Page 897 - Week 03 - Thursday, 10 March 2005
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will require more efficient delivery of people to the city centre, a task only able to be met by an efficient public transport system.
The Belconnen to Civic busway is essential for strong transport links into the city centre. As envisaged in the sustainable transport plan, the Belconnen to Civic busway will ultimately form part of a broader network of busways providing similar services between all of Canberra’s town centres and the city.
I would now like to turn to the Gungahlin to Civic busway project. At the same time as the preliminary work is under way for the Belconnen to city route, stage 1 of Gungahlin to Civic busway is already well advanced. This will provide a bus lane at the congestion part of Flemington Road. $900,000 has been allocated this financial year to build this bus lane. Preliminary design will be complete this month and construction will be completed before the end of 2005. The bus lane will result in significantly reduced delays for bus users and a more reliable bus service.
Stage 2 of the Gungahlin to Civic busway is also under way. This stage will include the provision of bus priority measures on Northbourne Avenue. A feasibility study is under way into the various options to significantly improve bus travel times along Northbourne Avenue and is expected to be completed in June this year. Design and associated planning studies are also expected to commence this year.
An issue that is often raised with me by people in the community is the quality and state of our bus interchanges—how unsafe and dangerous people feel they are. The government acknowledges this and has taken the first steps towards providing high-quality facilities for bus passengers in the Belconnen town centre. A quarter-of-a-million-dollar contract has been let to design a new roadway through the Belconnen town centre that will improve the transit times of buses through the Belconnen town centre area.
The first stage of the town centre bus system upgrade will provide bus passengers with better access to workplaces and retail facilities around Belconnen by replacing the outmoded Belconnen bus interchange with four new bus stations at key points around the business and employment centres in the town centre. The four stations will provide new standards of passenger convenience and comfort and allow passengers to alight much closer to their destination.
Making public transport more convenient and more attractive is what makes it a real alternative to the private motor vehicle and that is a key outcome of the sustainable transport plan. Ultimately, the four new stations in Belconnen will link with the Belconnen to Civic busway. The design will be developed during the next six months. It will be based on considerable work already done in planning a more customer-focused public transport system for Belconnen, replacing the single interchange with four new bus stations. These will be located near the aquatic centre and close to Lake Ginninderra College, on the site of the existing interchange but not as large, on Belconnen Mall south-western side, and in the mixed service area west of the mall around Lathlain Street.
In addition, the government has already commenced implementing other elements of improved public transport and access for Belconnen, including $1.5 million for the
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