bolehboleh
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- Nov 28, 2011
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Just returned from a lovely trip to Melbourne and I'd thought I'd share some transit and city related photos. A few notes about the city:
The tram system here is pretty fricken amazing! I'm still trying to work out whether or not it's as efficient as it is convenient. For example, finding a tram anywhere in the Central Business District (CBD) was easy, and it was cool to see them EVERWHERE, but taking the tram out to the suburbs seemed a bit long. We took one tram 13km out of the CBD to see some friends and it took nearly an hour.
Also, I think the tram system here could be example an for Boston, possibly as an inspiration to build the GLX - maybe it could even spur a few extensions towards Everett or even Central Square.
But I'm not sure a Tram like system would be the best overall for Boston because of the age and structure of our roads. Melbourne is super fucking dense in its CBD, and then suddenly it drops to low density not so far outside the the main district. Also, the CBD is on a grid. Boston's "CBD" is somewhat gridded, somewhat cowpath, so it would make it quite difficult to created such a system.
I do think it could be an example for many of America's more sprawling metros - Salt Lake, Houston, etc...
Also, I can't stress enough how weird it was to have have a mini New York CBD surrounded by the California suburbs. The CBD was always packed full of people, but once you leave that small grid, you really need a car to get around. I took some walks in some nice suburbs, but barely saw a soul walking down the street.
Finally, the food. I've been to Paris, NYC, Tokyo, Hong Kong, Amsterdam and beyond. I have never had better quality food than what I had in Melbourne. The beef was amazing. The pork was amazing. The cheese was better than what I had in Paris. I didn't have a single bad meal, and that includes the Mcdonalds I had at the airport. They do something different with their meats and cheeses that the whole world could learn from.
Here are some of my shots:
From the Eureka Tower:
I like this photo because it shows the drastic difference between the CBD and the start of the burbs
Some street level pics...
This is just a funny pic...Apparently a guy named "Batman" discovered Melbourne
Inside the library. It certainly rivals BPL in beauty and art
In some parts of the city, graffiti is encouraged
Victoria Market in Melbourne. This was a GREAT FUCKING MARKET. It had great food and cheap clothes - basically it catered to people from all income group. And the fruits and veggies weren't priced just for the rich yuppies in the city. They were at or below what you'd find in the super markets!
Yes, that is a restaurant under that bridge.
The river at night
One of the two main train stations at night
Chinatown at night
Inside another station at night
Street art
Tram tracks right through the main shopping district
Tram in St. Kilda
St. Kilda
More tracks in St. Kilda. They even have a fancy restaurant trolley that rides along the tram rails.
The tram system here is pretty fricken amazing! I'm still trying to work out whether or not it's as efficient as it is convenient. For example, finding a tram anywhere in the Central Business District (CBD) was easy, and it was cool to see them EVERWHERE, but taking the tram out to the suburbs seemed a bit long. We took one tram 13km out of the CBD to see some friends and it took nearly an hour.
Also, I think the tram system here could be example an for Boston, possibly as an inspiration to build the GLX - maybe it could even spur a few extensions towards Everett or even Central Square.
But I'm not sure a Tram like system would be the best overall for Boston because of the age and structure of our roads. Melbourne is super fucking dense in its CBD, and then suddenly it drops to low density not so far outside the the main district. Also, the CBD is on a grid. Boston's "CBD" is somewhat gridded, somewhat cowpath, so it would make it quite difficult to created such a system.
I do think it could be an example for many of America's more sprawling metros - Salt Lake, Houston, etc...
Also, I can't stress enough how weird it was to have have a mini New York CBD surrounded by the California suburbs. The CBD was always packed full of people, but once you leave that small grid, you really need a car to get around. I took some walks in some nice suburbs, but barely saw a soul walking down the street.
Finally, the food. I've been to Paris, NYC, Tokyo, Hong Kong, Amsterdam and beyond. I have never had better quality food than what I had in Melbourne. The beef was amazing. The pork was amazing. The cheese was better than what I had in Paris. I didn't have a single bad meal, and that includes the Mcdonalds I had at the airport. They do something different with their meats and cheeses that the whole world could learn from.
Here are some of my shots:
From the Eureka Tower:
I like this photo because it shows the drastic difference between the CBD and the start of the burbs
Some street level pics...
This is just a funny pic...Apparently a guy named "Batman" discovered Melbourne
Inside the library. It certainly rivals BPL in beauty and art
In some parts of the city, graffiti is encouraged
Victoria Market in Melbourne. This was a GREAT FUCKING MARKET. It had great food and cheap clothes - basically it catered to people from all income group. And the fruits and veggies weren't priced just for the rich yuppies in the city. They were at or below what you'd find in the super markets!
Yes, that is a restaurant under that bridge.
The river at night
One of the two main train stations at night
Chinatown at night
Inside another station at night
Street art
Tram tracks right through the main shopping district
Tram in St. Kilda
St. Kilda
More tracks in St. Kilda. They even have a fancy restaurant trolley that rides along the tram rails.
