Governing the City State - Chief Minister and Treasury Directorate ...

feasibility study for that project, as well as ongoing discussion of alternatives such as lightrail (which was included in the Government’s list of infrastructure priorities submitted toInfrastructure Australia). Discussions of future transport options were also central to theCanberra 2030 – Time to Talk process.Within this context, Transport – and the provision of genuine sustainable alternatives to themotor car – will remain central to the ongoing discussions about the future of Canberra. Itshould be kept in mind in those conversations that Canberra is not a major city with a largepopulation for whom public transport is the only viable option. Canberra is a regional centrewith a good road network on which congestion is (relatively) minor in duration and severity,and where public transport will need to work hard to be the mode of choice.The challenge for transport in Canberra now is twofold: to preserve the transportationcorridors that might one day carry light rail supported by higher development densities alongthese trunk routes; and to continue to encourage higher use of public (bus) transport and othersustainable modes into the future by offering a service that is a genuine alternative for apopulation wedded to their cars.Transport PlanningThis approach highlights the need for transport planning to be integrated with urban planning,consistent with the approach outlined in Chapter 4 through establishment of the SustainableDevelopment Directorate. That structural change will not of itself be sufficient to achieve theGovernment’s objectives in this area. In this context the Review welcomes the recentappointment of Mr Paul Peters as the city’s new Director of Transport Planning.Transport planning is a specialist skill and the ACTPS needs to continue to have leadingtransport planners discharging this critical responsibility. In so doing, planners also need todraw on the experience of bus drivers who know the practicalities of delivering publictransport to Canberrans on a daily basis. That needs to happen early and throughout theprocess, not just in consultation at the end.Public TransportACTIONACTION runs regular bus services and dedicated school services to and from Canberrasuburbs. It operates a special needs transport service for clients of the ACT Department ofEducation and Training as well as charter services. The Review notes the tabling by theAuditor-General on 26 August 2010 of Report No. 5 of 2010 – Delivery of ACTION BusServices 413 and that the Government is due to make its related Submission to the PublicAccounts Committee shortly.413 Seehttp://www.audit.act.gov.au/auditreports/reports2010/Final%20ACTION%20report%20for%20website%2026%20Aug.pdfSustainability, Housing Affordability and Transport: 313