Active travel for breakfast

Over 50 Pedal Power members gathered on Tuesday 16 April at the As You Like It café in Civic around a breakfast of croissants and coffee, to discuss active travel infrastructure with Senator David Pocock.

The conversation ranged from safety, to rules around shared paths, to missed infrastructure opportunities during the Light Rail construction and how the Government can do better in the next round. The main theme, however, was definitely the important role that the community can play in holding the Government accountable to their electoral promises.

This is exactly what Pedal Power is continuing to do with our advocacy both to the ACT and Federal Government.

Senator Pocock expressed frustrations with a lack of action on active travel both in the ACT and federally. We specifically talked about Senator Pocock’s push for a City Deal for the Canberra Region. City and Regional Deals were an initiative launched in 2015 by then-Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull. The intention was to better coordinate infrastructure investment between federal, state and local governments. The deals required joint funding from both state/territory and federal Governments. Nine City Deals and three Regional Deals were agreed and the Federal Government chipped in over $9 billion to local infrastructure projects. The ACT is the only jurisdiction to have missed out on one of these deals.

Senator Pocock talked about how a deal or partnership of this kind could lead to significant investment in the ACT from the Federal Government. In research his office conducted, compiled on a website called A Vision for Canberra, they reported on the need for investment in five key areas – housing, transport sustainability, events, and innovation. Senator Pocock emphasised that active travel forms a core part of all of these, in particular transport and sustainability. He also said that he’s made a submission to the Federal Government budget process, and that he has called for investment in active travel as a core part of the Federal Government’s spending in the ACT.

Senator Pocock, however, said that none of this will be achievable unless the ACT Government takes a leadership role. The Federal Government will not support local funding requests unless they’re backed by the ACT Government. However, the ACT Government has often been lacking in this area, and often is not even asking for investment from its Federal counterparts. Senator Pocock also emphasised that the Federal Government can do more to shift investment trends. He said that he had successfully negotiated a new cycling fund, with details (including amounts to be spent) to be announced in the next budget. This is an exciting development!

None of this will be achievable without advocacy. When asked what role Pedal Power can play at the Federal level, Senator Pocock encouraged us to advocate to our local Federal MPs, as Canberra should be the leading jurisdiction in implementing active travel infrastructure. We have four Labor MPs in the ACT, including the Finance Minister, and therefore have a unique opportunity to influence the current Government.

Senator Pocock pointed out that more people on bikes would help achieve both decarbonisation and public health goals for the Government and opportunities such as the Light Rail work should be used to create a more connected and safer network of cycling paths. Cycling therefore can play a major role in meeting the Government’s objectives around climate and health, but we need to see them to do more to make this a reality. We don’t need more plans, we need more action.

Participants also voiced their frustration around the Government’s planning, but lack of implementation and lack of transparency when it comes to how active travel funding is used and where.

Senator Pocock also suggested that active travel safety campaigns, similar to those implemented for Light Rail safety, would work towards improving how comfortable people feel with using shared paths.

The morning concluded with participants further discussing the issues with each other, Pedal Power and Senator Pocock individually.

To help Pedal Power advocate for better and safer cycling infrastructure in Canberra, supporters can make a donation and join our Protest Ride on 27 April.