Sunday, July 22, 2012

Triple the population = triple the road congestion

The Canberra Times are running an article reporting on a plan to replace some existing flats along Northbourne Avenue, with a development that would triple the amount of residences.  "The plan more than triples the existing number of units on the site, from 248 flats to 883." 
The Canberra Times article 'Development to triple flats' can be read here.
ACT Light Rail are concerned that there is no plan in place to accommodate the transport needs and increased road congestion that would follow the tripling of the population in this area.  Have the ACT government and ACTION a plan to run extra services to cater for this rapid density increase? Have they factored in the extra cars that will join Northbourne Avenues existing peak hour road congestion ? 
"(Ms Burch) said sustainable travel choices are a key feature of the master plan. A reduced level of car parking is proposed which recognises that this site is close to a major transport corridor with excellent bus services, as well as being a short walk or cycle way from Civic, with its major retail, commercial, office and recreation facilities.''
No need to worry then, "excellent bus services". Right. I'm sure that the people who move in will not park their cars all over surrounding streets, because that hasn't happened in other areas of Canberra where inadequate parking has been supplied to massive residential complexes (yes, this is sarcasm). 
ACT Light Rail call on the Government and ACTION to provide information on how they plan to cope with a tripling of demand in this area. This is an example of the Government encouraging high density along a transport corridor, without the appropriate infrastructure in place to meet the transport demand that density creates.
The best transport method for Canberras high density future is light rail. 

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