Page 2361 - Week 07 - Tuesday, 30 July 2019
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Ministerial responses
The following responses to petitions have been lodged:
Light rail stage 2—direct alignment—petitions 13-18 and 3-19
By Ms Fitzharris, Minister for Transport, dated 19 June 2019, in response to petitions lodged by Ms Le Couteur on 12 and 13 February 2019 concerning the alignment of light rail stage 2.
The response read as follows:
Dear Mr Duncan
Thank you for your letters of 12 and 13 February 2019 regarding petition 3-19 and 13-18 lodged by Ms Caroline Le Couteur MLA about the alignment of Light Rail Stage 2. In response to these petitions, I offer the following information.
Canberra’s light rail network is a transformational city-shaping project for the Territory, providing an attractive, reliable and convenient public transport choice that connects families, students, communities and cultures.
The initial corridor between Gungahlin and Woden via the City and the Parliamentary Zone will form the backbone of the network, linking activity centres north and south of Lake Burley Griffin. Light rail is part of an integrated transport network linking to rapid bus services and active travel options like cycling, park and ride and walking.
A growing population with increasing road congestion is a key rationale for the development of a reliable and frequent light rail network. Today’s public transport times, which are road based, would be influenced by growing road congestion, particularly as Woden experiences renewal over the next decade.
As part of this integrated network, light rail will provide an attractive alternative to the car for the 195,000 people who will work and nearly 75,000 who will live or study within 800 metres of the City to Woden corridor by 2036. The route will support the 16,000 people who currently work in the Parliamentary Zone while connecting over 50 hotels, five educational institutions, 10 retail and entertainment precincts and 20 employment centres.
Since the publication of the network in 2016, the City to Woden alignment has been further refined, considering connectivity within the integrated transport network and progressed to detail review of feasible alignments. Consideration of each alternative route option requires modelling for traffic, engineering, patronage, stop access, future connectivity as well as investigations regarding heritage, sensitive landscapes and biodiversity before a decision can be made. The ACT Government is progressing these investigations on the refined options for City to Woden and preparing a detailed business case to consider all aspects of the project.
The government will also focus our efforts on a route via State Circle. The government notes feedback from the NCA and last year’s Parliamentary inquiry
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