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Canberra Today 19°/23° | Friday, March 29, 2024 | Digital Edition | Crossword & Sudoku

A slight increase to the bare majority in favour of light rail

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SIMON Corbell says a summary of surveys on light rail by internationally certified market and social research firm Piazza Research shows the level of support for light rail in Canberra has remained steady at 54-56% over the past 16 months.

“Support for the project had grown from 54% in to June 2014 to 56% in August 2015,” Simon said.

“What this shows is that there is majority support for this important city changing project and that support is consistent.

“While there is a very vocal minority opposition to this project it is clear that the majority of Canberrans want investment in a modern, reliable public transport system that will provide for them both today and into the future.

“Many Canberrans recognise that traffic is a problem now and many more believe that it will be in the future.

“That is why the ACT Government is delivering transport reform that delivers significant transport benefits, reduces congestion and encourages smarter land use.”

“The latest survey showed 49% of people considered traffic congestion a problem now and 69% believed it would be in the future.

“Support for light rail was strongest among 35-49 year olds (67%) but was lowest among people over 65 (46%).

“It also showed support for light rail increased to 67% when people knew it was part of a wider plan to connect the whole city with an integrates transport system.

“It is also clear that light rail helps attract new people to public transport with 61% of respondents saying they were more likely to use public transport if it involved light rail.

“One of the great things about light rail is that it helps get commuters out of their cars and on to public transport. This is great for the overall health of the community because it increases the amount of activity built into people’s everyday routine, but it’s also great for drivers because it helps get cars off the road and reduce congestion.”

The summary report will be available online at capitalmetro.act.gov.au


UPDATE: The Liberals, however, are taking a dimmer view:

Today a poll released by The Canberra Times continues to show that the majority of Canberrans still do not support the ACT government’s current plan to build light rail from Gungahlin to the City, Shadow Minister for Transport Alistair Coe said today.

“The poll shows 52 percent of Canberrans do not support the ACT government’s plan for light rail from Gungahlin to the City, with 44 percent of Canberrans supporting light rail from Gungahlin to the City,” Mr Coe said.

“This is despite the ACT government spending $50 million to progress light rail, including a large amount of taxpayers’ money to promote light rail over the last year.

“It is also worrying that even if it is built, just 6 percent of respondents said that they will use light rail every day. This again shows that, at a cost of $783 million, light rail will do little to improve public transport patronage in Canberra.

“The poll also shows that the majority of Canberrans would rather see investment in buses over light rail, with 52 percent of Canberrans believing that taxpayers’ money would be better spent on improving the bus network. This is compared to the 41 percent who support building light rail over investing in the bus network.

“The Canberra Liberals believe that investment in our bus network is the best way to improve public transport in Canberra. Buses provide a sensible low-cost option which will improve public transport services for all Canberrans.

“Investing in the bus network instead of light rail will also free up money to spend in other critical areas such as health and education.

“Overall, the results show that light rail is a divisive issue in Canberra. It is more confirmation that the ACT government should delay signing the contracts to build light rail until all Canberrans can have their say on the project at the October 2016 Election,” Mr Coe concluded.

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