I couldn't agree more with Shane Rattenbury and Jo Clay's opinion piece "Light rail is driving Canberrans into a future of opportunity" (canberratimes.com.au, January 11).
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Canberra's future population growth demands a mass transit system. Increasing housing density en route also makes sense to preserve existing green areas and bushland within the ACT. Extending light rail to Canberra's south for a city spine line must happen to make the rail system an integrated part of Canberrans' transport life.
Canberra is an international city that needs 21st century infrastructure. Light rail is for the future of Canberra so get on board and get building.
Brad Hinton, Garran
Consider the alternatives
Local travel accounts for one 10th of the ACT's carbon footprint. Transport Canberra currently provides one 20th of local travel, and causes more emissions than the car travel that it displaces.
The ACT government has an opportunity to provide us with a world-class, zero emissions public transport system, before 2030. Canberrans can join the 32 million people, in almost 200 cities, who each day experience the benefits of bus rapid transit.
We can replace our entire fleet of polluting buses with zero emissions electric buses, and build bus rapid transit between Civic and Woden for less than the cost of the slower and less frequent services of Stage 2 of light rail.
Why do ACT Greens ("Light rail is driving Canberrans into a future of opportunity" canberratimes.com.au, January 11) not advocate bus rapid transit?
Leon Arundell, Conservation Council Transport Working Group member, Downer
Hang the expense
The Greens' attempted defence of light rail ("Light rail is driving Canberrans into a future of opportunity" canberratimes.com.au, January 11) completely omits any mention of its huge financial cost and does not present any evidence for the government choosing light rail over express buses on major trunk routes.
Neither of these omissions is new. The ACT Labor/Green government has never shared with Canberrans the total cost of light rail. Available sources suggest the cost of the existing and proposed light rail to Woden could be as much as $4 billion. This is equivalent to about 60 per cent of all the taxes Canberrans will pay to the ACT government this financial year.
The ACT government has never presented a compelling case for choosing light rail over express buses on major trunk routes when both modes provide similar benefits in terms of transport. Might it be that light rail has been chosen because it provides more work for ACT Labor's supporters in the construction and transport industries?
I am a strong supporter of public transport, walking and cycling. But we must also fund education, health, and community services. There is a limit to the amount of money current and future Canberrans can reasonably be required to pay, particularly since the current ACT government already charges us higher taxes per person than any state government.
We need a proper and public cost-benefit analysis of all major initiatives including improving public transport.
Bruce Paine, Red Hill
Right and wrong
I agree with Shane Rattenbury and Jo Clay that we need high quality, frequent and reliable public transport. But in rejecting a 1970s model, why do we have to replace it with an 1870s one?
Buses to Barton would be good, especially for Curtin and Hughes residents who have lost theirs. Two hourly weekend buses and cancelled routes and stops have shown us Mr Rattenbury's way of getting people off public transport.
It's time for some intelligent planners to take charge.
Maria Greene, Curtin
Confidence misplaced
Shane Rattenbury and Jo Clay assert that "Light rail is driving Canberra into a future of opportunity". They should not be so confident: there are some serious engineering and construction problems facing their pet project.
Apart from the shambles already destined for the CBD (the raising of London Circuit and the installation of traffic lights on the southern side of City Hill, which will spoil the avenue vista towards Parliament House and interrupt traffic flow) I see serious problems along Adelaide Avenue and Yarra Glen.
Major earthworks and road works will be needed at the State Circle-Adelaide Avenue intersection to create a gentle slope that the light rail vehicles can climb.
The bridges over Adelaide Ave on Kent Street, and over Yarra Glen on Cotter Road and Carruthers Street, all have massive pylons with bases in the centre of the median strip: directly in the path of the planned light rail route.
The Cotter Rd site is further complicated by a steep slope across the median strip, which will require substantial earthworks; and a massive, very old fir tree is directly in the path of light rail at the Carruthers St site.
Have any of these problems been noted by the Barr government, and has addressing them been costed?
Dr Douglas Mackenzie, Deakin
Intersection dangerous
I negotiated my way through the bewildered traffic being turned back at the roundabout entering William Hovell Drive on Tuesday morning. I annoyed the driver of a red car who used his horn to let me know. We were all trying our best. Another accident, another tragic fatality.
I met with consultants from the group responsible for the upgrade of William Hovell Drive in response to the extra traffic generated by West Belconnen suburbs. The information session was outside the Kippax library many months ago.
My question was about this intersection. My particular concern was for young people negotiating the road to attend the schools in Hawker.
The consultants were aware of the problem and explained that there was not sufficient space for an expanded roundabout but there would be lights.
When? In two years' time.
We need to improve this intersection before beginning more work on William Hovell Drive and we need to reconsider the 90 km/h speed limit on this road.
R McCallum, Higgins
Mechanism doesn't work
Under Labor's updated "Safeguard Mechanism", the 215 biggest emitting corporations must cut their greenhouse gas emissions by 28 per cent by 2030.
Meanwhile, the rest of Australia seeks to reduce our emissions by 43 per cent by 2030 (consistent with a two degree warmer world) and science demands a target of 75 per cent reductions by 2030 to hold warming to a "safe" 1.5 degrees.
The Safeguard Mechanism still doesn't cut it.
Dr Amy Hiller, Kew
Matters of fact
Leaving aside comment on the main thrust of his article, with which I have substantial disagreement, ("We've lost the war and our honour", Opinion, January 11) Allan Orr is wrong in asserting that the "core strategic mission of SASR [Special Air Service Regiment] ... would be to build guerrilla forces ...".
Surely the doctor, who is identified as a "strategic and military studies specialist", should be aware the principal role of the Regiment is long-range reconnaissance.
Whenever it is tasked with any other role it will be one that is subsidiary to this which has always been its principal role.
Justice Brereton's report, one highly redacted for general readership, reveals that illegal behaviour by the Australian Army cannot be condoned, and when proven in the courts, it will bring discredit to us all.
What Dr Orr should have mentioned is that the SAS were misemployed by the Australian government.
At the time of the deployment it was the government that directed the use of special forces, the ADF had no say in the matter.
Repeated deployments over many years took a terrible toll on the relatively small numbers of soldiers involved.
The battalions of the Royal Australian Regiment should have undertaken the task in Afghanistan for which they would have been better suited.
Dr Orr's comments might have been better directed to the political considerations overriding the military realities as the cause of the debacle.
Bill Thompson, Scullin
Batsman is best
M F Horton (Letters, January 11) believes the adoption of the word "batter" in cricket language involves a loss of tradition.
I wholeheartedly agree with him.
It was also a very poor choice as "batter" is unfortunately normally associated with the cooking process.
Surely "hitter" would have been a much better choice.
Political correctness is slowly but surely adulterating the English language.
It's a shame.
Mario Stivala, Belconnen
TO THE POINT
IS BARR FOR REAL?
With estate agents salivating at prospects of a $10 million sale, properties regularly selling at $1 million and record rents - JobSeekers and pensioners need not apply, how can Mr Barr say "[housing] supply is just ahead of population growth"?
Albert M. White, Queanbeyan, NSW
NEGATIVES BEYOND PROOF
Bill Deane (Letters, January 9) asks rhetorically, "How many acts of terrorism have been prevented". Similarly rhetorically, there's the old saying "You can't prove a negative".
Eric Hunter, Cook
STOP IT, JUST STOP IT
I'm totally opposed to light rail to Woden. It is an absolute waste of money for the minority of people who will actually use it. Canberra needs a new hospital. Spend the money on that. Light rail is a crazy pipe dream.
MaryAnn Biginell, Kambah
CAN THE TRAM
Scrap the getting close to $3 billion dollars for a tram to please the Greens and the minority and there will be plenty of money for health and so on to benefit the majority. Why are the Greens holding us to ransom for the tram with the backing of climate alarmists and Senator Pocock?
Tony Cook, Kambah
SEPARATION OF POWERS?
Naively I thought that Democrats may have voted for McCarthy just to get things working. The separation of the US executive and legislature makes their procedures seem weird even when they are the same as ours.
S W Davey, Torrens
LOKI A CONTENDER?
Dear America, I was going to nominate my dog Loki as the US House speaker. He is a seven-year-old Samoyed and likes people and other dogs. I'm sorry this nomination didn't reach you in time to receive serious consideration. More popcorn anyone?
John Howarth, Weston
E-SCOOTER ABUSE
ACT ratepayers deserve itemised feedback from ministers on fines issued to e-scooter users - especially at high use times such as Summernats. If at various times on those days the public could see groups of young men rushing on e-scooters along Northbourne Ave footpaths and crossing against red lights without a helmet in sight presumably the police could too.
Sue Dyer, Downer
WHY NOT AN EV?
I was astonished and disappointed to read (Letters, January 11) that regular climate change advocate Dr Douglas Mackenzie does not drive an electric vehicle.
Ed Highley, Kambah
OF NO CONSEQUENCE
I challenge my fellow The Canberra Times readers to nominate a subject more inane, more inconsequential, and less deserving of space than the doings of a couple of former British royals. I was going to go first but I couldn't think of anything.
Fred Pilcher, Kaleen
WASTE NOT, WANT NOT
Reading Tony Bacic's article "January is our most wasteful month. Here's how we can fix it" (canberratimes.com.au, January 6), I was reminded of a buffet in Singapore. A sign warned patrons not to take more than they could eat. Leftovers would be weighed and charged accordingly.
Felicity Chivas, Ainslie
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