Transport Strategy for a more liveable CBR


Released 26/08/2020

The ACT Transport Strategy 2020 renews the ACT Government’s commitment to the reduction of road congestion and vehicle carbon emissions, and focuses on providing flexible, reliable and sustainable ways for Canberrans to move around our city.

“Our vision is for a world class transport system that supports a compact, sustainable and vibrant city. That means prioritising a well-connected public transport network, high quality walking and cycling infrastructure and connecting people to our local and regional centres,” Minister for Transport Chris Steel said.

The ACT Transport Strategy 2020 supports the changing demands of our city predicted to reach a population of 580,000 by 2040. It has been developed alongside the ACT Planning Strategy 2018 and the Climate Change Strategy 2019, recognising the important relationship between transport and land use and how we best move around and use the spaces in our city.

Minister Steel said that the strategy included a future-focused investment in transport, to tackle an expected increase in congestion over coming years.

“The ACT Government will take a future focused approach to investment, not delaying public transport investment in our city until traffic congestion reaches unacceptable levels,” Minister Steel said.

“A rebalancing of our investment will see more investment in public transport, but also active travel with improvements to cycleways and footpaths as a key way to make Canberra a more liveable city.

"In doing so, the Strategy recognises the important role that transport plays in shaping better places in our city, as well as keeping people on the move.

“Cars, and increasingly zero-emissions vehicles, will play an important role for Canberrans to get around and our focus will be to maintain our existing road network to enable us to move people and goods safely and reliably around our city."

The Transport Strategy also is among the first address transport in the COVID-19 context.

“While COVID-19 has seen less public transport and personal vehicle use in the ACT we have seen an increase in walking and cycling.

“As Canberra recovers from the COVID-19 pandemic, we face the possibility of increased congestion and emissions if more people begin to rely on cars."

“We want to harness the opportunity of the pandemic to permanently grow the number of people walking and riding in the community beyond COVID-19."

"An ACT Transport Recovery Plan will help facilitate a return to public transport, when the time is right, so that we can efficiently and sustainably move people around our growing city.

"To ensure Canberra remains one of the world’s most liveable cities we will continue to heavily invest in transport with light rail, high frequency rapid bus services, and improvements to key active travel links as well as maintaining our quality road network," Minister Steel said.

- Statement ends -

Chris Steel, MLA | Media Releases


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