I’ve written before about people trying to drive down Melbourne’s supposedly car-free Swanston Street, but the traffic jam I found yesterday in the Bourke Street Mall really makes me wonder how stupid some drivers are.
The first sign of trouble was these tourists in a Wicked Campervan.
After turning left from Swanston Street, they made it down to other end of the mall, where they met a stationary tram at the Elizabeth Street stop.
With tram works underway at the corner of Bourke and Elizabeth Streets, a traffic controller on duty told the driver they needed to head back the way they came.
While reversing back out of the tram stop, the campervan encountered a confused truck driver, who had already made it half way down the mall.
And behind the truck was a third car – presumably they blindly followed the truck, their mind on auto pilot.
Once the truck driver realised he can’t continue, he executes a three point turn outside Myer.
Leaving the campervan driver to wait for the truck to head in the right direction.
After seeing the traffic jam, the car driver finally realises they can’t continue this way.
They execute a u-turn so they are facing the correct direction.
And the three vehicles then head back out of the Bourke Street Mall
Footnote
On Monday afternoon Daniel Bowen also encountered some equally oblivious drivers in the Bourke Street Mall. Has an extra dose of stupid been given to Melbourne’s drivers this week?
Dumb, Dumber and Dumberer… oh and you can tell by the dints and scratches on the Mazda that they have no idea how to drive.
Keep these articles coming!
One could be generous, and blame the dints in their car for damage caused by clueless motorists other than themselves!
It sounds like there is not clear signage/barriers closing off the mall. Is that right?
Pretty unfair to take it out on the tourists or anyone else not familiar with the road design if there is not. I am not familiar, so guess that make me stupid too.
I’m from Sydney & I can tell you it’s absolutely obvious you can’t drive down Bourke St where the mall is.
As other have said, on Bourke Street there are signs but no barriers or kerbs. For comparison Sydney’s Pitt Street Mall or Adelaide’s Rundle Mall both have bollards along their street entrances and a solid kerb to ensure an confused motorists think twice.
Had to check the signage or otherwise on street view, and you have to pass a couple of no entry signs placed either side of the tram tacks to access the mall. The Elizabeth st end has a more ‘imposing’ restriction with the tram stop there. But with the signs and the placement of various obstructions at the entrances and along the route, it would take a fairly confused person of lower than normal observational skills to miss all the indicators. Probably blindy following a GPS. Also noted the street view car did a lap along there.
Blindly following a GPS seems to be far too common these days. From the time I’ve spent around the area it seems to be a 50-50 mix of drivers pause at the entrance then turn back, and those who just have no clue and press on.
On a different topic all together, Yarra trams are closing down yet another tram stop – the corner of Elizabeth st and Lonsdale st. Is Yarra trams trying to end the obesity epidemic by forcing people to walk more? First the Lonsdale/Swanston st stop went now this
The new stops are an entire city block long, and will be at:
– Between Collins Street and Little Collins Street
– Between Bourke Street and Little Bourke Street
– Between Little Lonsdale Street and LaTrobe Street
Yarra Trams have got a diagram of the layout here:
http://www.yarratrams.com.au/media/82974/elizabeth_st_map.jpg
When removing other stop, they’ve use the excuse that trams will be faster because they don’t stop as often. The bit they forget is that Melbourne don’t have proper tram priority at traffic lights, you you end up getting stuck at the old tram stops anyway!
There’s something wrong with that Wicked campervan: it’s missing the usual terrible ‘artwork’ that they’re usually decked out in.
Good catch – it does seem odd that the only crap painted on it is the ‘Wicked’ across the front.
[…] before, especially their obsession with driving through Swanston Street’s tram stops and the Bourke Street Mall, but now I fear the apocalypse is near – I recently saw Victoria Police doing something about […]