Page 2621 - Week 09 - Tuesday, 11 August 2015
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The capital metro business case assessed the benefit-cost ratio of the light rail project as 1.2, meaning that $1.20 is returned in benefits for every dollar spent on the project. That is a good BCR result for a public transport project. But that is only one part of the analysis, and it is important to note that there is a vast amount of other benefits and strategic sense in building light rail.
A few months ago in a debate Mr Coe suggested that the BCR made “a lot of bogus assumptions”, which seems to be something of a slur against the highly reputable professionals who undertook it using best practice methods. On this point I also note that Mr Coe says that the bus rapid transit BCR is 4.78. But that figure comes from an older, higher level analysis that also found light rail’s BCR to be much higher. It is misleading to compare this figure to the more up-to-date, detailed, conservative analysis later undertaken in the full capital metro business case.
Canberra continues to grow into a mature city. Current projections show the ACT population increasing by 130,000 people to 500,000 or half a million people by 2033. Without a sustainable and planned approach to growth, we are exposing ourselves to the illnesses that can cripple cities—urban sprawl, increased traffic congestion and pollution, social isolation and a weakened economy.
Interestingly, this week Perth’s Environmental Protection Authority produced a report detailing how the urban sprawl of that city was causing significant problems that without action were projected to become worse as the city grew. The report said that the sprawl was causing an urban heat island effect, a phenomenon in which the hard surfaces of the urban areas cause higher temperatures, and that heatwave-related deaths in Perth would more than double by 2050 due to this effect and climate change. This is one issue I would like to hear everyone in this chamber acknowledge, and I would like them to explain their plan to address it. With more deaths due to heatwaves contributed to by urban sprawl, how will we address urban sprawl and help prevent heat-related deaths?
The EPA also said that sprawl was destroying the natural environment and that species that were present at the time of settlement had disappeared from the Perth region, including 12 mammals such as the numbat. It said that 46 bird species were in decline and many plants were threatened with extinction. The same issues face the ACT. We just need to look across to Perth or to countless other cities to see the examples.
Transport, especially sustainable transport, is key to our transition to a bigger, more mature, sustainable city. Light rail is a transport project and a planning and development project. Just as the Perth EPA says that more compact development will help address urban sprawl issues, the capital metro project will help create a denser transport corridor of quality growth. A disproportionate investment in roads will lead to unmanageable levels of congestion, pollution, sprawl and costs.
Northbourne Avenue presents an obvious example. How will we deal with the significant growth that is expected to occur in Gungahlin and Northbourne Avenue in the coming years? There is no room on Northbourne Avenue for more road space, and in any case, is that what the community want? Is that what they really want—more
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