Page 468 - Week 02 - Wednesday, 13 February 2013
Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Speeches . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . . PDF . . . . Video
to park in convenient locations like Belconnen, Tuggeranong and the city and then commute to the event. That is a sensible public transport strategy to address the large number of fans attending the event. There were also free shuttles from the city and Woden interchanges before and after the game, and park-and-ride facilities operated.
In addition, the government provided a waiver of the time-limited parking spaces for the PM’s XI and one-day international games. Local residents were kept informed and there were mail drops to local residents about road closures, general information about traffic lights and noise, and advance notice of the fact that there would also be a significant fireworks display during the event. Government officials met with local resident groups in advance and advised them about alterations to traffic and parking circumstances.
Quite clearly, this is an issue as much around behaviour change as concerns about parking. The fact is that for any large-scale event there comes a point where you cannot provide every visitor with a car park within 20 metres of the front gate. It cannot be done. It cannot be done for an inner city stadium like Manuka; it is not done for other large inner city stadiums around the country or around the world. Public transport is used to ferry large numbers of people to and from large sporting events and large stadia. That is the change that will occur here in Canberra as we see more and more of these large and popular events.
I note that in his motion Mr Doszpot says that there should be a parking plan. There is one. There it is. It is on the website. It was made available before the event. It outlined very clearly where the parking was, what the arrangements were and what the alternatives were. There is no doubt that there was a clear and comprehensive parking strategy in place.
That does not mean that people can just park wherever they like. People were booked. They were booked for parking illegally, and they were warned in advance that that would occur. People were warned in advance that parking inspectors were going to be present on the day to make sure that dangerous, illegal parking was appropriately responded to. People were warned. This should have been no surprise, because it was made public well in advance. Indeed, the media release released by the event organisers on 30 January said:
You are encouraged to leave the car at home and take a bus to the match. Parking restrictions on some streets will be lifted on the day, but parking places are very limited. And be warned: parking officers will be out patrolling and looking for cars that are parked illegally.
If you want to drive, the best parking options include the Kingston Bus Depot Markets and Manuka Swimming Pool. And don’t forget the Park and Ride options mentioned above.
That was very clear advice from the event organisers so it should have been no surprise. The garden city is not a car park; you cannot just park wherever you want. Parking restrictions apply; they are sensible and reasonable. That is no different from any other growing city.
Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Speeches . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . . PDF . . . . Video