we’re still several weeks away from winter. Eek! A precursor to Winter 2008?

Yarra trams has added a new Siemens Combino Plus tram which according to the company improves accessibility, comfort and safety. On the comfort side, it adds more space, better ventilation, better ride stabilisation, and larger screens for stop information. Catch it on Route 16 from Melbourne University to St.Kilda.
Fill out the survey on the Siemens site and receive a free key ring.

The W11 Karachi to Melbourne tram was commissioned during the Commonwealth games last year. It’s colourful decoration is based on the W11 buses that are found in Karachi, Pakistan. If you walked around on Friday nights, you would have spotted this very bright tram. It was given a special run on the City Circle route between November and ending last week. The W11’s future is uncertain for now but I would guess that it will turn up again in the future.

W11 Tram-An Art of Journeys
Siemens Combino Plus Tram Site [via MelbourneManiac]
Picture via Melbourne Today

A video of the W11 tram from a couple of weeks ago.

Technorati Tags: Melbourne, Australia, tram, W11, Karachi to Melbourne, Combino Plus, Siemens

Melbourne bicycle blog, Treadly and Me, has an interesting post about the first Copenhagen bike lanes as well as a planned Copenhagen lane for Swanston St. Copenhagen lanes are bicycle lanes that separate cyclists and car traffic by putting a parking lane between them. So you would have the pavement where pedestrians walk, a bicycle lane, a lane for parked cars, and the vehicular traffic lane.

A couple of months ago, Melbourne’s first Copenhagen lane opened up in Cecil St., South Melbourne. The lane provides a safe route from the CBD to St. Kilda. The proposed project on Swanston Street would create a “safe” bike lane from Melbourne University to RMIT University at the cost of $500,000.

Treadly and Me: Trivia on Melbourne’s ‘Copenhagen’ Bike Lanes
Bicycle Victoria: South: St Kilda Baths to Melbourne’s CBD
Euro-style bike lanes plan for city

Picture via The Age

Technorati Tags: Melbourne Cecil+Street South+Melbourne bicycle Copenhagen+Lanes Swanston+Street Treadly

The State government has published the list of top wasters of waters in Melbourne by postcode. It seems like the western region tops the list while the outer northern suburb of Doreen is the top water saver suburb. The western suburb by postcode of 3023 consisting of Cairnlea, Deer Park, Burnside, Caroline Springs increased water usage by 20%.

For those interested, the Age has a link to a spreadsheet containing the full list of water usage by postcode. It shows the breakdown of water usage by each household per day in litres. I don’t know where Doreen is but I do know that Caroline Springs is a growing suburb. Therefore the number of household is constantly increasing.

Links
The Age article on Melbourne water usage.
Biggest water wasters.

Just a reminder, that we have some big sporting events over the weekend. Find a good pub and relax for an extra hour, as there are 2 big games over the weekend.

Tonight (Friday) is do or die as the Melbourne Demons take on the Fremantle Dockers in Subiaco. TV coverage starts at 8PM and the game is starts at 8:30.

Tomorrow (Saturday) night, the Western Bulldogs play West Coast at Subiaco. TV coverage for this game starts at 7PM and the game commences at 7:30.

My money is on the WA teams but I’d like to see a Melbourne team in the Grand Final.

This Friday to Sunday (15-17) is the Moto Grand Prix at Phillip Island. Hopefully if the weather stays nice, this should be a good event to see. According to the weather report, today will be 19, Saturday will get up to 20, and Sunday will hit 21.

Over the past few months i’ve seen many film crew doing filming along Beach Street in Port Melbourne, all the way along Beaconsfield Parade over to near Fitzroy Street St Kilda.

Often wondered what they were up to. Sometimes I see the Channel 10 news crew at the Port Melbourne Pier about to film the evening weather report. (This is about 5:30pm, on my way home from work).

There always seems to be plenty of life along Beach Street/Beaconsfield Parade. From those doing some kite surfing, to boating, or just generally just lazying around the shores, and of course, the simple pleasures of jogging along the beautiful shores.
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Woke up this morning at 6am to the sound of rain and strong winds and callers to the local sports radio station giving early morning traffic reports.

Driving in to work in Port Melbourne took two times longer than usual. (Normal peak hour travel time = 45 minutes, Today’s travel time = 1 and a half hours)

Traffic was at a virtual stand still the closer I got to the city.

The roads are full of tree leaves as well as pieces of tree branches (some smaller pieces than others) and in some cases, whole trees have been uprooted blocking parts or whole roads.

The tree leaves are most likely clogging up the drainage systems causing flooding on the side lanes of roads around Melbourne.
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