Transport Planning

Forewarned is Forearmed - Planning Is The Key

EcoTransit Sydney believe that there should be no reason to delay initiatives to immunise NSW's transport system against the likely effects of green house gas reduction strategies and the volatility of oil prices. Planning is the key to making a seamless transition to a system based on renewable energy sources. Planning will also achieve good outcomes regarding other foreseeable changes to the transport equation.

Issues such as:
· Increasing numbers of public transport patrons who have impaired mobility as the population ages
· Increasing numbers of public transport patrons as the affordability of fossil-fueled private vehicles declines
· Increasing numbers of active transport users who choose to address climate change, oil volatility and health issues by walking or cycling.

EcoTransit Sydney is very concerned at the absence of planning for these events. This absence of planning translates into an absence of funding, and indicates a failure to develop initiatives in a timely and efficient manner.

Infrastructure
There are many improvements that can be made at the level of changing current processes and priorities, however, we believe that it is also vitally important to begin any major infrastructure changes now, as they will take time to develop and implement.

Consolidation of planning and approvals for transport and land use
Any government of NSW must commit to planning that is coherent across all sectors of transport and land use. For this reason we believe that it is imperative to consolidate all planning and approval powers within a single organisation that will have responsibility for the coordinated and integrated planning of all infrastructure and development.

Currently the Roads and Traffic Authority makes decisions that derive from road transport planning devised in the late 1940’s, rather than taking part in the more recent planning initiatives developed as part of the Metropolitan Strategy. The Metropolitan Strategy has extensive transport and land use planning that applies to all development EXCEPT those currently on the RTA’s list of projects. A single Transport Planning Authority is necessary to create a coherent and sustainable transport network.