text: ACT Election 2016 – Make town & group centres bike friendly | Pedal Power ACT
  Home / News / ACT Election 2016 – Make town & group centres bike friendly
  News 07/07/2016 pedalpower 0 214
  Progress on improving cycling access to town centres thunders along at a snail's pace.
  Successive Governments have let the community down by piling up planning studies to make town centres more liveable, and then sitting on them. Several years ago Pedal Power was asked to come on a 'saddle survey' in Woden-Mawson. A bit before that officials asked our views on improving cycle access to the bus interchange. We pointed out the problems. We showed what has to be done. The Master Plan was revised. It shows, again, how the town centre can be turned into a precinct that's a bit more walking and cycling friendly. However, rather than get on with the job, we face more consultants for yet more studies and a piecemeal repaved path here, a pram ramp there and a token cycle lane to tick off the active travel box. The story is worse in West Belconnen, Belconnen and Tuggeranong. Budget allocations for 2016-17 don't appear to carry through to construction any of the commendable planning work done there.
  For the Government to achieve its Active Travel policy target increase in cycling it must do much more than we have seen from this budget.
  Pedal Power ACT calls on the next ACT Government to fund and build safe and convenient cycling access to town and group centres.
  So when you see those political hopefuls drumming up support at your local shopping centre, ask them what they will be doing to get that construction funded and built.