Page 535 - Week 02 - Wednesday, 13 February 2013
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issues and has been approached by a good number of constituents. I thank him for bringing the matter up today and giving us the chance to talk about it. Certainly walking and cycling are key travel modes for Canberra, and it is certainly a goal of mine to help increase the numbers of Canberrans using walking and cycling as prime means of transport.
Mr Wall is also probably aware that the Greens, in their crossbench role, have put a lot of effort into improving walking and cycling facilities in Canberra. The 2008 parliamentary agreement, for example, secured an increase in recurrent funding for cycling infrastructure to $3.6 million per annum, and it provided $2.5 million to address the maintenance backlog and implementation of signage on the cycling network. It also secured an additional $500,000 per annum recurrent above existing levels for footpath upgrades and maintenance.
Further, the 2012 parliamentary agreement provides over four years an additional $15 million above current budget funding for improved walking and cycling infrastructure, including maintenance, new paths and lanes, new pedestrian crossings and more. I think these are great initiatives that will see real on-the-ground improvements for local Canberrans walking or cycling around their neighbourhoods or to work, shops or other locations. I think it will make a real difference addressing what Mr Wall has referred to as “disrepair” and the “failure to maintain” Canberra’s paths, although I think that this was somewhat of a uniquely negative take on Canberra’s walking and cycling network.
Mr Wall has been in contact with my office several times already since he has arrived at the Assembly, raising issues about particular paths or roads in his electorate. The reality is—and I am sure Mr Wall appreciates this—that there are and always will be various repairs or improvements that need to be made to this essential infrastructure in the ACT.
The ACT government has a vast network of road infrastructure assets managed by Territory and Municipal Services, and this exceeds $10 billion in total replacement value. It is quite incredible when you think about the scale. It includes 6,580 kilometres of roads, 976 bridges, 2,190 kilometres of footpaths, 73,000 street lights, around 350 kilometres of cyclepaths and 290 sets of traffic lights. As members of this Assembly appreciate, this is a large asset base and its management occupies many good people within TAMS for a lot of their time.
Mr Wall’s interest today is footpaths and cyclepaths, so I would like to outline some of the processes that are already in place in TAMS covering the inspection, assessment and programming of footpaths and cyclepaths repairs. TAMS have a number of staff who inspect the condition of road assets, including footpaths and cyclepaths, with a focus on town centres and group centres. In addition to this, members of the public report locations where they consider repairs are necessary via Canberra Connect and the fix my street online reporting on the TAMS website. I am pleased to inform the Assembly that the very popular fix my street website will soon have a mobile application, which will make reporting even easier.
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