[Peakoil-announce] Light rail ruled out for ACT

[Alex P]

Are decision makers factoring in the risk of astronomical oil prices?

http://canberra.yourguide.com.au/detail.asp?
class=news&subclass=local&category=general%20news&story_id=405787&y=2005&m=7




Light rail ruled out for ACT
By Markus Mannheim
Sunday, 3 July 2005

CANBERRA'S public transport system is "on track" but will not include a
light-rail network in the foreseeable future.
ACT Planning Minister Simon Corbell ruled out the network after visiting
Portland, one of the world's light- rail success stories, on a study tour
last month.

"We can't afford it," he told the Canberra Sunday Times.

"Portlanders themselves confirmed that, even with [over a] million people,
if they had to pay for [it] themselves, it wouldn't have happened."

Planners across Australia are bracing for a spike in demand for public
transport as petrol price estimates range up to $3 a litre by 2008.

The oil crisis has focused global attention on Portland, the largest city
in the north- west American state of Oregon and a model of public
transport efficiency.

According to Mr Corbell, Canberra is in a good position to repeat many of
Portland's successes. "They live in a very beautiful natural environment
and about two- thirds of the state is national park," he said. "It's very
similar to Canberra."

A series of radical planning actions, which began more than 30 years ago,
made Portland a modern-day Mecca for public transport gurus.

>From the 1970s, the city diverted billions of dollars in federal funds
earmarked for motorways to build a light- rail network, which is now
recognised as one of the most efficient in the world.

The city also tore down a six-lane motorway and replaced it with a giant
urban park. Parkland now covers 16 per cent of the metropolitan area,
which has more parks than most cities have parking.

By coordinating its bus and light-rail networks with housing growth,
Portland's population grew 26 per cent between the mid-1980s and mid-1990s
while traffic increased by just 2 per cent.

Mr Corbell said Canberra was in a similar position to where Portland was
20 years ago and, with the exception of rail and light rail, the ACT
Government was focused on similar policy areas.

"[Portland] also used buses very extensively," he said. "They made that
work by encouraging [population] density along public transport corridors,
close to bus stations and shopping centres, and keeping redevelopment out
of low-rise residential areas. That's exactly what Canberra has started to
do in the past three years."

He cites an 8 per cent increase in the use of ACTION buses this year as
evidence that the system is working, and points to new proposals such as
the Civic- Belconnen busway and a $6.8million "real-time" information
system, which will tell waiting commuters when a bus will arrive.

"It will make a huge difference to the way people perceive public 
transport."

But while the Opposition also supports more investment in public
transport, planning spokesman Zed Seselja said the Government was focused
on the wrong priorities.

"Given the present Budget position, the Opposition has suggested that ...
the real- time information system be delayed in favour of more important
issues," he said.

"[Also] a three-minute travel time saving, as a result of the
Civic-Belconnen busway project, may not deliver an appropriate return on
the investment of $150 million."

Mr Corbell hopes to organise another trip to Portland this year with
members of Canberra's planning and property sectors.






Alex
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