Page 4236 - Week 12 - Wednesday, 23 October 2019
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vehicles; it is also about making sure that we can move people around in buses in particular but also providing a corridor for our light rail network.
Roads are also supported by our park and ride facilities and car parking facilities to make sure that families, particularly, have the ability to catch public transport as well. They support our emergency services vehicles to get around our city and, of course, play a very important role in transporting freight around our city, through our city and beyond into export markets, and also in importing goods into the city.
A well-designed and well-maintained safe road network gives Canberrans a flexible way to travel home every day. It is a crucial part of the everyday life of many Canberrans. Our investment in roads is complemented by our investment in active travel. We are, where possible, encouraging people to use a bike and potentially walk to where they need to go, whether it is on the weekend or during the week. Roads infrastructure is about giving people the ability to choose the transport option that most suits them and giving them genuine alternatives where available.
As we are a planned city, the ACT infrastructure plan demonstrates that our government is continuing to invest in sustainable infrastructure and integrated land use. It aligns with our recently updated policies such as the ACT’s climate change strategy and with the ACT planning strategy as well.
As I am sure members are very aware, Canberra’s population continues to grow. As a result, we need to continue to invest in infrastructure to make sure that our city is and remains an attractive place to live and work. Our population is projected to increase to 500,000 by 2029, which on average is about an additional 8,000 people per year. Woden, Molonglo and Weston Creek in particular are expected to accommodate a large portion of the increase in population. Growth increases demand for new infrastructure and also places increased pressure on the existing transport and road network.
We have seen growth across the border as well. That is particularly important, because the ACT should not be looked at in isolation. We have a large community in Googong—it will have 20,000 people living there over the coming years—and in south Jerrabomberra as well.
Mr Hanson: No wonder.
MR STEEL: That is why we are investing in projects like the Monaro Highway, and Mr Hanson has an opportunity to support the delivery of that infrastructure project by supporting this motion today.
The indicative project pipeline for roads improvements set out in the ACT infrastructure plan includes significant investment to both augment existing roads and provide new roads that will facilitate land releases, such as for the new suburb of Whitlam. These projects include intersection improvements, extensions and duplications, all which aim to safely increase capacity and to improve travel times.
Infrastructure investments in the electorate of Murrumbidgee include the duplication of John Gorton Drive. That includes the section north of Coppins Crossing, which
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