Mark Withers said regardless of whether AFL games were moved into the city, a tramline should be built to service the area’s booming development, West Lakes Shopping Centre and a community hub touted for the area.

Mr Withers said a tram connection from the Outer Harbor rail line linking a revamped Woodville centre with West Lakes could also service Woodville West, where the State Government is building 430 new homes over the next seven years.

“You could wrap the tram all the way around (AAMI stadium) and have a terminus in front of the stadium and the shopping centre,” he said.

“It would be a great place to live, close to the water and beach and good shopping.”

A spokesman for the Department of Transport said construction of the tramline, which would also service Port Adelaide and Semaphore, was scheduled for between 2015-2019.

via Messenger News

In his final few months in office, Mr Harbison will lobby the State and Federal governments to help fund a western tram loop along West Tce, Morphett or Gray streets then onto Grote St and back to Victoria Square (see map).

In campaigning for the August 21 Federal Election, both Labor and Liberal parties say they will look at the idea.Mr Harbison said the western loop had already been identified by the State Government as the next best tram project following the now-completed $162 million extension from North Tce to the Entertainment Centre on Port Rd.

He was confident it would be supported by both levels of government considering the first extension had “paid off so handsomely”. “The south end of the city has already seen a surge in developments because of the easy access now offered to Rundle Mall and the State Government also expects to see urban regeneration to the Clipsal area (Bowden),” he said.

“And with the Federal Government’s renewed interest in cities … I’m hopeful we and the State Government may receive some assistance.”

Mr Harbison said a western loop was better than expanding the line to North Adelaide because the north side of town was already so densely populated, with limited opportunities for growth and change.

“The western precinct is a very large area, it’s centrally located but presently it’s just a sea of rusty roofs.”

Mr Harbison denied he was just calling for the extension now, when he is about to leave the City Council, and will not have to see the project fulfilled.

“I’ve advocated for this from the very start.”

Adelaide MHR Kate Ellis (Labor) said she had yet to see a proposal but would be “interested in further details”. “The previous tram extension has been a huge success and we know from overseas experience that trams can be a great driver of urban renewal,” she said. “But to work, these kind of projects need to be done properly.” Liberal candidate Luke Westley said it was “certainly viable”, although he had not received a formal funding request. “I will be more than happy to look at a proposal once the Lord Mayor puts something to us,” he said.

Transport Minister Patrick Conlon said the government was already busy with the next extension to Port Adelaide and Semaphore, although he believed the western loop was a likely goer “at some point in the future”. “Any project such as a western loop would be a valuable benefit to the city and help to drive enormous growth,” he said.

He was unsure how much it would cost to fund the project.

via Messenger News

Fans flocked to the upgraded venue on the recently opened extension to see 1970s singer-songwriters James Taylor and Carole King and went home singing the praises of both the concert and their transport.

Dozens of people arrived on each tram from 7pm until just before the concert began at 8pm and told AdelaideNow the service was quick, convenient and comfortable. Most were planning on taking trams home after the show.

David and Jill Michael, of Port Augusta, caught the tram to the Entertainment Centre from the city.

“It’s our first trip on the tram to here,” David said before the concert.

“I only found out about two hours ago that it (the extension) was even finished this far.

“It’s brilliant. It certainly beats catching a taxi and hopefully when we leave we’re not standing in a line for half an hour or three quarters of an hour as we have in the past to catch a taxi back.”

Two extra trams were added to the regular schedule to accommodate fans leaving the concert, who streamed across Port Rd to find at least one and sometimes two trams waiting at the Entertainment Centre stop’s platforms.

Hundreds of people boarded trams within minutes of the concert finishing.

The centre’s car park also seemed to switch smoothly at 6.30pm from its new role as a park and ride facility to venue car parking.

via AdelaideNow