Nepean Greens response to |
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It is encouraging to see the NRMA finally giving some consideration to the environmental impact of private motor vehicle usage. The document is welcomed in its raising of the profile of the community need for a cleaner, more ecologically sustainable urban landscape and related transport infrastructure. The document identification of 'four "P's" for improvement' :- Policy, Process, Perception, Provision while a helpful framework is poorly analysed and implemented. The result being yet another collection of the politically correct sounds that will at best only marginally realise its stated intention. Narrowness and Conflicting Aims From the opening introduction the authors display a confusion of aims and how those same aims may be realised.
"Clean Air 2000 is premised on the belief that effective education and community mobilisation
of government, business and the wider community, will help Sydney avoid severe and draconian measures to curb air pollution." In pursuit of the more holistic aim of ESD (Ecologically Sustainable
Development) the Nepean Greens do not share this optimism. ESD requires a reduction in total transport energy consumption (as per the Toronto Protocol targets for greenhouse gas reduction), as well as clean water and
lower waste production from the society. Draconian measures will only be avoided by immediate serious efforts to curtail total motor vehicle mileages. Clean Air 2000 initiatives may in the short-term accomplish some
temporary improvement in air quality within the current urban ethos. However sustainable long-term improvement in air quality is doubtful without significant re-engineering of Sydney's urban space. The opening
paragraph of "1.0. INTRODUCTION" illustrates that Clean Air 2000's aims could be considered to be in conflict;-
"Clean Air 2000 is a five year campaign designed to reduce air pollution and traffic congestion" Reducing traffic congestion does not necessarily reduce air pollution, unless this is realised by a
reduction in total vehicle usage. Overseas experience particularly in the South Western USA has shown that improvements to traffic congestion that are not accompanied by restriction in vehicle usage, are only
consumed over time as the reduced congestion encourages yet more vehicles onto the roads. As each extra new vehicle only increases the air pollution, efforts to reduce congestion (particularly like new highway capacity,
or Intelligent Transport Systems) tend over time to have a detrimental effect on air quality. The discussion paper does not contain any ideas that will guarantee a decrease in motor vehicle usage. Nor are there any
ideas to reduce congestion without increasing network capacity, or the attractiveness of private motor vehicle usage, on less crowded roads! Myopic Vision The Clean Air 2000 articulation of a need for vision is most welcome, it is a pity that the supplied vision does not even effectively address
the authors' own criteria for a vision;- "A vision depicts a way forward, providing an action plan for improvement." [our emphasis ] "Finally, the vision must encompass the myriad of
issues associated with the management of our future quality of life by embracing the principles of ESD." However the simplistic statement proffered as a vision cannot be described as meeting these goals by
any stretch of the imagination and is at best a bare minimum statement;- "Sydney is a community which will choose lifestyles, transport and urban character that sustains clean air." Clean
Air 2000's 'vision' assumes that people will make the correct informed choice free of all the relevant facts. However 'Clean Air' is what any human being in any advanced society should naturally expect at the end of the
twentieth century. The aspiration that the vision should be readily agreed to by the public at large is dangerous starting point. The GUARDIAN's recent article "On a fast road to nowhere" points out the
consequence of politicians asking the wrong questions about what the people want;'- "Most politicians are slaves to opinion polls, and transport policy worldwide is driven by an implicit opinion poll:
"Would you like a car, unlimited air-miles, and all the computer facilities enjoyed by computer moguls like Microsoft's Bill Gates?" . . . . the answer to this question, everywhere in the world, is
overwhelmingly yes. And these "yes" replies are driving policies and research agendas in rich countries and poor countries alike. . . : Would you like to live in the sort of world you would get if everyone's
wish were granted? . . . It would probably be polluted, noisy and congested." John Adams then goes onto outline the characteristics he sees for such a world;- "
" John Adams then propose a better target that the Greens would believe we all should espouse;- "to live in a cleaner, quieter, more convivial world in which you know your neighbours, it is
safe to walk and cycle, and children are allowed to play in the street." Chicken or the Egg Across the "2.0. BACKGROUND" and "4.0. ISSUES - the need for reform" the document, tends to see the shape of a future Sydney as primarily a function of
urban & transport PLANNING. While these vectors have an undeniable impact on the shape of any city they are not the whole picture. Climatic, Cultural, Social, Historical and Ideological factors are also significant,
but only ever given passing notice in the assumption between the lines in the report, eg. "we must not forget that Sydney has a quality of life and environment which is the envy of a large number of major cities in
the world". The extremely important question about whether Sydney's current urban form is even suitable for a cleaner city into the next century is not asked! The Greens do not believe it is. The Greens view is
rather that we should instead be stopping Sydney's spreading suburbia and rehabilitating the city urban environs into more community centred, self sufficient villages. Unfortunately the authors of the Clean Air 2000
document do not seems to have considered much of the academic research that has been going on for years around the questions that the document attempts to answer. In July last year Jonathan Richmond wrote, in conclusion
to his paper on these very questions ;- "7. The Need to Ask Questions Some reasons as we see them for Sydney's experience have been;-
Todd Litman highlights the cycle well in a recent article about cost transport's land use, when he says;- "Transportation decisions greatly affect development patterns (Hanson, 1986). Automobile use
encourages urban sprawl by increasing the portion of urban land needed for roads and parking, by degrading the urban environment, and by accommodating low density development at the urban periphery. Many of the
complaints people express about urban environments are actually problems resulting from increased automobile ownership and use: traffic congestion and noise, parking problems, unfriendly neighbourhoods, and few areas
left for children to play (Appleyard, 1981). As a result of these impacts, individuals face increased incentive to flee cities for suburban and semi-rural (exurban) residences. Low density suburban and exurban
development creates automobile-dependent land use patterns that further increase these negative impacts. This self-reinforcing driving/sprawl cycle continues until other forces, such as travel time, vehicle costs, and
congestion become limiting factors." Urban Densities for Public Transport Many studies have shown that urban form is critical to transportation patterns. The viability of public transport particularly being affected by population density. From
comparative transport studies of many cities around the world 20 to 30 people per hectare is the generally accepted figure for minium urban density for functional public transport. Anything below this is usually
associated with exorbitant automobile usage, as exemplified by many cities in the USA. As Sydney continues to sprawl yet further across in its vastness, Sydney will become evermore less effectively serviceable by public
transport. Thus to reach Clean Air 2000 goals by the strategy of improved public transport patronage, it is now obvious that increase urban densities must also be effectively and immediately encouraged. Missing Policy The discussion paper makes a start on important planning issues but has a
disappointingly narrow focus. The paper seems limited to discussion of "transport" planning issues in isolation. We consider there can not be a fruitful discussion or progress unless transport planning is
considered in the broader context of the society we are developing. The paper makes recommendations for Government planning (at local, state and commonwealth levels) but restricts the scope to urban and transport
planning. Other areas of Government policy which impact on transport are all but ignored. The discussion paper purports to be 'a framework', providing high level statements that encapsulate sound environmental
aspirations. Nevertheless without either some detailed examples of firm desired outcomes, or targets, or forceful strategies for guaranteeing the permanence of the proposed framework, the whole exercise is open to being
viewed as only a cynical public relations stunt. Many in the environmental movement are familiar with well heralded protection of Environmental Impact Statements that have proved to be window dressing for
environmental blunders, like Sydney's Third Runway. That said the policy issues identified in the document are well and good as far as they go. The problem being that stated policy issues are a long-way short of what
is now needed, or what should be confidently expected from any analysis this late in the debate. Tackling air pollution is a problem which needs to be considered in the political and ideological context of what kind of
society we want to develop in Australia. Details of other areas of Government policy which have considerable impact are:- Income Policy. For some years now public and private sector employers have embraced an income policy of improving salary packages by offering company vehicles for private use. This
has enabled employers to increase incomes without being seen to give salary increases which may start a wage break out. Employers have made particular use of this remuneration practice during the years of the
Hawke/Keating government when the emphasis on the Accord with the union movement has resulted in wage restraint. Usually the company cars are given on condition the vehicle is driven to work each day, ostensibly so
it is available for use on company business during the day. However many of the people who drive to work are in positions that don't require them to leave their work base location so the vehicles simple sit in the
company garage all day. The result of this income policy has been many more vehicles on the road at peak times only because those with company cars are required to drive the vehicle to work each day. There needs to be
policy implemented to discourage the use of the company car as a remuneration strategy. One alternative would be for employers to offer Taxi accounts or Transport passes (eg for rail travel) as an alternative to the
company car. Governments (Local, State and Commonwealth) can effect policy in this area by changing their own income policy and by reviewing taxation arrangements affecting fringe benefits. Taxation Policy The scope of the fringe benefits tax applied to company vehicles should broaden to
discourage employers from providing company cars unless the vehicle is essential to a person's role (sales reps, service personnel, government inspectors). Employers should be required to pay tax on the private
kilometres clocked up on company cars and the definition of "private use" should be expanded to include driving to work. No Deductions for Company Cars Company taxation policy can also have a big
impact on private car usage. The tax concession afforded to the purchase and lease of company vehicles should be removed. Many smaller companies' use taxation concessions as a means of subsidizing their operations and
minimizing taxation (eg. a four wheel drive vehicle purchased by a company is not subject to the same level of tax it would be if the vehicle was purchase by an individual for private use). This only encourages further
unnecessary private motor vehicle acquisition and use. Tax Breaks for Electric and Hybrid Cars Electric and Hybrid (electric/gas turbine or other electric combination) cars are dramatically cleaner than
purely internal combustion vehicles. While such vehicle are currently not an attractive proposition to the general consumer, because of high cost (primarily because of small production runs and high R&D cost
component) and often limited range ( mainly due to limitation of current battery technology) their usage should nevertheless be strongly encouraged. Low registration or tax breaks for such vehicle are an
administratively easy option to implement. Encouragement in the take-up of electric and hybrid vehicle at this early stage while delivering an immediate clean air pay-off, would also expand the market and resulting
investment in such highly desirable vehicle motive-power technologies. Parking Space Taxes Overseas experience has shown that restriction in destination parking space through high taxing of parking space,
can be an important economic disincentive to driving. Every policy tool that encourages people to leave their cars at home should be vigorously pursued. Decentralization The decentralization of Australia's population away from the overcrowded coastal cities is one
strategy that could relieve the pressure on our city environment. This was once a popular government policy but has largely been forgotten since the 1970s. With the communications technology available today many
government departments, particularly those with administration functions could be relocated to country areas near the coast. Decentralization is not a panacea for our environmental problems but it is another valuable
strategy which could relieve the pressure in overcrowded city areas. To some degree the relocation of Government departments to areas on the outskirts of the City of Sydney would also reduce the amount of private car
travel in peak and off peak times. If government departments were located in areas with good public transport connections(eg Parramatta and Liverpool) more employees would travel by public transport and people wishing
to use the services in off peak times could also access them by public transport. Urban Planning Policy The report refers to the need to consider where industrial developments are located and the effect the locations will have on transport problems. However the paper does not
address other urban planning issues that have an equally important, if not more important impact on transport problems. We believe there should be an urgent review of urban planning policy by all levels of government.
Now is the time to decide the type of urban development we want in metropolitan Sydney. Governments should implement policies which discourage any further urban sprawl in Sydney. There should be an immediate ban on any
further land release for housing developments in the greater Sydney area. Developments should focus on redeveloping existing suburban areas to incorporate medium and high density housing in areas well serviced by
public transport. Every opportunity should be taken to introduce "Green Belts' into city areas. The relocation of industry from inner city to outer western suburbs has left idle old industrial sites. Wherever
possible these sites should be converted to parks and green space. See later case for a GreenNetwork. Provision Of Public Facilities The discussion paper makes the valid point that increased private vehicle
use is a problem in non peak travel times as well as peak times. In this regard consideration needs to be given to the types of services people need and access. Local Council and Governments should give more
consideration to the accessibility of services in planning and funding decisions. In this context we would support the adoption of some example provided in the discussion paper;- "For example in Ottawa,
Canada commercial and employment development applications are assessed on accessibility terms requiring that a business development be no more than 400 meters away from a busway. Likewise, in California, accessibility
criteria is written into the Statue stipulating that a business must provide equivalent numbers of parking spaces and public transport passes." Instead of developing policies which force people to build
large car parks for services such as sporting facilities, shopping centres, theatres, churches etc local councils should look to implement policies which require these services to be provided in areas with good public
transport access. Developments which fail to meet this requirement should be rejected. State and Commonwealth Governments can influence decisions about placement of services when they make funding grants. Many
sporting and entertainment facilities funded by Government are built away from public transport. For example in recent years basketball has become a popular sport in Australia. The growth of the sport has meant building
indoor stadiums which often require government funding but are built in areas with no public transport access. Funding should be refused unless ready accessibility to public transport is provided by the location for
such facilities. Compulsory Free Home Delivery Service from Retail Outlets Before the 1970's it was common for local shops to offer free home delivery of groceries etc. Many services like milk, bakers etc.
use to sell directly from the kerb at the customer's home. As second car ownership increased in the community many shops sought a commercial advantage by offering the consumer cheaper prices financed by cessation of
home delivery services. While this short-term commercial expedience left the consumer with a temporary saving the long term cost from increased vehicle mileages and associated pollution would now argue for a compulsory
free home delivery service/option from retail outlets. It has to be compulsory for the retailer and free to the consumer, so that no retailer seeks to gain commercial advantage by repeating history.
Increased Housing Mobility The relatively high cost of home relocation compared against a family's transport outlays, often acts as a strong economic disincentive against individuals deciding to relocate closer to
their place of employment. Removal of stamp duty on the sale of the family home may go a long way towards addressing this problem. Missing Process While the discussion paper extols laudable sentiments around improved processes, these suffer from the same shallowness as noted for the previous section
on 'policy'. The current problems of cancerous urban form and sick transport system have resulted from processes not dissimilar to those proposed in the discussion paper. The discussion paper goes onto note this same
failure to deliver from previous PLANNING documents;- "Statements towards the goals of ESD, reduced car reliance and air quality improvements are provided within strategic planning documents, such as Cites
for the Twenty First Century (Cities) and the Integrated Transport Strategy (ITS).
The practical implementation of the goals presented in these documents, however has been difficulty, specifically at a local planning scale." This highlights the problem of political self interest,
particularly at a local government level, with the 'not in my backyard' syndrome. Also once again the problem of politicians asking the wrong questions as already detailed above [Chicken or the Egg ]. Over the next
few pages the discussion paper outlines many necessary improvements to current processes that the Greens would fully support. However the discussion paper's tacit approval of evaluation of projects and schemes in terms
of 'costs', we view as nonsensical in the extreme, because the Greens do not believe that the full and innate value of the environment can ever be reduce to a set of numbers on a spreadsheet. Environment The report recommends the establishment of a Public Transport "champion" to pursue the
interests of public transport. We do not believe this is enough. Government at all levels have some environment watchdog. State and Commonwealth Governments have an Environment Department or Minister. We believe the
future health of our environment should be the overriding factor in all Government decision making. The Environment portfolio needs to be given much greater recognition at all levels of government. The discussion paper
mentions the need to consider other planning issues (eg urban planning, industrial development) when considering transport policy but such suggestion fall far short of what is needed. In our view the discussion paper
should make a strong recommendation that Governments need to establish now what their environment policy priorities should be for the future. There is an urgent need to establish overall direction for Sydney's future
and set specific environmental criteria. Some of the policy issues mentioned above need immediate implementation (eg. immediate ban on further housing developments in outer suburbs, the precedence of public transport
infrastructure over private vehicle infrastructure). All future development in Sydney should have to satisfy the governments' criteria before they can be approved and implemented. As a matter of standard practice all
development applications and all proposed transport plans should go first to the environment watchdog at the different levels of government. Teeth for the Environment But it is not enough for Environmental
watchdogs to be just shown new proposals, the watchdogs (like royal commissions) should have the powers to vigorously pursue any issue that impinges on the environment, and veto or terminate anything that is adversely
affecting the environment's health. In the context of community consultation the discussion paper goes on to say;- "Two examples where community consultation could have been better managed include Sydney's M2
Motorway and more recently, issues pertaining to the development of Badgerys Creek Airport." With the current fashionable push to small government, and greater private sector provision of public utilities
and services, the M2 Motorway provides a very interesting case study. Meaningful community participation in decision making process becomes impossible once 'commercial confidence' is allowed for any party. The greatest
tragedy of the M2 Motorway was not the planning process to the proposed route, but the deals that now prevent competing public transport and guarantee private investors profits! Corporations that wish to profit by the
provision of services formerly undertaken by governments, should be subjected to the same degree of public scrutiny and Freedom Of Information (FOI) provisions that were developed to protect the public from bad
government. In such a context 'commercial confidence' is an anathema. Missing Perceptions Yet again as with the previous sections on 'policy' and 'process' while the discussion paper sentiments are commendable, from our perspective they are too superficial. All
the issues identified need to be fully addressed, but nothing is said about how the whiteanting impact of commercial advertising can be brought to heel. The current problems being in a large portion due to noise from
commercial siren songs;- "The anxieties generated by modern urban life delivered a receptive audience to advertisers, who promoted consumer solutions to a range of imagined problems - body odour, bad breath,
dandruff, shallow skin, dull lifeless hair - which might lower a person's chances of employment or romance (Ewen 1976, pp 41-8). They also offered fantasies of escape from the alienation and frustrationof jobs that
allowed little scope for creativity or control, and cities beset by problems of pollution, and overcrowding created by the very system that produced the product being promoted. For example, fantasies of freedom and
escape were - and are - used to sell cars produced on assembly lines which were anything but sites of industrial freedom, and whose use as private transport turned cities into places from which escape became highly
desirable. One of the ways in which capitalism works, in other words, is by producing consumer solutions to the very problems it generates (Ewen 1976, pp 84-7)." Perceptions of Public Transport The discussion paper is right on target when it says;- "Undoubtedly
before we can start getting drivers out of their cars and onto other modes, we must be able to show the benefits of public transport, walking or cycling and in many instances demonstrate the safety, convenience,
flexibility or comfort of these modes to the community." Though it is not sufficient to hype up public transport without redressing the deterioration in quality that has taken place over the past years.
Public perception of increased dangers for late night rail travel well parallel decreased station manning levels undertaken in the interest of cost cutting. Passenger comfort has also markedly slipped behind what is
offered by the humble family car, and in the pursuit of economic efficiency patrons are now sardine seated in the new Tangaras with measurably less room and comfort than afford by the disparaged 'Red Rattlers'. The
discussion paper refers to the need to have performance indicators, regular checks on the progress of public transport. However these suggestions seem to be aimed at enhancing the performance of the existing public
transport system rather than introducing changes to improve public transport facilities. There are many improvements that do need to be made to the public transport system, firstly to raise the public perception of
the improved quality of the public transport alternative, and thus hopefully to encourage people back to public transport. While such activity will make public transport more appealing for those wise enough utilise it
services, as is well understood by research such activity in itself will not be enough to curb the growth in car travel. "Effort internationally to "lure" auto users back to urban public transport,
especially during the peak periods, have not met with any significant success. The predominate instruments have been subsidised fares, more modern and air conditioned vehicles, increased reliability and schedule
frequency, free and secure parking at interchanges, and advertising campaigns. At best we can say that the long-term decline in patronage may be showing signs of being slowed down and possibly halted, but there is no
evidence of any noticeable reversal. What has been absent in the strategy to revive public transport has been any effort to make the automobile less attractive." Whole-of-Community The Clean Air 2000's conviction about how to realise its aims is interesting, as much for
what is said, as what is left unsaid in fashionable aspects of its assertions;- "While talking about the problem of air quality in terms of crisis may encourage governments to put in place more stringent or
draconian response measures, it is unlikely to ensure mobilisation of the whole community, including business and individuals. Clean Air 2000 is primarily about whole-of-community approach. In many respects it is not
only government that can provide the solutions - behaviour and cultural changes must also come from a willing community and business sector. Only in this context will solutions that are adopted to address air quality be
truly sustainable socially, economically and envronmentally." The previous quote appears to say that there is not really a crisis: while this is arguably true for the very small issue window of air quality
to the year 2000, it is far from correct for the air quality that our children will inherit from the current inaction. To say there is no crisis is plainly wrong in the case of greenhouse gases (CO2 levels) and ESD
issues. The quote also seems to imply that governments' solutions will necessarily be clumsy or inept in trying to achieve their aims, and somehow solutions from the business sector, will, contrary to past experience of
commercial motives, become magically enlightened. We think not. Missing Provisions
The final section of the discussion paper '4.4. Provisions' seems to lose the somewhat thin plot altogether. All the talk in the section being about the provision of 'transport' solutions. What happened to any concepts
of provision of other desirable factors that would encourage more consolidated urban form and greater public transport usage? Like affordable high quality, medium and high density housing, more green space, economic
instruments to redress high entry cost of inner-city land, more Police to increase public perceptions of safety, cheaper Information Super Highway connection to encourage telecommuting, etc, etc. It also raises the
dubious metaphor of 'balanced' transport services, see Jonathan Richmond's previously cited paper "The Impossible Balance in Sydney" for a well reasoned rebuttal. More on Public Transport There are obvious improvements that do need to be made to the public transport system
to encourage people back to public transport. These include issues such as :- improving safety and security, improving timetables to accommodate peak and off peak travel times, creating more bus lanes in areas such as
main arterial roads in western Sydney to improve traffic flow. Such measures while useful are not enough to address the structural bias in favour of private motor vehicle usage, and against a user friendly public
transport option, particularly in western Sydney. After a well rounded and reasonably detailed analysis of the less-than-desirable standard of public transport provided to residents of western Sydney the discussion
paper calls for the establishment of a public transport "Champion". Sadly the SRA (State Rail Authority) and the various public transport unions were once such champions, until under noisy misguided pressure
for ever more roads, from organisations like the NRMA and commercial interests in the motor vehicle and road industries, it became politically expedient for the government of the day to castrate the champion.
Government needs to start planning now to put in appropriate infrastructure where it is needed. A lot of Sydney's peak traffic is going across the existing public transport corridors from suburbs in the Northwest to
industrial sites in the Southwest. Many main arterial roads ( Cumberland Highway ) are choked with this cross town traffic while other alternative routes in the area are no longer so popular. Plans should be made
immediately to use the older roads which are now not so popular in these areas as corridors for new infrastructure such as light rail systems. Transport & Human Rights A recent editorial in 'World Transport Policy and Practice" puts the situation most starkly;- "Transport is a
human rights issue. We are all so deeply immersed in the techniques, technologies and professionalism of our discipline that we fail to notice the very real erosion of human rights, human dignity and basic freedoms
associated with the global expansion of transport infrastructure and motorized traffic. In many of our cities people are forced to use bridges and urine-soaked underpasses to find their way around their neighbourhoods
and shopping centres because cars have usurped ground level space. This is a classic Darwinian struggle for supremacy, and the human species, particularly in the form of pedestrians, cyclists, adolescents, young
children and those too poor to own a car, lose out to the noisier, greedier, more polluting species that spends large amounts of its time in a car. In a recent survey eight out of ten parents have said they will not
let their children play on the streets because of fears of traffic and fears of "stranger danger". This confirms earlier research in the UK showing that in the period 1970-1990 the proportion of children
allowed by their parents to travel independently to school had declined from 80 per cent to 9 per cent. . . . . . Children are the late twentieth century incarnation of the canaries that went down coal mines in the
nineteenth century. When the canary fell off the perch the miners retreated. That shows some intelligence on the part of miners which might now be missing in our observations of children. Children are now excluded from
the streets and from much public space. The Faustian bargain which has been struck without asking children is that the car is so important and speed and mobility so important that we can hand over streets and public
space to cars, frighten away children and terrify parents and accept huge increases in asthma and respiratory disease among school-age children." Green Network As much of the above material indicates, to resuscitate the city's landscape is not simply a case
of more less polluting cars, but a need to reassert the superior desirability of the unencumbered human machine. The free unhindered movement of child and walker should have absolute priority in all future planning over
the car. In future if planning or policy attempt to assert motorist privileges over that of the unaided pedestrian then we must simply say NO! For nearly a hundred years now the urban landscape has been scarred and
devoured by the priority of transport hungry for speed with ever expanding networks of bitumen dissecting and disenfranchising all the city's once quiet neighbourhood environs. As much as one would like to see it,
the clock can not be turned backwards as Jonathan Richmond so articulately puts it;- "Attractive though it may be to call for a return to past patterns of activity concentration and public transport reliance
as did the Fahey Government's Cities for the 21st Century and Integrated Transport Plan fundamental changes in Sydney's urban structure mean that we can not go back." The Greens unlike common media
caricatures do not want a return to the environmental clumsiness or social inequalities of the past, but rather stand for Ecologically Sustainable Development that provides creative solutions building on the best of the
past. The current transport networks are here to stay and sound arguments for even new sophisticated highway structure can be supported in a ESD framework. But as rehumanizing we also desperately need to construct a
new GreenNetwork with absolute priority and right-of-way over all other transport modes. The vision is for a contiguous network of parkland, grass and trees, and bushland ribbons running unhindered across the urban
landscape in the same style that freeways and roads currently divide the urban landscape. These living green grid-lines being spaced at no-more than three kilometres apart. This Green blood system for the city's health
would allow free safe unobstructed ground level access and movement for the entire length of the whole network without ever having to leave the parkland to cross a road or railway line. Existing transport infrastructure
preferably would be tunnelled under the GreenWays and GreenLanes (though in some rarer case may go over as in a motorway fly-over). Such a GreenNetwork also has a very important but not readily obvious environmental
advantage. A continuous network of such public land across the city would provide the perfect location for utility easements allowing construction of such things as a grey-water infrastructure for Sydney. Currently
urban consolidation is virtually being choked by the fossilising water and sewage infrastructure unaccessably buried under main roads and expensive building. GreenLanes & GreenWays The difference between the GreenLanes and the GreenWays are only in terms of size
and frequency. Within the conception, no point anywhere in the metropolitan area would be more than one and a half kilometres from either a GreenLane or GreenWay. Many of Sydney's existing parkland would naturally be
linked to or incorporated into this green network. GreenLanes
= No narrower than 10 meters preferably 15 meters wide. Ideally with a cycleway or footpath were appropriate. Patterned in the landscape so as to allow walking and cycling access to public transport points, shopping centers and all schools. Synonymous to local streets in the road network or capillaries in the blood system they allow minor green connections across the landscape.
GreenWays
= Akin to highways or major arteries these green structure redefine the shape of the urban landscape. A minium 150 meters wide they can allow for wild-life corridors or visual greenbelts to soften and naturalise the urban landscape. The GreenWays are conceived being placed every 9 to 10 kilometres across the city, so that no point in the city is more than 5 kilometres from a GreenWays.
True Cost As alluded to above many of the historical misdirected pressures that have produced the current sickening
urban form are political and economic. Particularly the desire to build as much highway as possible for the cheapest price. Politics has tended to favour the cheapest grand gesture with the maximum short term
impact. Subsidies both hidden and blatant going where the most easy short-term populist mileage could be made. But as a community we now find that our forbears have squandered much of our environmental
capital because their accounting systems did not attribute any value to a healthy environment with clean air and water.
So where is the money to come from to redress the damage and to redirect our future. Simply by making environmentally questionable activity pay its full cost, both ongoing, and for the rehabilitation of previous
short-cuts and urban disenfranchisement. The social cost of driving "According to economists, the problem with automobile use is that automobile users do not pay for the time delay and environmental costs they impose on others. The costs of automobile use can be divided into two categories: private costs and externality costs. Private costs are those borne directly by the driver and consist of gasoline costs, parking fees, road tolls, wear and tear on the automobile and the opportunity cost of travel time. Externality costs are unintended costs the public at large experience as consequences of individual decisions and include congestion costs (the increased time spent by others on the road as a result of the marginal increase in congestion created by an additional car), air, water and noise pollution, increased risk of traffic accidents and increased deterioration of the roads. The sum of private and public costs is the full social cost of driving. Individuals weigh their own private costs against the benefits they anticipate from driving to determine how much driving they will do. Because their driving produces external costs, the result is a market inefficiency where total social costs exceed total (mostly private) benefits." Holistic View In conclusion while Nepean Greens see value in many of the aspirations expressed by the Clear Air 2000's "Shaping Sydney's Transport - a framework for reform : Discussion Paper, March 1996" , we consider the vision too short and narrow to accomplish the required changes need for an Ecologically Sustainable Development of Sydney's urban form and transport structure beyond the year 2000. A greener more holistic view is urgently required that can surpass the current putrefaction of thought represented by economic rationalist and ideological addictions to the power of the market place.
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