Page 2222 - Week 06 - Wednesday, 22 June 2011
Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Speeches . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . . PDF . . . . Video
Members may have seen that today I have released a public paper about transport options for the north of Canberra. I seek leave to table the paper now.
Leave granted.
MS BRESNAN: Thank you, members. I table the following paper on the transport options for Gungahlin:
A Better Transport Solution for Gungahlin and Wider Canberra, dated June 2011, prepared by Amanda Bresnan, ACT Greens MLA.
The paper contains more detail about public transport options and how they can serve Gungahlin and the rest of Canberra. It outlines a fast, frequent, prioritised, well-connected transport system. This can be done in Canberra with the proper commitment. Do the other parties support this or not?
The lack of commitment to strategic and sustainable transport is of real detriment to Canberra. In my motion I have pointed out just a few facts about Canberra’s public transport system.
Canberra has the highest car passenger kilometres per capita and the lowest per capita use of public transport of any Australian capital city, and the share of trips made on public transport has been decreasing. Other Australian cities are improving while Canberra languishes. All these statistics are available in the most recent data produced by the Bureau of Infrastructure, Transport and Regional Economics.
Why is this occurring? Because the government is focused on an unsustainable approach to transport planning. This approach prioritises roads instead of public transport. It is reflected in the government’s Majura parkway proposal right down to the detail of the freeway itself, which does not even include bus lanes. It is a proposal that plans for and encourages growth in car travel only.
The government does not have to realise the 40-year-old freeway prophecy. It could instead make a strategic, sensible upgrade to the existing Majura Road—things like upgrading intersections where collisions tend to occur. The traffic data suggests that a large proportion of collisions on the Majura Road route occur at particular intersections such as Majura Road and Fairbairn Avenue. Other sensible upgrades could include a short stretch of extra lane to assist traffic at peak time bottlenecks, such as at the southern end of Majura Road, and better lighting for vehicles using the road at night.
The massive savings from this approach could be invested into quality public transport solutions specifically designed to serve the busy, growing areas of Gungahlin. That will bring real solutions in terms of congestion, travel time, safety, and sustainability.
All of us in this Assembly are very concerned about the costs that Canberrans have to bear, at the community, family and individual level. We are obliged to consider the
Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Speeches . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . . PDF . . . . Video