Page 3779 - Week 12 - Wednesday, 29 October 2014
Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Speeches . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . . PDF . . . . Video
The ACT government is already considering the impact of the Majura parkway on the road network and has commenced discussions with key stakeholders, such as the Canberra Airport Group, in this regard. The ACT government is also participating in the recently established south-east region infrastructure planning forums.
When the Majura parkway opens, it will provide a very good level of service for traffic travelling north and south between the Federal and Monaro highways. This level of service will be sustained into the future and will be beneficial for the heavy level of commercial traffic using the route.
Roads such as Pialligo Avenue, Morshead Drive and Fairbairn Avenue that generally travel in an east-west direction and are managed by traffic lights will attract more traffic in the future, as a result of the Majura parkway, but also with increased development in the Majura Park and airport precinct and in Queanbeyan. There will be a need to provide some improvements to a number of these roads over the next five to 15 years to maintain an acceptable level of service.
A working group between ACT government agencies, the Canberra Airport and the National Capital Authority have been assessing these future needs for some time, and technical work such as the Fairbairn Avenue duplication traffic modelling 2013 referred to in Mr Coe’s motion forms part of this overall assessment process.
It is important that this work is considered in the context of other future developments in the city, such as the initial stages of the light rail project, a revised ACTION bus network, the city to the lake project and the airport master plan. Projects that are identified through this process will be developed further for consideration in future capital work programs through the normal process and subject to the usual competing priorities and demands for available funding.
This process underway by the ACT government will not only consider motorists using Fairbairn Avenue to access the city from the Majura parkway but will consider the needs of motorists and other road users on the north Canberra network covering requirements on roads such as Horse Park Drive, Pialligo Avenue, Morshead Drive and Majura Road—and I might also add Gundaroo Drive to that discussion. The opportunities to promote more efficient travel by bus, by bike and by walking will also be considered. Using the Majura parkway project as an example, I can illustrate the types of approaches that can be taken. We need to look at the whole transport network, and, as various pieces are altered, there needs to be a dynamism to the response that is taken. In the context of Mr Coe’s motion, Fairbairn Avenue is not the only piece of the puzzle that needs to be considered. That is the point I am trying to make here.
Certainly, the decision by the ACT government to fund an off-road shared path adjacent to the road project, as well as future bus network planning that will consider the use of the Majura parkway in future bus routes, illustrates the necessary integration that must take place to achieve more sustainable and efficient transport options in our city. While I appreciate Mr Coe’s motion today, it is important that members of the Assembly understand that planning for infrastructure can take a long time, that it needs to be considered in an integrated way and that it impacts on the overall development of the city.
Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Speeches . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . . PDF . . . . Video