Page 3722 - Week 12 - Wednesday, 29 October 2014
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active travel amongst the major Australian cities. This demonstrates the potential for Canberra to lead the nation in active travel. As government, we need to do more in this area.
Good public transport is the backbone of any well-functioning city. Canberra needs a public transport system that gets people to where they need to go, supporting a more active lifestyle through encouraging walking and cycling. And, of course, it reduces emissions. Active travel is increasingly recognised as a key feature of the world’s best cities. The exercise from a walk to the shops or to catch a bus, the social benefits from meeting people on the streets and the economic benefits from active travel have been demonstrated in other Australian cities.
Walking, cycling and other active modes of transport are low cost and environmentally friendly, and have minimal demand on natural or economic resources. These activities consume no fossil fuels, take up a minimum of space, and impose little impact on other users. The more trips taken by walking and cycling, the more we reduce our environmental footprint.
Government’s commitment to capital metro and the provision of high-quality public transport will also contribute to the development of a compact and efficient city and is an important part of the ACT government’s vision to deliver a truly sustainable and creative city. Capital metro is of key importance to delivering on the actions outlined in transport for Canberra and the ACT planning strategy. The links between these two policies and the master plan program are vital to ensure that land use and transport support one another in encouraging a shift to more sustainable transport and a more sustainable Canberra.
The future growth of Canberra to a prosperous and sustainable city cannot be secured through building too many more roads and extending the city further at its edges. We must be investing in supporting population growth through investment in public transport and building our centres and transport corridors. Previous plans for additional road infrastructure, such as Monash drive, or responding to congestion by increasing road capacity on Northbourne Avenue, compromise this government’s objectives to increase the mode share of public transport. Better integration between transport and land use planning will create alternative options to the car for commuters.
Government has recognised the need to plan for this future by considering how extensions to capital metro will maximise the benefits of transport investment across the city.
The light rail master plan will consider the opportunities for development of a Canberra-wide light rail network over the next 50 years and beyond. The light rail master plan complements the existing suite of master plans and commitment to stage 1 development of light rail from Gungahlin to the city by ensuring integrated land use and transport planning which links residential development with areas of employment, retail and entertainment. This initiative will build on work already undertaken by the ACT government on light rail, integrated land use and transport planning, and will deliver on government policies, including transport for Canberra, the ACT planning strategy and the city plan.
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