Cities for living not roads

Alderman Philip Cocker today called on the State and Federal Governments to stop wasting vast amounts of money on road works and spend it on preparing our cities for a climate changed environment.

“We are spending ridiculous amounts of money on dubious road works when we need to be preparing our cities for greater numbers of people to live in”. “At least $90 million dollars of money will spent on roads this financial year”. “With this money we could commence implementing serious transport and infrastructure reform not more roads to fill”. “We are spending scarce monies that need to go in to preparing for a carbon restrained world with the reality of climate change events, Alderman Cocker said.

Alderman Cocker said “we are throwing money down the proverbial drain when we should renewing our cities and building non carbon public transport infrastructure and residential developments in the cities particularly Hobart”. “We need to bring Hobart alive by developments that would see another 20000 people living working and playing in the city”. “Monies currently being wasted on roads should be ploughed in to new residential developments in the cities “.”We also need food production to be developed closer to the city to reduce cost and the transport requirements”.

“We should abandon the Brighton, Baghdad and Kingston bypasses and spend the monies on non carbon based transport systems. These works are based on a last century view that the more traffic the better and we should facilitate it”. “With the monies being wasted on these road developments we could have fleets of electric buses, ferries and trams installed and running for free for years”, Alderman Cocker said..

“Business as usual is seriously exacerbating problems that are plaguing our cities and towns.” “By not treating these issues with urgency we are failing our constituents”. “Business as usual is fast becoming a radical approach to the problems that exist”. “Climate change is changing our fisheries, our farms and will put major pressures on our cities”. “We need to begin adapting”. “We must abandon expensive road projects and begin adaptation projects to make our cities resilient as quickly as we can” Alderman Cocker said.