Page 3763 - Week 12 - Wednesday, 28 October 2015
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High-quality passenger waiting environments are also an important part of making transport safe, attractive and easy to use. Improved infrastructure which has been recently completed has included major bus stop upgrades to the Barton bus station, College Street and Belconnen Way. Further upgrades to bus stops, including the frequent corridor between Belconnen and Kippax, are underway, including an upgrade to bus stop waiting areas and connecting pathways.
The government also recognises the importance of a public transport system that maximises choice and provides access options to meet the needs of all potential users, such as bike and ride and park and ride. These facilities provide opportunities to extend the reach of public transport by encouraging convenient transfer to public transport and reducing overall car travel. Already the government has provided 19 park and ride facilities across Canberra. Madam Assistant Speaker Lawder, you would be aware of the park and ride that was developed for Calwell. When we first saw it built, it had very limited use, but recently it has been almost half full most days. Recent survey findings suggest that park and ride is a particularly popular choice for trips along the blue and red rapid, especially on corridors where users can transfer to public transport and avoid the cost of parking at the final destination. In many of these locations, additional Xpresso and feeder bus services are expanding the attractiveness and reach of the network and providing more opportunities to transfer between services.
Importantly, the government has taken steps in investing in the potential for funding contributions from the commonwealth, and recently submitted to Infrastructure Australia, for its early consideration, key public transport improvements for inclusion with its infrastructure priority list. Such improvements could potentially be combined with large-scale urban renewal, including high density development to promote productivity and economic growth around Canberra for 25 years.
DR BOURKE (Ginninderra) (3.55): I am proud of this government’s commitment to the livability of Canberra which, fortunately, more than half of us here understand. It depends on the practicality of getting around the city.
The fact is that Labor has a plan on the table to address our congestion problems and provide a sophisticated transport solution to Canberra’s needs now and in the future. The Canberra Liberals have spent so long in opposition that they only know how to oppose for its own sake, in that mould set out by Tony Abbott. They have no suggestion for innovation or improving a model or a policy.
We know that the New South Wales Liberals, and indeed the federal Liberals now, are investing in efficient, modern, 21st century light rail. The Canberra Liberals are the Liberals that time forgot. They are always up for making a wrong call, preferring V8 Audis to Gungahlin rather than a high-tech light rail system to roll out across Canberra.
Prime Minister Turnbull has turned around the Abbott government’s car-centric transport policy and now backs sensible transport options like the Gold Coast tram. Who do we have in the Canberra Liberals to speak up for Canberra? If any federal
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