SUBMISSION Name Margaret Isselmann Position Counsellor Local Government Area Snowy Valleys Council This submission is presented as an individual counsellor. OVERVIEW. The Snowy Valleys Council area is one of the NSW councils which shares a boarder with Australian Capital Territory. The area has the potential to be the fastest growth centre in NSW in the future. This potential is locked and can only be realised if the NSW State Government recognises the need to include the Brindabella Road in this plan. Snowy Valleys Council area ( Merge of Tumut and Tumbarumba Councils) Page 10 Investing in the future Regional Service & Infrastructure Initiatives We will investigate a range of initiatives extending across the 40 year timeframe of Future Transport, including both policy and service improvements as well as infrastructure improvements. Page 11 Figure 5 Initiatives to support the Customer outcomes
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SUBMISSION Name Margaret IsselmannPosition CounsellorLocal Government Area Snowy Valleys Council
This submission is presented as an individual counsellor. OVERVIEW. The Snowy Valleys Council area is one of the NSW councils which shares a boarder with Australian Capital Territory. The area has the potential to be the fastest growth centre in NSW in the future. This potential is locked and can only be realised if the NSW State Government recognises the need to include the Brindabella Road in this plan.
Snowy Valleys Council area ( Merge of Tumut and Tumbarumba Councils)
Page 10 Investing in the future Regional Service & Infrastructure Initiatives We will investigate a range of initiatives extending across the 40 year timeframe of Future Transport, including both policy and service improvements as well as infrastructure improvements.
Page 11 Figure 5 Initiatives to support the Customer outcomes
There are 10 initiatives listed and the following are relevant to including the upgrade of the Brindabella Road:The Policy and Services Initiatives 1)Initiatives to improve the attractiveness of centre and communities.3) Improve inter-region and regional city connectivityInfrastructure Initiatives6) optimise the capacity and safety of existing infrastucture7) invest in east-west connectivity
The Hub and Spoke Model states the foundation to achieve this vision of improved connectivity, integrated services and better use of capacity in Regional NSW is to provide a framework of customer service principals to deliver greater connectivity and increase opportunities.The Brindabella Road provides both the capacity for greater connectivity and increase in opportunities. The population of Canberra is one hours travel by an upgraded Brindabella Road to the nearest largest town population in the Snowy Valleys Council. The potential to provide growth in this Local Government area is recognised by providing opportunities for tourism, for new investments in aged care, synergy between ACT education and health and would improve the services responses from small towns.
The hub and spoke model demands that the connection between Canberra and the Snowy Valleys Council be placed on the agenda for the South East and Tablelands infrastructure listing. There are two strategies listed which support including the Brindabella Road in this Plan
See Page 8 A hub and spoke model of service delivery Introducing a new Regional Transport Network ModelThis network model will be comprised of a range of modes, reflecting the level of demand and distance travelled. The foundations to achieve our vision of improved connectivity, integrated services and better use of capacity in Regional NSW are: A strategic framework of customer service principles to deliver greater connectivity to increase opportunities
A hub and spoke network with multi-modal interchanges providing connections to local services
See page 42 South east and tablelands Infrastructure
Track straightening for Intercity services to improve journey times (Sydney to Canberra) Faster Rail / Higher Speed connections between Sydney and Global Gateway Cities and interstate capitals Linking the inland and coastal areas to cross the Great Dividing Range (Kings Highway) to facilitate movement between centres and regions Rail infrastructure upgrades – reduced journey times, improved customer comfort. Faster Rail / High Speed Rail between Sydney and Canberra-Queanbeyan Global Gateway City Gocup Road improvements* Ellerton Drive* Kings Highway bridge at Nelligen* Batemans Bay Bridge* Monaro Highway overtaking lanes* Princes Highway Dignams Creek realignment* Kosciuszko Road improvements* M31 – Hume SMART Motorway Lachlan Valley Way improvements Kings Highway safety improvements* Eden cruise terminal development Electrification of intercity network to Goulburn Barton Highway improvements* Barton Highway duplication Monaro Highway Improvements Kings Highway improvements
Innovative, flexible and demand responsive services from small towns and villages
The map page 43 figure 22 and page 45 figure 23 show the Gocup Road upgrade. This road has been specifically targeted for upgrade due to the high volume of heavy freight from the industries in the Snowy Valleys Council and the expected increase in this volume due to expansions within industry.
These maps clearly demonstrates the void which exists in accessing Canberra and ACT region on the direct rout using the Brindabella Road from the Snowy Valleys Council region and the greater area to the west..There is a total lack of road access into this region from Canberra There is clear evidence that a road from Canberra across the Brindabella Road would address this and open the region to all the services and potential investments from the ACT and local and international tourism.
The key cities for regional NSW has failed to address the issue of road access to Snowy Valleys Council from ACT. It has recognised the need to encompass the catchment area of Canberra Queanbeyan but has not recognised the potential of this direction if the access was sought to travel from Canberra west on the Brindabella Road.
There is recognition in the Plan of the future of surrounding towns to key cities which will be seen as flat and declining in population. However this importantly could be turned around if the Brindablle Road upgrade was addressed.
See Page 53 Key Cities for Regional NSW Global Gateway Cities
Canberra-Queanbeyan will serve a broad catchment encompassing significant portions of NSW to the north, south and south-east
In Inland regions, Regional Cities and Centres will see growth, while surrounding towns will see flat or declining population.
See Page 57 Access and Social Well-being The vital role of transport Transport has a vital role to play in ensuring access to jobs, education, health care and other services and in enabling the social well-being of regional communities: The aspiration for Regional NSW is to maximise the potential for regional areas, recognising the diversity between regions in their natural assets, strong communities, local skills and expertise and globally competitive industries
Our customers are dispersed – NSW covers 809,444 km² of land. Sydney only covers about 12,368 km² of the state
Half the state is considered remote. People who live in areas that are remote will more likely have to travel longer distances to access services and infrastructure. They are also more likely to be socially isolated
Our customers come from different socio-economic backgrounds. Availability of and safe access to transport has implications for levels of advantage/ disadvantage experienced by our customers
The importance of including the Brindabella Road in this plan is demonstrated by improving the availability and access to jobs education health care and other services and in enabling the social well being of the regional communities of the Snowy Valleys Council.The SEIFA 2011 demonstrates the high percentages of regions on the south east of Canberra compared to the region on the immediate west of the ACT. This is in support of the need to upgrade the Brindabella Road. This road upgrade would see the development of the Snowy Valleys Council and create the environment which would make this area the fastest economic growth area in NSW.
See Page 59
Figure 33: Socio-Economic Indexes for Areas (SEIFA) 2011 (Source: Australian Bureau of Statistics)
See Page 59
The following map again shows clearly the development that has taken place on the east and north and south of Canberra and the lack of development to this region on the west.
Access to the region across the Brindabella upgraded road would lead to this development
Figure 34: Remoteness (Source: Australian Bureau of Statistics)
The aging population megatrend supports the upgrade of the Brindabella Road. Aged care investment is waiting to emerge to support Canberra investors and the access across the Brindabella Road would encourage this to occur.
See Page 60Currently the key industries in Regional NSW are:
Agriculture: Focusing on high-value or niche agriculture export products rather than generic commodities could position NSW as the world’s “deli” rather than “food bowl” in line with NSW’s volume and quality of produce
The listing of industries in the South west area needs to include Aged care.
Manufacturing: There is a high correlation between food and wood product manufacturing and specialisations in agriculture and forestry. Forming value chains between these sectors will be a key sector for Regional NSW
Tourism: Coastal economies (endowed with beaches and natural amenity) and some inland locations (with heritage, cultural or natural attractions) have comparative advantages in tourism industries
Servicing the population: The ageing population megatrend presents an excellent opportunity for the regions endowed with high amenity value and health infrastructure. Coastal populations also have strong population growth
This listing of industries in the Riverina-Murray omittts to recognise the potential for new industries to develop
See Page 61 Figure 35 Key principle industry sectors by region.
Food product manufacturing Food product manufacturing Road freight transport
Sector IV
Road freight transport
The following map of NSW Road Freight demonstrates how the fright movement is addressed but does not address the issues of private vehilce transpot issues with increased volume of freight traffic. The Brindabella Road access to the Snowy Valleys Council area would remove the tourist traffic from the heavy vehicle freight lines such as the Gocup Road upgrade.
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The NSW Government is identifying ways in which it can leverage Regional NSW’s central location in this one-in-a-generation project
The upgrade of the Brindabella Road must be included in this Plan as it is essentially in this one-in-a-generation project.It is significant to the development west from the ACT
See Page 69State significant movement corridors Connections to Global Gateway and Regional CitiesThe Canberra/Queanbeyan has international air connections and these visitors to the Nations Capital Canberra / Queanbeyan is another global gateway city. Its international air connections and federal government service functions allow it to provide a broader range of services and amenities than adjacent Regional Cities. Canberra will provide global connections to the Regional Cities of Wagga Wagga and Albury / Wodonga
The opening of the inland region of NSW is dependant on the upgrade of the Brindabella Road for the international visitors to travel to this area, to provide for a broader range of services and amenities than that available in regional cities such as Wagga and Albury.This Brindabella Road is significant to the improvement of east- west connectivity. It brings Canberra to an hours drive away to an area which offers investment, tourism, aged care opportunities, and start up IT companies.The role of the visitor economy cannot be overlooked when discussing the need for the Brindabella Road upgrade to be part of this plan.
The following map clearly demonstrates how the crossing of the range opens up areas for development. This is the crossing of the range which must be achieved to support the Snowy Valleys Council region to become the fastest economically developing region in NSW.Canberra has approx. 400.000 people including visitors who would look towards this new area for tourism and investment.
See Page 74Improving east-west connectivity Opening up inland Regional NSW through improved crossings of the range As the population of Regional NSW keeps moving towards the coast and primary industry continues to grow in the inland regions, safer and more efficient connections for freight and passenger movements are required. The role of the visitor economy in Regional NSW is also an important consideration.The growth of the global city of Canberra/Queanbeyan will continue to drive demand for movement between the city and the coast via the Kings Highway for both access to services and to support the visitor economy. The Snowy Mountains Highway will also play a role in maximising the investment for the visitor economy in places such as Eden (new Cruise Terminal) and Cooma (Alpine region).
See Page 76SECTION 4 Customer outcomes for Regional NSW An overview of the outcomes that customers can expect when using transport in Regional NSW Regional NSW customer outcomes
1. A safe transport system for every customer with zero deaths or serious injuries on the network by 2056
The upgrade of the Brindabella Road would reduce the customer deaths by removing a large volume of traffic from the high volume spoke and hub freight lines.
2. A transport system which is resilient to significant weather events including floods, fog, bush fires
The upgrade of the Brindabella Road would increase the resilience by supporting emergency service access large tracks of land on the mountain crossing Road.
3. Accessibility to employment and services such as health, education, retail and cultural activities within Regional Cities and Centres
The upgrade of the Brindabella Road would increase the access to services such as health education retail and cultural activities within the region and Canbarra.
4. A transport system that adapts to and embraces new technology
The upgrade of the Brindabella Road would increase the technology being used in the Snowy Valleys Council region and beyond.
5. Customers enjoy improved connectivity, integrated services and better use of capacity
The upgrade of the Brindabella Road would icrease population in the region and so serviceswould be better used to capacity.
6. The appropriate movement and place balance is established enabling people and goods to move efficiently through the network whilst ensuring local access and vibrant places
The upgrade of the Brindabella Road would improve the vibrancy of the region.7. Changes in land use, population and demand, including seasonal changes, are served by the
transport system
The upgrade of the Brindabella Road would improve the land use across the region and improve it through increase in agriculture and development.8. Flexible services are an integral part of the transport system helping to deliver reliability and the
most appropriate type of service for customer needs
The upgrade of the Brindabella Road would provide opportunity for the service of customer needs.
9 Support the development of the Global Gateway Cites The upgrade of the Brindabella Road would help to develop Canberra as a t global gateway city
Flowing are extracts from Section 4 Customer outcomes for Regional NSW which further support the case for including the Brindabella Road in this Plan.
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Customer Outcome 1: A safe transport system for every customer with zero deaths or serious injuries on the network by 2056
Prioritising separation of different transport users to improve safety, freight efficiency and promotion of active travel
Ensuring safety features are better matched to road function and account for the different road users in each environment
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See Page 83 Customer Outcome 3: Accessibility to services within Regional Cities and Centres Increased accessibility to Regional Cities and Centres Providing day return Regional Centre connectivity for an expanded geographical catchment
A transport network that enables seamless and affordable inter-regional and cross-border travel
Transport services that support tourism movement demands and seasons
Reduced disadvantage and improved social inclusion for smaller towns and centres
Improved safety outcomes for customers accessing services and infrastructure
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Customer Outcome 4: A transport system that adapts to and embraces new technology Adopting new technology Enables dynamic, personalised, customer-centric services
Telecommunication improvements enabling people to travel less and undertake some work, study, shopping and health appointments at home
Customer Outcome 5: Customers enjoy improved connectivity, integrated services and better use of capacity
We will plan for and build an efficient network in order to:
keep our communities connected (especially for Inland and Remote geographies that are more reliant on the road network for connectivity)
An integrated transport system that connects communities, consisting of: services within centres
services between centres
services between regions
See Page 90Improved efficiency supports regional economies
Through improvements to networks and services, the transport system will not only support the growth and development in our Regional Cities and Centres but also support the Inland and Remote geographies.
Regional NSW’s productivity and local economies will be supported by:
encouraging travel to attractions and destinations, supporting the visitor economy driver of prosperity for Regional NSW
breaking down barriers to efficient cross-border travel.
See Page 91
Reduced first and last mile network constraints
See Page 92. Private vehicle travel relies not only on motorways and highways but also the arterial and local roads to reach their destinations. The connections between these road types are important to journey times and reliability
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Freight Continued additional investment in the road network through the Fixing Country Roads program, as well as harmonisation of heavy vehicle regulations will be required to overcome these problems
Customer Outcome 9 Support the development of the Global Gateway Cities of Newcastle and Canberra
See Page 110
Growing importance of Canberra as a Global Gateway City The Greater Canberra catchment will continue to grow to a population of between 1 – 1.5 million people with Canberra becoming one of our Global Gateway Cities.
Canberra will play a dual role as the Global Gateway and major services hub for parts of the Murray-Murrumbidgee region, with key connectivity to the Regional City of Wagga Wagga.
People living in the Greater Canberra catchment will rely on Canberra as their major city, providing major health services (Canberra Hospital), major education facilities (Australian National University, University of Canberra etc.), major commercial core (City Centre), and global connectivity (Airport).
The City Centre will be supported by a number of strategic centres within the metropolitan area such as Belconnen, a Regional City at Queanbeyan, and Regional Centres within the broader region such as Goulburn and Bega. This last point needs to include Wagga as part of the broader region having been mention in the first dot point.Canberra catchment area is clearly recognised for connectivity to the Regional city of Wagga not only for freight.The Brindabella Road is significant in this context.
