Canberra's Civic light rail construction causes heavy congestion

ABC NEWS (Australia)

Just a week into the three-year 'Light Rail' construction in Civic, drivers are already facing heavy congestion and long delays. Frustrated motorists have begun taking risky shortcuts, prompting authorities to warn against unsafe driving.

Transcript

00:00Some say Canberra's roads feel busier than ever, with cabbies possibly the only drivers

00:08who benefit.

00:09We're making money because the meter is working, we're stuck in the traffic.

00:14But the problem with the passenger, they are worried about going to work and you know they

00:19are paying much fare.

00:20Yeah, it has been busy, having trouble finding a car park.

00:23The closure of the western side of London's circuit for light rail construction has resulted

00:28in increased congestion on Edinburgh Avenue and Marcus Clark Street, and that's flowing

00:33on to other routes in and out of the city.

00:36Particularly, I've seen some extra traffic on Barton Highway, so we may see people coming

00:40in from Barrie Drive or from the north as opposed to using Parkes Way.

00:46Even so, Parkes Way is still busy.

00:49Parkes Way itself is always congestion, particularly when we get near the city.

00:55It's been like that for a number of years and it's very sensitive to any minor adjustments.

01:00So particularly if we get an accident or an incident in that area, that's when we start

01:05to see the major delays.

01:07Roads ACT uses a network of 130 CCTV cameras and 500 Bluetooth signal trackers to monitor

01:15traffic flow and tweak traffic light sequences.

01:18Each of the traffic signals have the ability to adapt and provide additional time for certain

01:24movements based on the traffic volumes, but we also have the ability to intervene and

01:29manually adjust.

01:30That's not enough for some drivers, who Roads ACT say have begun taking illegal shortcuts

01:36through the city bus interchange.

01:38We're looking to try and prevent that.

01:40We know we have buses and a lot of pedestrians in that area that we need to keep safe.

01:44Instead, drivers are being urged to travel outside peak times where possible, consider

01:48alternatives like public transport and keep an eye and ear out for updates about road

01:54closures and with light rail construction expected for years to come, buckle up for

01:59more delays.

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