Page 5088 - Week 12 - Wednesday, 26 October 2011
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I anticipate that the number of pedestrians and vehicles will increase in the future as developments expand in Gungahlin. I have therefore asked Roads ACT to monitor this location and review these conditions when warranted.
What we have is another bandaid approach to a poorly delivered town centre by this ACT Labor government. They have ill thought out the infrastructure needs of this community.
In addition to this, the bus links are very poor. A couple of years ago, the government spoke of the Redex service as if it was the answer to all of Gungahlin’s traffic problems, even if it was just a rebranded route 5 service. However, the government failed to develop a strategy for how people will get from the Gungahlin suburbs to the town centre to get on this so-called rapid express service.
On buses, my motion discusses the problems that occur at present with the bus stops located on Hibberson Street. The government needs to consider whether this road is the best place for all such traffic. It is already heavily congested, and plans to make it a shared place will create major safety issues and potentially bring the buses to a standstill, as it is currently constituted. In addition to this, when the buses are stopped or parked at the stop nearest to Gozzard Street they create a barrier for retail stores behind. This is not best practice, and given that retailers all across Canberra, but especially in Gungahlin, are already doing it tough they do not need further impediments to trade. In addition to this, I have concerns that the proposed bus shelter will also create a barrier for traders and the potential linking of retail space on either side of Hibberson Street. I am by no means against providing bus shelters; they simply have to be designed wisely and in the right location.
On 20 November 2009, I raised concerns about the potential for the Redex to be used as a park-and-ride facility without adequate parking. I said:
So it seems to me that we have got a park and ride but with no park, because the only parking spaces that are available in Gungahlin at the moment are pretty much in the G shopping centre or in the Marketplace shopping centre.
I went on to say:
Those people—
that is people who are using it as a park and ride—
might never spend a dollar at the Gungahlin Marketplace or at the G shopping centre, yet those businesses would be providing the parking—and they would be losing money because for the rest of the day all the parking spots right next to the door would be taken up by commuters. Park and ride is a good concept, but why should these businesses have to cop it?
Given the bus bunching, traffic, parking and safety concerns, the government should look at whether there are any other preferred options for bus traffic. It is yet another example of this government not considering the infrastructure needs of Gungahlin.
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