Page 5186 - Week 12 - Thursday, 27 October 2011
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Through budget estimates, it was clear that if the Majura freeway project proceeds, there will be very limited funds for other new TAMS capital works initiatives in later years. We know, and the government has admitted, that a significant part of Canberra’s existing sustainable transport problems are due to how we are prioritising our funding.
The Greens released a paper on transport options for the north of Canberra, which included looking at light rail as an option, and this is another thing we do need to seriously start looking at. Consultants Kellogg, Brown and Root in a 2005 report that the government commissioned into the future of transport in the ACT did put forth some figures around the funding of light rail for particular areas in Canberra. Light rail from Gungahlin to Civic is $86 million. Light rail for Civic to Russell, Barton, Kingston, is $90 million. If built in isolation from any other parts of the network, the Gungahlin to Civic route is at an estimated cost of $185 million. With regard to Civic to Kingston, route 171, as we know, the bigger the network and the way you build it does actually affect the cost.
I think it is worth making that point, because we do often hear the costs of such infrastructure used as a reason not to proceed. When we look at those figures, it is something we can actually take seriously here in Canberra and it is something we could achieve. Again, it is something other cities are doing. I think it is worth noting that the Gold Coast actually put in a light rail bid to Infrastructure Australia, and that was successful. So it is something obviously that Infrastructure Australia are interested in investing in.
We believe the government should be looking at the pattern of funding that goes towards transport. Again, this is something which the Canberra public has also identified. As I mentioned earlier, one of the very interesting parts of the new transport plan was the inclusion of a survey that shows that the Canberra public would like to see around 80 per cent of transport funding spent on public transport, walking and cycling. So I am hopeful that the government’s new transport and planning strategy will mean closing a gap between the funding rhetoric and the reality. The government has released the transport plan and network changes and having planning and transport in the same directorate, as I did mention earlier, will hopefully bring benefits.
One of the key problems for existing suburbs is that public transport has not been factored into the development of many suburbs. Transport corridors have now been established in the planning process, which obviously will benefit new areas. However, past transport planning issues create problems around equity and access to public transport and we do need to acknowledge many people will not have a choice in terms of where they live, and there needs to be a choice to actually live somewhere with better transport access.
The transport plan refers to an intention to create future strategies in various areas of transport. For example, it says that in the future the government intends to create a freight strategy, an active travel to school strategy, sustainable fleet strategy, a parking offset fund, and centres for better end-of-trip facilities and centres for green vehicles.
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