Browsing through the Federal Budget papers I came across this item, which left me scratching my head:
‘$300,000 for Ramp Metering on the Tuggeranong Parkway/Cotter Rd interchange’
Like 99.9% of the population, I had no idea what ramp metering was, let alone why the Commonwealth would pay for it or why it was needed at the Cotter Rd/Tuggeranong Parkway interchange. So I did some digging around and found the following factsheet on the Nation Building Program website. But far from answering my questions it only added to the confusion.
Who would have thought that ‘ramp metering’ (which apparently refers to traffic lights to control people entering an on-ramp) at this location, which isn’t particularly choked by traffic compared to other parts of Canberra, is such a priority from the Commonwealth perspective. And who would have thought that this was the ONLY new project funded by the Nation Building Program in the ACT in 2013-14. Other states get dozens of new projects worth tens or hundreds of millions or even over a billion dollars- we get $300,000 for a set of lights which are not really needed, and which will only act to slow traffic flows.
Surely if they think merging onto the Parkway is such an issue, why not think ahead for when Molonglo comes online and just build an extra northbound lane between Cotter Rd and Glenloch interchange?
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