Infrastructure for short journeys on foot and by bicycle should be prioritised as part of the ACT government's active travel plan, a public transport community group says.
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The Public Transport Association of Canberra said short journeys up to 5 kilometres were "low hanging fruit" the government should target to encourage people to switch from cars to walking or riding by allocating more money to cycle routes and primary walking areas.
"The linear routes connecting town centres look nice on a map, but they will likely only serve the small section of the population which regularly rides lengthy distances. The 5 per cent walk-to-work target suggests the ACT government knows this too," the association's submission said.
"If we want to change behaviours to get 'more Canberrans walking and riding more often', we need to meet people where they are, and encourage them to take shorter journeys before they start heading across town.
"Even in the Netherlands, the average cycling journey is only 3.6 kilometres. For most people, longer journeys are better served by public transport."
The association said the government should commit to integrating public transport and active travel planning, so people are able to easily switch transport modes on a journey.
Collector streets - which feed cars out of suburbs and onto arterial roads - also present an opportunity to support active travel use, by retrofitting structured parking and tree plantings, the association said.
"From the outside, it appears that active travel is often treated as a standalone project (eg, build a bikeway), rather than integrated into new developments. The high quality pedestrian and cycling treatments in the raising London Circuit project should be the new minimum standard of incorporating active travel into every new project affecting the streetscape," the group's submission said.
The association said procurement needed reform so projects were delivered, and a car-first mentality needs to shift within the ACT public service.
The association's chair, Ryan Hemsley, said it was good the government had an exciting vision for active travel.
"Canberra already has a reasonably good network of bikeways connecting our town centres. But right now, only so many of us are willing or able to ride 10 or more kilometres to work each day. It's time now to focus on the smaller, local routes which will get people riding to school, the shops, and onto public transport," Mr Hemsley said.
"We're also very excited about how our established street hierarchy could be part of the solution. For example, many collector streets built during the 1960s [to the] 1980s are very wide and encourage cars to drive at excessive speeds. Some modest changes, including wider verges and upgrading painted cycle lanes to protected cycling infrastructure, would make them safer and much more inviting places to walk and ride."
The ACT government released its active travel plan for consultation in July. It outlined an an ambitious program of infrastructure improvements as the basis for encouraging more Canberrans to take up walking and cycling for their commute.
The government would also next year consult on dropping the speed limit on suburban local streets from 50km/h to 40km/h, the plan revealed.
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Transport Minister Chris Steel said the plan's first priority was safe and separated infrastructure for walking and cycling. The government thought this was the fundamental barrier to getting more people taking up active travel modes.
"We're also proposing to prioritise better walking and cycling connections, secure bike parking and a range of targeted programs to encourage people to use active travel and public transport more often," Mr Steel said at the time.
The draft plan said walking and cycling made up almost 20 per cent of all trips in the ACT five years ago, but the territory's climate strategy estimated an extra 40 to 45 per cent of car journeys would need to shift to active travel and public transport by 2045 for Canberra to reach its net-zero emissions target.
Consultation on the plan closes on August 24. You can send feedback to the government on the Active Travel Plan here. Let us know in the comments whether you think this is a good idea.
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Jasper Lindell
Jasper Lindell joined The Canberra Times in 2018. He is a Legislative Assembly reporter, covering ACT politics and government. He also writes about development, transport, heritage, local history, literature and the arts, as well as contributing to the Times' Panorama magazine. He was previously a Sunday Canberra Times reporter.
Jasper Lindell joined The Canberra Times in 2018. He is a Legislative Assembly reporter, covering ACT politics and government. He also writes about development, transport, heritage, local history, literature and the arts, as well as contributing to the Times' Panorama magazine. He was previously a Sunday Canberra Times reporter.
