The AITPM brings to you an in-person seminar and networking event focussing on the big issues in transport and land use planning in the ACT.

Sponsored and hosted by Transport Canberra & City Services, we will listen to four presenters from ACT Government Directorates (ESPDD, TCCS and MPC) covering a variety of topics relevant to the planning of transport infrastructure in the ACT. After the presentations we will have a Q&A session followed by networking.

Speakers include:

• Trina McFarlane (EPSDD) - District Strategies – A key element of the reformed planning system in the ACT
• Colin Maher (TCCS) - ACT Active Travel Plan – More people walking and riding more often
• Tim Heffernan (MPC) - Canberra Light Rail – ACT Public Transport Network Development
• Ahmed Elsergany (TCCS) - Development of a Geographic Information System for Riverine Flood Disaster Evacuation in Canberra, Australia: Trip Generation and Distribution Modelling

Colin Maher - ACT Active Travel Plan Presentation

Ahmed Elsergany - ACT TCCS Presentation

Speaker #1 – Trina McFarlane RPIA (Fellow)

Presentation Title: District Strategies – A key element of the reformed planning system in the ACT
Topic: Planning reform is a major priority for the Government. As our city continues to grow, the Environment, Planning and Sustainable Development Directorate has considered how the planning system could be improved to deliver the vision set out in the ACT Planning Strategy.
Canberra is a planned city, and it is growing. Compact and efficient, diverse, sustainable and resilient, liveable and accessible are five themes of the Planning Strategy outlining a shared vision for a future Canberra that is responsive and resilient to change, with a move toward 70% of new homes being built in existing urban areas.
District-level planning is a key part of the reformed planning system. District strategies will implement broader government policies and strategic directions from the Wellbeing Framework, the Planning Strategy, Transport Strategy, Climate Change Strategy and other policies at the district level. District will identify how, where and what growth might occur in the ACT and Canberra, and what is required to support this change.

Speaker #2 – Colin Maher | Director (Strategic Transport Policy and Active Travel, Transport Canberra & City Services, ACT Government

Presentation Title: ACT Active Travel Plan – More people walking and riding more often
Topic: The ACT Active Travel Plan has a vision of more Canberrans walking and cycling more often to improve our quality of life. Like many cities that developed in the mid- to late-twentieth century, Canberra has a landscape dominated by parkways and arterial roads and the transport system relies heavily on driving. However, unlike other cities, Canberra’s planning for conveniently located local shops and schools, open space corridors and extensive path network has given the city a solid base of cycling and walking to build from. Canberra is an active city and 23 per cent of residents rode a bike in the past week. Walking has taken on a prominent role as investment in city-shaping light rail and urban infill development are creating more walkable neighbourhoods, while a focus on more active students and accommodating an aging population affect planning and investment in suburbs across the city. The Plan includes a network strategy, infrastructure proposals, expansion of micro-mobility operations and behaviour change programs. The Plan is accompanied by a Design Guide that embeds Safe Systems and Movement and Place principles and practices in the design of urban streets and places.

Speaker #3 – Tim Heffernan | Engineering Project Manager (Light Rail), Major Projects Canberra, ACT Government

Presentation Title: Canberra Light Rail – ACT Public Transport Network Development
Topic: The Canberra Light Rail is a 12km light rail system located between Gungahlin and the City Centre in Canberra, ACT. Stage 1 commenced operations in the April 2019 and design, planning and construction for Light Rail Stage 2 are underway. Canberra Light Rail is planned to extend the existing network to Woden in Canberra’s south, including through the City Centre and Parliamentary Triangle. Light rail to Woden is being built in two stages, with the first stage (Stage 2A) to be delivered between the City and Commonwealth Park. The second stage (Stage 2B) will continue from Commonwealth Park all the way to Woden. The design and delivery of Stage 2 of the Canberra Light Rail involves numerous challenges to overcome in order to deliver a sustainable public transport network for the Nation’s Capital.

Speaker #4 – Ahmed Elsergany | Assistant Director (Transport Assessment & Modelling), Transport Canberra & City Services, ACT Government

Presentation Title: Development of a Geographic Information System for Riverine Flood Disaster Evacuation in Canberra, Australia: Trip Generation and Distribution Modelling
Topic: Given the importance of geographic information for riverine flood evacuations, a geographic information system (GIS) is a vital tool for supporting successful flood evacuation operations. This paper discusses the development of a GIS-based riverine flood evacuation model which used to model trip distributions between flooded areas and relocation shelters. As the ultimate goal of this research is to simulate, model, and optimise a planned evacuation, all components of evacuation time have been considered (e.g., travel time between flooded areas and relocation shelters, warning time for each flooded area, and the time needed for evacuation before these areas get inundated). As well, variation in population (static and dynamic population) within the flooded areas has been considered.
Floods in populated areas expose humans to serious threats to life. In light of this fact, evacuation of flood-affected populations is considered the most appropriate protective measure to minimize the negative impacts of floods (Paul, 2011). Yet, unplanned or spontaneous evacuations during flood disasters can cause severe traffic congestion that makes evacuees more vulnerable and exposes them to further risk (Petruccelli, 2003; Litman, 2006). Therefore, efficient and effective planning of flood disaster evacuation operations is important for minimizing the devastating consequences of flood disasters. In Australia, flooding caused by rainfall is the most costly natural disaster. The estimated average annual cost of flood disasters was $314 million a year from 1967 to 1999, with a total cost of $10.4 billion, and 2,292 deaths from 1790 to 2001 (Middelmann, 2007, p.p. 62-63).
This risk continues. The Flood Preparedness Report identified approximately 170,000 residential properties across Australia that are subject to flooding in a 100-year Average Recurrence Interval (ARI) flood (Australian Government, 2009). However, riverine flood-related risks are usually manageable due to the gradual development of the flood and the predictability of the factors causing them, such as rainfall, floodplain locations and flooding’s spatial and temporal distributions (Australian Government, 2009). Hence, risks related to poorly planned evacuations, such as severe traffic network congestion caused by damage to the transportation network or increased traffic volumes created by evacuees, or inadequate relocation shelter locations or capacity can be planned and managed. In particular, safer evacuations are possible when the evacuation is pre-warned, and evacuation can therefore be used as a protective measure for riverine flood disasters.

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