Page 3711 - Week 12 - Wednesday, 29 October 2014
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I would like to think the opposition would join us in sharing their vision for this city. They could be in government in less than two years. I would hate to think of them using the federal Liberals’ election game plan of sneaking in on a few snappy slogans as the tip of their iceberg. Anything resembling a policy, or a grudge to make good on, will be submerged well below the waterline, out of the sight of the voters.
“Can the tram” as a policy, rather than just a slogan, solves none of the looming congestion problems that light rail is designed to address. “Can the tram” does nothing to take advantage of economic opportunities along the light rail corridor that is a major part of this project. “Can the tram”, “damn the tram” or whatever similar “tram spam” slogan the Liberals will use in the election—the Canberra Liberals need to be clear that this is not a transport policy; it is an economic policy; it is no solution to the very real issues facing Canberra.
I am sure that they will have their focus groups working on slogans rather than road-testing policies. Here are a few that they could try: “axe the tracks”, “no go metro”, “metro, say no!”, “rally against rail”, “rail wail”, “no train, no pain”, “chew the choo choo”. Alternatively, they could glorify the Liberals’ future Canberra car culture dominated by the peak hour traffic jams with bumper stickers: “V8’s great mate”, “no metro, pedal to the metal”, “the back street boys, rat runners rule”, “bumper to bumper’s better”, “if you’re reading this, you’re too close, ’cause we mashed the metro”. The Canberra Liberals need to get beyond a bumper sticker mentality and outline some real policies for the stewardship of our city. Policies for government need to be more than a big “no”.
Light rail is not an ACT government fetish that we are pursuing as our plaything. It is a real, proven economic transport solution to a number of issues facing the expansion of Canberra. In the next 40 years Canberra will grow to a city with over 600,000 residents. With a finite amount of developable land, the government needs to accommodate this growth in the most efficient and sustainable way. By 2020 congestion will cost the territory $200 million per year, an increase of 85 per cent in the last five years. By 2031, the peak hour commute from Gungahlin to the city is estimated to take over 50 minutes if capital metro is not built. That will be a daily commute of nearly two hours. Well may you go, “Tut, tut,” Mr Coe, because that is your policy.
In the last decade the territory has spent over $1.2 billion on road infrastructure, with very little public debate. The territory cannot continue to meet transport capacity through roads alone; it is not sustainable. There needs to be a change in approach, with a focus on highly integrated, frequent and reliable public transport that can encourage people out of their cars. The Civic to Gungahlin line is the start of light rail here, a first stage in the most obvious corridor where it can prove its worth and provide lessons for further rollout over Canberra.
Uninformed comment has compared the projected costs of the Civic to Gungahlin line to costs of the newly opened first stage of the Gold Coast light rail line, the G:Link. The first part of the G:Link is a similar distance to our line but it differs greatly in that it weaves through built-up areas, requires extensive road works, realignments and
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