Page 3718 - Week 12 - Thursday, 25 November 2021
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At a government level, many of those reasons align with a wide range of the ACT government’s key strategic policies, ambitions and intent, including to reduce transport emissions, address climate change, positively impact preventative health outcomes and contribute to a more liveable city. It is also timely to encourage and support transport mode change to coincide with the disruption that will be caused by the construction of light rail stage 2. As we all know, the construction of light rail stage 2 will create increased traffic congestion and disruption, particularly for people travelling to the city centre from the south side.
No-one likes wasting time in a traffic jam, and I want to do what I can to help my community avoid this. I commend Minister Steel and his disruption task force for the work they are doing in this space and for the clear, open, transparent and timely communications being provided to the community about the construction works.
However, I also believe that traffic congestion is everyone’s responsibility. We all contribute to the traffic jam in which we are stuck. I once heard a quote: “You are not stuck in the traffic jam. You are the traffic jam.” The best way to reduce traffic congestion is to reduce traffic.
In addition, the timing of light rail disruption and the end of one year and the start of another, together with a return to offices after the COVID-19 lockdown, also present a good opportunity to reassess our modes of transport and travel. At a personal level, there are equally many reasons why people in our community want to make changes to their travel modes and why I want to support them to do so.
After releasing a public discussion paper about active travel and public transport on 9 August, I received over 100 comments outlining why and how people would like to make changes and the barriers and constraints that exist. Among the reasons given by respondents about their desire to change their travel behaviour were the type of lifestyle they want to live, the type of city in which they wish to live and the quality of life they wish to lead.
They are not alone in this thinking, nor is it new. One of the most prominent urban planners of recent times, Jane Jacobs, applied these principles throughout her career, including in Greenwich Village, New York, in the 1950s and 1960s. Similarly, this was a time when there was considerable debate about transport disruption and its impact on community. Fundamentally, Jacobs sought to create safe, amenable, walkable and liveable neighbourhoods, particularly through applying a female lens. She is often heralded for having coined the phrases “social capital” and “eyes on the street”, reflecting her advocacy for the linkage between peopled, active streets and safe, friendly neighbourhoods.
Public transport and active travel present a lifestyle we should aspire to. Whether or not we personally want to make greater use of public transport or active travel, it is good for all of us to support those in our community who do want to do so. For each person who chooses public transport or active travel over a private vehicle, there are reduced emissions, from which we all benefit; there is more road space and there are more carparks available for those who continue to drive; our neighbourhoods are
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