7 Nov 2019 - History - Petition Update

Thank you to everyone who signed the petition already. We are at 368 signatures now. The petition closes on Sunday.
https://www.parliament.qld.gov.au/…/petit…/petition-details…

The first consultation on the Coomera Connector organised by the Transport and Main Roads Department (TMR) will be held this Saturday, 9 November, 7am–3pm, at Carrara Markets on the corner of Gooding Drive & Manchester Road, Carrara. I'm planning to be there in the morning.

The obvious question to ask the TMR is: what other solutions to the M1 congestion has the TMR analysed, how much did they cost, and how big and how permanent the expected reductions in congestion were? We know that because of induced demand, widening roads or building new ones quickly removes the initial reduction. Have the social costs of car vs active or public transport been analysed? Traffic accidents, air pollution, noise, livability of neighbourhoods?

We hear from some people that the leftover of the failed Koala Tollway, the Intra Regional Transport Corridor (IRTC) was there for decades and so this road has to be built. That's a funny argument. First of all, it was not there all the time. The Newman government removed IRTC from the SEQ Regional Plan in 2014. Many residents and businesses rightly expected it to be forgotten as the idea of building motorways through populated areas is a relic of the 1950s thinking. Second, it did not have the northern sections - they were added by the Palaszczuk government. Third, times change, and we need to analyse the situation now, not blindly follow some old plan.

There is a number of ways to ease congestion on roads. London introduced congestion charging. Some cities are removing parking spaces from city centres. Free school buses, cheap or free public transport, monthly tickets for public transport (pay once, use for free the rest of the month), no monthly plans for parking in the city (pay each time you use), flexible work times, 4 day work weeks, etc - anything that takes some cars off the road, at least at peak times, leaving it for those who have to drive or who can afford it. In case of Gold Coast and Brisbane we should ensure viable alternatives to driving exist, before introducing congestion charging or removing parking.

The share of public transport mode is only around 5% for the whole of Gold Coast, and much less in northern suburbs. About 10% of trips are on foot and by bike. 85% by car. The majority of large cities in the world are less dependant on cars. In Europe, in most car-dependant cities, like Rome, the share of trips by car is about 65%. Even a reduction from 85 cars to 65 would make wonders to congestion on M1. In least car-dependent cities, like Paris, the share is about 16%. Imagine 16 cars on roads where today there are 85. Even among the 15 biggest North American cities, most have fewer people driving to work and more taking public transport.

Also, I understand that some of you may be sceptical about the science of climate change, but for those who are concerned about it, please find the attached chart that shows that after active travel (walking and cycling) the next best mode of transport in terms of how little CO2 is emitted is rail transport, than a car with 4 passengers, than a bus, a moped, a car with an average of 1.5 passengers, and a plane.

I want to finish with what the University of Queensland Professor in Planning Neil Sipe said: "we have lost the battle if we are going to build a duplicate M1 [...] The money should be spent on rail services, better rail services, express services."