Belconnen to City Transitway Submission

Introduction

This is in response to the ACT Planning and Land Authority, invitation for public comment on the Belconnen to City TransitWay Preliminary Assessment. I suggest that the route for option 1C "Northern Option" be reserved in the long term for light rail. In the short term a modified version of 1C "Haydon Drive Option" could be implemented, using a bus transit lane on the existing road (not Light Rail). In addition the poor state of repair of the Belconnen Bus Interchange should be remedied as a matter of urgency to ensure public safety and encourage bus patronage.

Reserve Land for Light Rail for the Long Term

Canberra does not have the population density to support light rail and is unlikely to do so for the foreseeable future. By the time light rail is an option for Canberra, other transport options, such as automatically guided electric vehicles may be available. Therefore it would be prudent to set aside land for the for the Belconnen to Civic transitway, option 1C "Northern Option, although it is unlikely to be built in the next twenty years. A busway should not be planned for this route as it would not be cost effective.

Build Transit Lane on Belconnen Way

A less expensive option than a transitway should be implemented in the short term (five to ten years). This could use a modified version of 1C "Haydon Drive Option" route. However, rather than a separate right of way to light rail standards, this could be a lower cost transit lane on the existing road. This would require some widening of roads, changes to signs and traffic lights, but would be far less expensive than a full transitway. The transit lane could be used by existing busses, by new hybrid busses (such as the GM/Allison Hybrid Transit Bus) and possible in the future by electric vehicles.

Fix Belconnen Interchange

Interchange Problems

As a matter of urgency the Belconnen Bus Interchange requires repair, for the safety of passengers and to increase patronage. The fiberglass roof of the building is deteriorating and the steel rusting. The ad hoc repairs to the roof using polycarbonate sheeting in place of fiberglass are unsightly and have already suffered damage. Retaining the curved design of the existing roof would make any repairs expensive and difficult.

Rust on Stairs

The roof could be replaced with a new flat glass panel structure, as was done at the Civic Interchange. The roof panels could be designed for mounting solar cells for electricity generation. A grant for equipping the interchange with solar cells may be available from the federal government.

Provide Better Consultation Documents

The electronic version of the Belconnen to City TransitWay News #4, which invited comment, is not correctly formatted. As an example the newsletter is paginated out of sequence, with page four first. This makes the document difficult to access by the disabled and may breach section 24 of the Disability Discrimination Act (1992). It is suggested that ACT Government policy, which requires such documents to be made available is an accessible format, be implemented.

References

The text of this document, with links to referenced documents, is available at http://www.tomw.net.au/technology/transport/transitway.shtml.