Page 3638 - Week 11 - Tuesday, 22 November 2022
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It’s disappointing because it could have an effect long-term. Any increase in [population in] Molonglo, the traffic is going to affect people coming from Tuggeranong.
As you go along the Parkway, you get traffic feeding in from the other areas, such as Molonglo. We have seen that on other roads as well: Parkes Way, where other roads feed in, and up Yamba Drive and Adelaide Avenue. The traffic may be moving quite well and then, when a whole lot of traffic comes from another area, such as the fast-growing area of Molonglo, that is when you are going to have increased traffic pressures.
The road projects that could have had such a benefit include the Boboyan Road, south of Tharwa, which is a crucial road for emergency service vehicles during bushfire season. It is a road where improvements have long been advocated for by local residents. It is in dire need of an upgrade. That has been scrapped.
We could have seen improvements to Athllon Drive as well, a corridor which is used by 40,000 vehicles a day. The minister has told us that work is progressing. About time! It has been promised and talked about for a very long time. No doubt there is going to be another big announcement before the next election in two years time—a re-announcement about the duplication of Athllon Drive, even though we have talked about it and promised it in other elections up to now.
The funding would have included improvements to the Tuggeranong Parkway. I think Mr Parton has already referred to this. It is often the scene of accidents. We do see quite a lot of accidents there. We have seen some chevrons painted on the road. I am not sure how much that has helped, except to give you a little bit of amusement as you are driving along and counting the chevrons. Perhaps more to the point, the kangaroo fencing may have made a difference in traffic accidents along the Tuggeranong Parkway. These road infrastructure projects could have made such a difference to the lives of people not just in Tuggeranong, in my electorate of Brindabella, but coming in from Molonglo as well, as the traffic pressures increase from Molonglo.
It is about safety. It is about getting to work or where you want to go safely, and getting home again. It is about getting there perhaps a little bit quicker, not in terms of speeding but in terms of safer infrastructure, and about not having potholes all the way along the Tuggeranong Parkway, which is what we are seeing at the moment. It is about getting people where they need to go, safely and quickly. You can spend more time with your family, doing the things that you love to do, when you get safely and quickly home again. That is what they are all about, these infrastructure projects.
As Ms Lee’s motion highlights, these cuts are especially disappointing, given that the ACT this year is experiencing its highest road toll in 12 years. Getting people home safely to their loved ones, and in good time, should be a really high priority for this government. We need safe roads, more than ever before. I commend Ms Lee’s motion to the Assembly.
MS CLAY (Ginninderra) (4.14): The Greens will not be supporting Ms Lee’s motion, because this motion does not support Canberra’s transport system, it will not help Canberra’s congestion or liveability, nor will it deliver real climate action when we desperately need it.
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