Page 5519 - Week 15 - Wednesday, 9 December 2009
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The Canberra Liberals have been strong advocates of reliable public transport. Park and ride refers to a journey, usually to a work or education centre, that is completed partly by car and partly by public transport. This has been practised around the world for many decades, but in the ACT there has been limited support from government for this transport solution. It works at its best when there is a combination of high-frequency bus services, adequate car parking and the convenience of a local shopping centre.
In a recent debate in this place on the Redex bus service I said that the Greens and Labor members would have us all believe that the park and ride concept is a new one. Ms Bresnan’s motion mentions the possibility of an Erindale park and ride. This is, again, not a new idea. This is something that I have personally discussed with the community since at least 2004. I am glad to hear Ms Bresnan mention her discussions with the Neighbourhood Watch people, the Tuggeranong Community Council and all those who are expressing views on this topic and have been expressing them for quite a while. Unfortunately, the government has not listened until this stage.
The concept of an interchange at Erindale is fraught with some difficulties and begs the question: which should come first—the roads or the buses? Unless Erindale Drive is expanded to accommodate three lanes of traffic, it would be very ineffectual to place an interchange at the Erindale centre. Whilst the concept is reasonable, much work has to be done to make it a reality.
The operation of efficient and effective public transport services is a challenge that governments face throughout the world. The high cost of such services and the highly peaked nature of service demand make it difficult to operate services efficiently. Issues such as urban geography, roadworks, population and employment dispersal and traffic congestion are complexities in the design and delivery of effective services. Mr Barr has talked about the need to think about how we live. We can think all we like, Mr Barr, but if we do not have the infrastructure we cannot realistically move forward. There are many families in Tuggeranong who seek to take the sustainable route, but if the infrastructure is not there, it is impossible.
As I mentioned earlier, it is paramount that the views of local business and the community are taken into consideration before any planning is undertaken. When it comes to roads, it is vitally important that the whole job is done, not just a half-hearted effort which creates a bigger gridlock at peak times than existed before. The government talks about a careful approach—that is something we agree with—but the careful approach cannot mean an apathetic approach. We must move forward from the planning study already committed to and not leave it sitting on the backburner for years to come. We must also listen to the community and take into consideration what has and has not worked in the past.
I thank Ms Bresnan for her motion on planning in Tuggeranong. As a resident of Tuggeranong for the last 17 years, I am obviously well aware of the issues and problems that have faced the residents of Tuggeranong for quite a long time. There is a strong feeling in Tuggeranong that the greater Tuggeranong area has been neglected during the past eight years of the Stanhope Labor government. There was a drop in
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