ACT Light Rail submit to the STAP

One of my hats is Chairman of the ACT Light Rail Coalition. Over the last few weeks I have been working on a submission to the ACT Government, in response to their recent Sustainable Transport Action Plan. While I would prefer public transport in the ACT to be functional as well as sustainable, I think the consultants report (while bus centric) does map out some mass transit routes which are ideal for use as light rail routes. 

Sadly, despite the best efforts of the consultant, Jarrett Walker, I believe that ACT Government tinkering will see the forward looking vision elements of the STAP put forward by the consultant, ignored. Already the 'Rapid' bus proposals have been watered down. The consultation process was farcical and managed by facilitators to an extent where it was difficult to provide feedback in a meaningful way. This has been covered on ACT Light Rails website so I wont bore you with the details here.

Even though I have doubts about the ability of Canberra residents to contribute feedback which will be considered by the government (not that Im suggesting they have already made up their minds) I think that involvement in public policy is important. You cant complain about the issue if you sit on your arse and do nothing about it. 

The ACT Government STAP can be found here.

ACT Light Rails submission can be found here in PDF form.