The TCCS 2019-2020 Annual Report outlines the capital expenditure for the period between 2016-2022, and contract value for the 2019-2020 financial year. Capital expenditure on works is over multiple years, delays included. Capital expenditure on active travel is compared with road duplications.
Update 17 September 2021 $12 million for one light rail stop
The $9.749 million spent on cycling contracts in the 2019-2020 ACT Budget is not a lot of money. The new light rail stop at Mitchell cost $12 million and that is just ONE light rail stop. This puts into context how badly funded cycling remains in the ACT. The Belconnen Bikeway – discuss for most of the last decade – cost only $6.7 million.
Active travel – both cyclists and pedestrians
Active travel infrastructure includes narrow community paths unsuitable for cycling which are designed for pedestrians. Paths in Canberra are typically between 1.2 m to 3.5 m. The active travel standard for cycling mandates (MIS05) a minimum width of 2.5 m for retrofit and 3.5 m for greenfield developments.
The TCCS 2019-2020 Annual Report bundles all the active travel investment into one basket, and it is generally not possible to tell if the path is wide enough to be useful for a cyclist. There are exceptions, such as the Belconnen Bikeway. The Belconnen Bikeway made up 64% of the contract value in this reporting year. As such, it may not be a typical year, as projects like the Belconnen Bikeway are rare, and it was an election year, which tends to loosen the purse strings.
Summary
Active travel contracts
- Total contract value $9.749 million.
- Cycle path contracts made up 71% (including Belconnen Bikeway) and safe schools infrastructure just 3%.
- Cycle path contracts were valued at $6.9 million and safe schools infrastructure just $0.27 million.
- The Belconnen Bikeway contract made up 64% of the total contract value this year.
Capital expenses
- Active travel capital expenditure was $14.8 million and $172.3 million for duplications.
- Of the total capital spend on road duplications together, active travel made up 8% and duplications 92%.
- The total capital expenditure was $528 million for the projects in the annual report spanning multiple years.
Active travel contracts 2019-2020
Contracts are usually awarded by tender (with exceptions), and the TCCS 2019-2020 Annual Report lists contract type, procurement type (services or consultancy), contractor name, contract amount, and execution date. It is not uncommon to contract a consultant to do the design and superintendence of the works. The work is broken into packages and contract to construction companies. The 2019-2020 period covers the start of the Fast Track program.
| project | expenditure ($million) | execution |
| Design Feasibility studies for part 3 of the active travel cycling network improvement project | $0.148 | 21.08.2019 |
| Belconnen Bikeway Construction | $6.219 | 09.09.2019 |
| Flemington Road Shared path construction stage 2 | $0.530 | 04.11.2019 |
| Active travel community paths 2019 Design and superintendence package 1 | $0.201 | 21.11.2019 |
| On-road cycling design services | $0.568 | 25.11.2019 |
| Active travel safer walking and cycling around schools 1 | $0.129 | 03.12.2019 |
| Active travel community paths 2019 Design and superintendence package 2 | $0.115 | 09.12.2019 |
| Active travel safer walking and cycling around schools 2 | $0.143 | 06.01.2020 |
| Active travel age friendly suburbs 2018/2021 Package A | $0.401 | 06.05.2020 |
| Active travel age friendly suburbs 2018/2021 Package B | $0.335 | 06.05.2020 |
| Active travel age friendly suburbs 2018/2021 Package C | $0.343 | 06.05.2020 |
| Active travel community paths Package 1 | $0.290 | 09.06.2020 |
| Active travel community paths Package 2 | $0.077 | 09.06.2020 |
| Active travel community paths Package 3 | $0.039 | 09.06.2020 |
| Active travel community paths Package 4 | $0.211 | 09.06.2020 |
Capital expenditure – active travel versus road duplications
Active travel and road duplications are at the opposite ends of the scale. Money spent on one does nothing for the other. Pedestrians and cyclists benefit from active travel, and duplications are to the benefit of drivers. Expenditure varies from year to year and really we should consider a comparison over multiple years, but in this case only the data in the TCCS 2019-2020 Annual Report is considered. The projects in this report have start dates from 2016 or later, and will finish as late as 2022. They are listed in the TCCS 2019-2020 Annual Report as they started, finished or are ongoing in the 2019-2020 financial year.
| type | project | finished month | finished year | capital (million) |
| active travel | Belconnen Bikeway (consultancy) | 9 | 2018 | 0.3 |
| active travel | Infrastructure for schools and suburbs | 6 | 2020 | 1.5 |
| active travel | Safer walking and cycling around schools | 7 | 2020 | 1.2 |
| active travel | Footpath and cycleway upgrades | 5 | 2021 | 3.2 |
| active travel | Better infrastructure and active travel | 6 | 2022 | 8.7 |
| duplication | Horse Park Drive CRP | 9 | 2016 | 1.0 |
| duplication | Gundaroo Drive – Stage 1 | 12 | 2018 | 31.2 |
| duplication | Cotter Road | 9 | 2018 | 26.1 |
| duplication | Ashley Drive – Stage 2 | 3 | 2018 | 24.2 |
| duplication | Horse Park Drive (Mulligans Flat) | 7 | 2019 | 47.8 |
| duplication | Aikman Drive | 10 | 2019 | 9.4 |
| duplication | Gundaroo Drive – Stage 2 | 12 | 2020 | 25.4 |
| duplication | Monaro Highway upgrade 2 | 12 | 2020 | 1.8 |
| duplication | William Slim Drive | 1 | 2020 | 0.3 |
| duplication | Monaro Highway upgrade 1 | 6 | 2021 | 1.9 |
| duplication | John Gorton Drive Bridge | 3 | 2021 | 1.1 |
| duplication | Pialligo Avenue | 6 | 2022 | 2.2 |
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