Canberrans along the proposed light rail route, including residents of Lyneham, Turner and Harrison, were overwhelmingly in favour of the new project, while Tuggeranong residents feel they have missed out.

Kath Coyle, 70, whose house is within walking distance of the planned light rail route, said she was looking forward to catching the new tram into the city.

"I think it'll be an asset to the city and we need more reliable transport," she said.

"They're building all these apartments, everything's perfect for it. I can only hope I live to see it."

Mrs Coyle said it was regrettable that the ACT government couldn't afford to extend the project across Canberra yet.

"I know the other side don't like it because they won't benefit from it yet ... it's a lot of money, but you can't make anything cheap these days", she said.

Once the light rail has been built, 40-year-old Sheree Linden will be able to see it from the end of her street in Harrison.

She said public transport in the area needed to be improved and once the rail was operational, her daughter would probably take it to school.

"My niece and nephew catch the bus and a couple of times the bus driver just goes past them and doesn't pick them up," she said.

"So I think it's good to have that backup, I guess."

But in Tuggeranong homeowners are furious that they have been left behind by the government, as it spends large sums of money on the other side of the lake.

Kambah resident Candice Prideaux said she felt Canberra's southside had been forgotten by ACT Labor.

"Why should me, my husband, the rest of my family as taxpayers pay for you to get an easier, quicker ride into the city when I'm stuck down here in the south?" she said.

"How is this servicing the greater good of Canberrans?"

Mrs Prideaux said several shopfronts at Kambah shops had been boarded up and there was no easy bus access in the area.

"We've had a lot of promises down south and nothing comes to fruition for us, except empty shops, no bus stops and late services," she said.