Page 2246 - Week 06 - Wednesday, 22 June 2011
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(iii) while other Australian capitals have sharply increased the share of trips made on public transport in recent years, Canberra’s has decreased;
(b) capital works funding in the ACT’s transport budget overwhelmingly favours the building and upgrading of roads over public transport;
(c) according to the ACT Commissioner for Sustainability and the Environment, the level of car dependence in the ACT is not ecologically sustainable; and
(d) the Government has committed $144 million to build a new Majura freeway despite:
(i) having done no comparative modelling of the benefits for Canberrans of building the proposed freeway compared to building new high quality, high capacity public transport options;
(ii) having not collected data about the amount of freight vehicles that pass through urban Canberra or the amount of freight vehicles that the freeway might divert;
(iii) having not thoroughly investigated or consulted on alternative options to a freeway, such as targeted upgrades at Majura Road intersections and choke points;
(iv) failing to give proper consideration to the concept of “induced traffic” and the likelihood that the freeway will generate more traffic and congestion;
(v) failing to accurately assess the greenhouse gas emissions that will be created by building the proposed freeway and falsely reporting that it “will reduce greenhouse gas emissions”; and
(vi) failing to analyse the impact that the proposed freeway will have on transport modal shift targets, ACT greenhouse reduction targets and the urban form of Canberra; and
(2) calls upon the Government to:
(a) commit to prioritising public transport in its transport planning decisions and its transport funding commitments;
(b) delay committing any funding to building a new Majura freeway until it has done the following:
(i) engaged an independent expert in sustainable transport planning to analyse:
(A) the costs and benefits of building the proposed freeway compared to building new high quality public transport options, such as light rail;
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