Greens initiative drives cars off city’s streets
April 21st, 2008Councillor Harris is excited that a Greens initiative for the provision of car share spaces in the city has finally been adopted by Council despite the frustratingly long period of negotiation with the RTA.
It has taken a long time but it’s great news for anyone concerned with reducing the city’s car usage. The experience of car share schemes demonstrates that one car share vehicle will replace 10-15 privately owned cars so those 47 spaces will remove somewhere between 470 and 700 cars from city streets.
The City allocated the first 20 car share spaces in its local government area in February this year and now another 27 suggested locations have passed the City’s Traffic Committee in April and will go out for public consultation and then be offered to car share operators for use by their cars. The creation of this scheme sprang from a Greens Notice of Motion which was supported unanimously in 2004. Of these 47 spaces, eight are in car parks and the balance are on public streets.
As population density increases in the City of Sydney area it is crucial that Council has a mix of policies to reduce private car use. The suburbs where the 27 car share spaces have been allocated include Potts Point, Darlinghurst, Ultimo, Pyrmont, Millers Point, Chippendale, Surry Hills and Newtown. Residents and businesses within a 50 metre radius of a proposed car share spot will be notified by letterbox drop.
Car sharing is perfect for people who don’t need to use a car everyday. If you currently clock up less than 7000 km in a year you will find it cheaper to use a car share vehicle. Plus for every car that you take off the road you will reduce greenhouse emissions by 3-5 tonnes per annum – that’s a huge saving that ordinary citizens can generate by changing their behaviour and save money at the same time. Businesses and self employed contractors can also take advantage of car share schemes to replace fleet vehicles and the need for a second family car.
The exact locations of car share spaces are listed in the pdf below.
