In this op-ed piece, ACT Greens spokesperson for active travel, road safety and transport, Jo Clay MLA, explains why Canberra needs more active travel and how to get it.
Canberrans love active travel. Many of us want to do more of it, but it can be hard to follow through.
Some people are concerned about road safety. I was really pleased to make improvements here in the ACT Legislative Assembly last week where we passed my amendment to fine negligent drivers where they harm a road user. I’m looking forward to the ACT Government’s ‘Share the Road’ campaign later this year that will improve safety too.
Many people want more separated off-road footpaths and shared paths and want these to be better maintained. People also want end-of-trip facilities to store their bike and take a shower and change after a walk or run. They also need more help and information about active travel.
I’ve been walking and riding around Canberra my whole life. It’s a great way to get around town and I’d love to help more people use it. We need to make active travel fun, accessible and safe for everyone.
Why does this matter? We are in a climate emergency. Recent recorded floods have brought this home. We’re still recovering from the bushfire damage, which is starkly visible on the way down the Clyde. Climate change is here and we must stop pouring CO2 into the atmosphere. Around 60% of our tracked emissions come from transport and active travel can help with that.
Rising petrol prices are another reason to ditch the car. Congestion is another. When I grew up in Canberra, we didn’t have a peak hour. Now Canberra’s congestion is growing at a rate three times faster than most other Australian Capital cities.
The ACT Government supports active travel. We’ve set ambitious goals to encourage cycling and walking. But we are not meeting those goals fast enough. By 2026, Transport for Canberra aims to increase ride-to-work trips to 7%, but in 2017, we only reached 3%. If we want a different result, we need to do things differently.
The ACT Greens ran a 2020 election campaign to kickstart a walking and cycling revolution. We were delighted when the other parties brought out active travel policies too. It was a pleasure to fight out an ACT election on walking, cycling, trees and climate action and it reflected the true nature of Canberra and our people. It is now time to make good on those commitments.
I’ve pulled together a lot of Canberra’s active travel ideas. I’ve put together a discussion paper highlighting 22 proposals that might help more Canberrans to use more active travel, more often. These focus on the need to plan, build and maintain a complete separated network of footpaths and shared paths. They also look at how we promote and prioritise active travel and learn from the lessons of what has worked here and in other places.
My discussion paper is out for consultation until 30 April 2022. You can find it here. I’d love to hear what you think! Read it or simply send me your views on how we can improve active travel in Canberra. Contact me at [email protected] or come find me in Belconnen at a Friday Coffee Catch Up (find me on Facebook).
Jo Clay is the ACT Greens Member for Ginninderra and spokesperson for Active Travel, Road Safety and Transport.
