Page 2554 - Week 09 - Tuesday, 11 August 2015
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My suggestion for Canberra is that by taking into account the city’s unique profile, we can devise an integrated urban design policy that would give meaning to the notion of a ‘sustainable city’, one in which the development of a light rail transit system would play a crucial part.
The article goes on to say:
This is not exceptionally ambitious. Nor is it over-optimistic. Most Canberrans enjoy driving their cars and avoid public transport. But they do not like paying more than they are used to for their petrol. And when the two come into conflict—as in so much else—the hip-pocket nerve usually prevails.
The author says:
But I believe we can build on this self-interest to put Canberrans’ currently superficial ideals about sustainability into genuine practice.
That is the conclusion of this author. The author also makes some interesting observations about the suitability of Canberra as a place to build light rail and she says:
Canberra was originally designed for light rail. The idea has been resuscitated a number of times over the past 20 years, only to be discarded. Recent attempts to pursue the ‘Griffin Legacy’ are notable for ignoring it altogether. The claims in favour are strong.
Rail friction is seven to eight times less than that of rubber-tyred vehicles. While a road lane can carry about 2,500 an hour and a busway about 5,000, light rail can carry between 7,000 and 10,000.
The author goes on to say:
Sydney has reintroduced a tram service of sorts and Brisbane is considering trams. Despite a ‘car culture’ more entrenched than even ours, many North American cities centre on tramways (including San Francisco, Salt Lake City and Minneapolis). Perhaps more pertinent—
she says—
are those medium-sized cities with a comparable population to that projected for Canberra in 2030, such as Eskisehir in Turkey (with a population of 500,000); Wroclaw in Poland (700,000); Las Vegas (500,000); and Edmonton (665,000).
European cities of similar population size to Canberra with light rail systems have many more journeys a year on public transport than do cities with bus-only systems.
Prescient words! And who was the author of this very considered view about light rail? It was none other than Mrs Dunne. Mrs Dunne presented this article outlining the importance of light rail for small cities like Canberra, talked about how it could be
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