Page 5184 - Week 12 - Thursday, 27 October 2011
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commercial precinct and connecting it to Canberra’s northern suburbs. As we know, Northbourne Avenue experiences significant congestion. Traffic volumes on the road are in the order of 30,000 vehicles per day. Peak hourly flow is around 3,000 vehicles, with over three traffic lanes with interrupted conditions with traffic lights. According to the Austroads national standards for road capacity, Northbourne Avenue is over capacity; resulting in traffic delays along the whole corridor.
Buses at the moment are part of this traffic, and they experience significant delays too, due to this congestion. Northbourne Avenue is a major bus route, including both local services and the Red Rapid service, a high frequency, limited stop service that runs from Gungahlin through the city to Fyshwick. So the government is looking at opportunities to improve public transit along this corridor. This financial year the government has committed $2.8 million to investigate what transit and urban renewal outcomes can be achieved on the Gungahlin to city corridor, including the new proposed Dickson station identified in the Dickson master plan and with a particular focus on Northbourne Avenue.
A feature of the study is that it will identify how mass rapid transit could be developed in stages along the corridor. It will also identify how mass rapid transit will integrate with the rest of the ACT public transport network in both the short and long term, taking account of interchanging bus network implications and infrastructure and engineering impacts.
The study will also provide a preliminary cost-benefit analysis to identify staging opportunities and a comprehensive cost-benefit analysis of the preferred option to support budget decision making and future Infrastructure Australia funding proposals. It will also look at financing options, land development and sales opportunities along the corridor. (Time expired.)
MS BRESNAN (Brindabella) (3.32): I would like to thank Dr Bourke for raising this important issue today. Investment in public transport is something the ACT Greens have focused on. The Greens see public transport investment as critical to achieving a prosperous and healthy future for our city. Whether or not the government invests appropriately in public transport is critical to our ability to meet the environmental, economic and social challenges we face as a city.
I do want to take this opportunity to acknowledge the efforts the government is making on this issue through the Environment and Sustainability Directorate, particularly having transport and planning together, and the recently released transport plan. The minister has talked about the need to address public transport more holistically. The minister has acknowledged that transport is critical to achieving the government’s vision of making Canberra a sustainable city. I will discuss later, though, that the Greens do have concerns about the current approach to public transport from the government.
Through participation in the budget process and the parliamentary agreement, the Greens have secured a number of public transport achievements and improvements. One is the development of the very successful Red Rapid bus line, resulting in better public transport options from Gungahlin through Barton into Fyshwick. There has
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