Page 1236 - Week 04 - Thursday, 26 March 2015
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The ACT government is progressing key initiatives that aim to build better communities and better people-centred places for all of us to be part of. The ACT planning strategy and transport for Canberra set out a planning and transport framework to guide this work. The ACT planning strategy and transport for Canberra prioritised development along major transport corridors that connect the town centres and priority group centres. These strategies envisage a connected city and one that is linked by pedestrian, cycling and public transport infrastructure.
The government’s vision for a connected, livable and prosperous city with strong communities is being delivered through the ACT government’s approach to integrating land use and transport planning. This approach will contribute to the development of Canberra as a compact and more efficient city.
Our planning is about people-centred places and connecting communities. A connected city will provide the community with a greater sense of identity and belonging and, as our city continues to grow towards an estimated population of around 500,000 people into the future, it is becoming increasingly important for us to address the challenges of creating livable, resilient and connected communities for all Canberrans.
The planning the ACT government is doing now is having a defining role in shaping our city as a connected city and one that is healthy and safe for our community to experience, to live in and to commute around. Through good urban planning we aim to shape our neighbourhoods to create high quality public spaces and encourage active travel options for people to walk, cycle and use public transport to provide us with the benefits for quality of life, including physical and mental health. In supporting active travel with more people walking and cycling, we can greatly reduce the demand for expensive road infrastructure and help manage future traffic congestion.
Walking and cycling and other forms of active transport are an easy way to increase daily physical activity and social exchange. This was highlighted yesterday morning, Dr Bourke, where I saw you, along with Mr Coe and Mr Smyth, at the breakfast for the Heart Foundation move more, sit less program. It was fantastic to see the evidence that they provided there about more active travel and how it can benefit us as we grow into an older generation. More efficient urban transport networks mean that we can spend more time connecting with friends and family, playing sport and pursuing leisure activities. There need to be more opportunities in our city for people to meet and interact in people-centred places.
I now turn to some of the current initiatives and projects that the government is working on to ensure our efforts in planning for the future are genuine examples of the people-centred places that we desire. The government master plan program is a key initiative of the planning portfolio in a widespread yet consistent approach to identifying genuine urban renewal opportunities in our town and group centres. The planning strategy calls for master plans to be prepared, responding to place-specific needs of the Canberra community, and this will ensure Canberra remains a city where everybody can take advantage of its network of centres, open spaces and modes of travel—a city where everyone enjoys a sense of wellbeing, a sense of identity through connections to the community and to the past through our heritage and can participate in a vibrant civic and cultural life.
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