Construction of tram tracks across intersections on Northbourne Avenue could be completed in single weekends as the ACT government seeks to minimise disruption to commuters from the roll out of light rail.
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Planners preparing the final business case for the 12-kilometre city to Gunghalin tram line will hope to learn from cities including Adelaide and the Gold Coast, where traffic disruption had been effectively managed during construction of similar networks, Capital Metro Minister Simon Corbell said.
Responding to figures presented by the Liberal opposition showing just 7 per cent of Canberra’s population, or 27,084 residents, live within 800 metres of the tram stop locations being considered, Mr Corbell said the business case would demonstrate there was sufficient population growth and increasing road congestion to warrant the 13-stop line.
"What we know is that patronage assessment is a very complex process," Mr Corbell said.
"You can’t simply say the only people who will ever use the service are people who live within 400 to 800 metres of the stops.
"Those are the people who are most likely to walk or cycle to the stops but it’s not the complete patronage because the other factors are where people work, their inter-work journeys for example, park and ride passengers and people who will change their transport choices because of the availability of light rail."
The agency planning the line is projecting the population in the immediate area will grow from 43,900 in 2012 to 61,400 in 2031, while the number of jobs in the corridor will grow from 59,800 in 2012 to 73,000 in 2031.
Mr Corbell said updated figures would be made public after the government received the final business case in October.
He said a shift in public opinion about the line was occuring before construction in 2016 and services commencing in 2019 or 2020.
"I think we’re at the beginning of the more detailed conversation and there’s been a lot of general commentary and a lot of fear mongering from those who are ideologically opposed to public transport but now I think we’re starting to see a shift in the debate as people get into the detail."
Opposition transport spokesman Alistair Coe told the Canberra Times on Thursday that the line was unlikely to attract private investment due to high cost and low patronage. Mr Corbell blamed misinformation for the belief that the government would borrow the total cost of the $614 million line.
"Until the day the trams start running, the government will not be paying for the delivery of this project and that’s something that’s not understood," he said.
Traffic congestion could be minimised through the closure of single intersections at weekends for tracks to be laid, while off-peak periods would be used for construction along the median strip of Northbourne Avenue.
"That’s exactly what they did in Adelaide and what they’ve done in the later stages of the Gold Coast," Mr Corbell said.
"They’ve moved in on a weekend and done a full intersection, so you get in and get it done and are out of the way again to allow activity to continue during the working week.
"There are ways of managing that disruption but building in the median, which is where the majority of the track is, will avoid disruption for most day-to-day operations for people."
