Downtown Beirut?

[cram]

I get sick of all the old fogies writing in to the Herald whinging that if the rail line is cut at Wickham then they'll have no way to get into town. Have they not heard of buses? The rail line needs to f**k off, as does Jodi McKay...makes me ashamed to be a labor voter

Jodi McKay has changed her position on the rail line, in that she now concedes that it may need to go. Her bang the table forum resulted in a large percentage of people indicating that the rail line needs to go. I heard her interviewed the other day on 1233 ABC and she acknowledged that the issue needs to be revisited.

I believe the rail line will go in the near future.

Cutting the rail line is only half the issue however. Other issues such as transport into the city from the suburbs, parking in the city and a general revitilisation of the whole of Hunter Street are considerable obstacles in sorting this issue out.

Before we worry about getting rid of Jodi McKay I would consider that we need to get rid of Newcastle City Council. This rabble of a group has done nothing to promote or improve this city for many years......Surf House at Merwether rings a bell....

 

[B-dos]

efore we worry about getting rid of Jodi McKay I would consider that we need to get rid of Newcastle City Council. This rabble of a group has done nothing to promote or improve this city for many years......Surf House at Merwether rings a bell....

we did cram

all but 3 councilors were ousted at the recent local election. most pleasing was the fact that all but one of the greens are now gone so we can hopefully look forward to some progress being made in the city.

 

[cram]

we did cram

all but 3 councilors were ousted at the recent local election. most pleasing was the fact that all but one of the greens are now gone so we can hopefully look forward to some progress being made in the city.

Get rid of the lot of them and appoint an administrator....that's the best way to get things done....:lol:

 

[Bulldog Force]

Hey, you might've mis-read what I meant. My fault too, I probably sounded a bit harsh. I ain't paying out Newcastle, it's a beautiful Australian coastal city. What I meant was those poms are saying Newcastle is like the ghetto and by saying that it's like Beruit, they're saying Beruit is ghetto when in reality Beruit is far from the ghetto people thing it is. It is the most beautiful city in the entire middle east.

 

[roopy]

This is the neighbourhood.
For some reason i couldn't get a google streetscape picture of Hunter street, so i had to go up the street a bit to pacific hwy.

 

[Dread Pirate Roberts]

That shot is so old. It has been replaced by totally new crappy street art now

 

[Dread Pirate Roberts]

I get sick of all the old fogies writing in to the Herald whinging that if the rail line is cut at Wickham then they'll have no way to get into town. Have they not heard of buses? The rail line needs to f**k off, as does Jodi McKay...makes me ashamed to be a labor voter

Every major city in the world I can think of has a decent public transport system in which an (underground) rail system is an integral part.

The "debate" in the herald has dragged up an expert that suggests that the engineering challenges to bury the rail corridor are too great. My comment is SYDNEY HARBOUR "FIRETRUCKING" TUNNEL!

Buses suck big time because they don't move any faster than the traffic.

 

[bluesbreaker]

I want the rail saved because buses are in the pain in the arse. Why the f**k should the rail be removed so more rich merkins can build apartments?

 

[Frederick]

Yes, lets keep our city going in it's current state of deterioration just so you don't have to catch the bus :roll:

 

[Matt23]

Yes, lets keep our city going in it's current state of deterioration just so you don't have to catch the bus :roll:

Yes lets have gridlock instead...hey at least then we'll be "trendy":crazy:

 

[B-dos]

I want the rail saved because buses are in the pain in the arse. Why the f**k should the rail be removed so more rich merkins can build apartments?

they are proposing to cut the line two stops short of its present position. regular dedicated buses will take passengers the rest of the way which hardly seems a big effort.

the idea behind the removal is not to build apartments but to open the city to the harbour and so encourage people and retail tenants to the city centre.

 

[B-dos]

Every major city in the world I can think of has a decent public transport system in which an (underground) rail system is an integral part.

as i mentioned above, two stops short of its present position is hardly going to turn our public transport system any worse than it currently is.

The "debate" in the herald has dragged up an expert that suggests that the engineering challenges to bury the rail corridor are too great. My comment is SYDNEY HARBOUR "FIRETRUCKING" TUNNEL!

i dont think the engineering feat is the challenge, more the cost of such a proposal. it will never happen.

 

[macavity]

Sydney harbour doesn't have old mine workings under it. Newcastle is built on the geological equivalent of pavlova.

A bit disappointed 2 otherwise generally intelligent posters have completely missed the point of taking up the rail line. No rail line and the GPT development, and all of a sudden the CBD is part of booming honeysuckle - and all of a sudden inner city newcastle, particularly from civic up, is very attractive to tourists, day trippers, and locals alike.

imagine a bit of shopping in the morning at a fantastic shopping centre, walk through a busy mall down to honeysuckle for some lunch, then pop over to nobbys for a swim.. back to your 4.5star hotel for a kip, then catch a movie and have dinner at a top restaurant....

or a dirty train line no one ever uses except druggos and the mentally incapable.

not a hard decision in my book.

 

[Hanscholo]

I went for a drive to Newy at the start of the year, I hadnt been there for a long time. Needless to say I was shocked at the state of the inner city. The NSW gov need to take overship of Newcastle, to think of the investment sydney gets in comparison, and the technology parks with tax breaks etc. Its laughable that newcastle is left to rot.

 

[Pika]

The NSW Gov is in just about as much trouble as it can get into. Maybe it should just fix the state before it comes in and 'fixes' Newcastle.

 

[macavity]

we should secede.

 

[cram]

The NSW Gov is in just about as much trouble as it can get into. Maybe it should just fix the state before it comes in and 'fixes' Newcastle.

One thing you can guarantee is if it involves spending money in Newcastle it is not going to happen...never has and given the current state of affairs it never will...

As for the govt being in trouble, trust me there is more to come....wait to here from Justice Wood in the next little bit.....

 

[cram]

I have been thinking about the comparison of Newcastle to Beirut and it got me to thinking about changes to Newcastle.

I have very vivid memories of central Newcastle area during the 70's and 80's and have often thought about how much Newcastle has changed.

Yes it has changed. The foreshore area is so much different and the existence of heavy industry is no longer dominating the city landscape however, in some ways nothing has changed at all.

The city used to be a thriving, happening centre. Most of Hunter Street was filled with shops, restaraunts, cafes, hotels and picture theatres. The area had character and ambience.

Thirty odd years later we have the paradox of the foreshore having the character and ambience and the main street reminding you of the heavy industry.

The more things change, the more they stay the same....it really is time for a change. Its time for Newcastle to once again become a focal point of the city and its time for our leaders to lead and make the changes that are needed.

 

[roopy]

Some parts of Newcastle have improved out of sight.
All the bits up near the beaches and the harbour foreshore are now really nice, where 30 years ago they were pretty ordinary working class suburbs.
The Mall has gone backwards, but i think that can all be put down to shopping centres growing and taking over the roll that the Mall used to have.

I think the west end of Hunter street is the real sufferer in the change process. The Mall can change into a bit of a village centre for all the new residential developments around the top of town, but the west end has no reason to exist now that everyone shops at Kotara and Charlestown.

 

[Frederick]

everyone shops at Kotara and Charlestown.

Not Kotara Officeworks - Newcastle West ftw!