Planning for structural transit in low density environments: the case of Canberra, Australia

摘要

Canberra, the capital of Australia, is a city with two modes of mechanised passenger travel: traditional bus and automobile. Canberra's population of 352,000 is relatively spread out with a low overall average population density. Recently, the local government (the government of the Australian Capital Territory) submitted a bid to the Australian federal government to fund a light-rail system for the city. This paper examines the issues of serving low and medium density communities with light rail, using Canberra as a case study. The paper qualitatively and quantitatively outlines the socioeconomic and demographic profile of Canberra, with a focus on centres of population and economic density; reviews the literature on Light-Rail Transit (LRT) and other ‘structural’ transit, which includes significant fixed capital investment such as Bus-Rapid Transit (BRT) for low-to-medium density areas; and analyses what an LRT in Canberra would look like if it is to be financially and operationally sustainable.View full textDownload full textKeywordsurban mass transit, land use planning, density planning, light rail, bus rapid transportRelated var addthis_config = { ui_cobrand: "Taylor & Francis Online", services_compact: "citeulike,netvibes,twitter,technorati,delicious,linkedin,facebook,stumbleupon,digg,google,more", pubid: "ra-4dff56cd6bb1830b" }; Add to shortlist Link Permalink http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/07293682.2011.592502