ACT Light Rail - is a community based, not for profit public transport lobby group comprised of members, (both individuals and representatives of other community groups) who share the common goal of promoting and achieving the ideal of Light Rail as the primary mode of mass public transit in the Capital Region.
The time for for implementing Light Rail for the ACT and Capital Region has come...
The Capital Region’s roads are increasingly congested, especially during peak hours and the entire road network is becoming increasingly unsuitable for the volume that is currently commuting every day just to get to work...
Light Rail will provide a transport system attractive enough to encourage a significant number of people out of their cars in all areas of the ACT and Capital Region. The ACT Government (with the assistance of Federal Government Infrastructure Australia development funding) needs to commit resources to undertake an comprehensive studies that will explore possible routes and establish accurate costing for a Light Rail network.
A proposed Light Rail network could potentially leverage the existing Tuggeranong, Kingston, Queanbeyan/ Bungendore rail lines as as the network is expanded in a phased manner service all ACT town centres and significant areas of employment.
This map illustrates only one of many options for a possible staged implementation of a light rail network for the Capital region. The initial line would be decided by appropriate feasibility study and could even leverage the existing rail track running down the ACT/NSW border. It is anticipated that the network then could be expanded in a phased and staged manner.
Park and Ride facilities need to be strategically placed around the network to minimise reliance on the car as a primary transport mode and special care would need to be taken to ensure that a properly integrated transport network is created leveraging buses to feed in to the light rail network.
Note that this concept map has been designed to promote interest and discussion only - the actual phased implementation should be determined by proper unbiased feasibility studies and cost benefit analysis.
The Belconnen Bus interchange has been demolished and the interim services that will be in place until late 2011 are highly inadequate for bus users.
The Belconnen Community Council has been forced to purchase temporary plastic "garden seats" to ensure that the elderly and frail can still utilise bus services given sheer incompetence of the the Stanhope Government and ACTION to provide even the barest facilities for bus users - no seating, no shelter and no lighting at temporary Belconnen bus stops.
What hope is there for a truly sustainable transport system if the Government and the bureaucracy are incapable of getting the basics right for even an interim measure!
Note: copyright of the material in this clip resides with the WIN Television Pty Ltd. Usage permitted in accordance with the Australian Copyright Act 1968, Section 42: Fair dealing for purpose of reporting news.
Today, (Monday 10 August 2009), ACT Light Rail Convener- Damien Haas attended the Sustainable Transport Action Plan consultation "Open House" in Civic and spent some time talking to the lead Consultant Jarrett Walker.
The RFP that Walker was awarded to work on the STAP, dates back to 2007 and was awarded under then Transport Minister Hargreaves to specifically focus on buses.
All slides using pictures to illustrate network concepts used pictures of buses. Ironically, the Rapid Network slide shows articulated buses - the ones Action are in the process getting rid of (and not replacing) right now.
A few other more positive points:
Molongolo will have corridors reserved for future transport use.
New Molonglo plan now has retail moved closer to 'transit corridors'.
Queanbeayan has been included as it is viewed as a town centre (for transport planning purposes).
Walker seems genuinely agnostic about the technology used in future, he told Damien Haas that he viewed the STAP as really about future land use. Future light rail use is touched on several times.
One slide projects 26% public transport patronage (if parking in civic rises to $5.60 an hour) by 2031. Good luck with that!
After the seminar Damien Haas asked Kristin Blume from TAMS if seperate/individual submissions would be accepted, and she advised that they would be.
Kristin Blume, (who was seconded to Infrastructure Australia during the IA bid process) also indicated to Damien Haas that nothing official has been advised to the ACT Government from Infrastructure Australia, on the light rail bid.
ACT Light Rail - is a community based, not for profit public transport lobby group comprised of members, (both individuals and representatives of other community groups) who share the common goal of promoting and achieving the ideal of Light Rail as the primary mode of mass public transit in the Capital Region.
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