Recap: all the issues discussed by The Urbanist in June

Including trams, election promises, infrastructure costs, High Speed Rail, funding for cycling, city size, airport rail, congestion charging, transport social divide

How big is the “transport divide” between inner and outer suburbs?

The “transport divide” between the inner and outer suburbs assumes time spent travelling increases significantly with distance from the city centre. But does it?

Do motorists pay their way?

The idea of congestion charging would be easier to “sell” if the focus were on replacing revenue from existing taxes and charges like the fuel excise and registration fees

Is the Greens’ transport policy mostly vote-bait?

Just like the major parties, the Greens’ transport policy for the 2016 election is mostly about looking good rather than proposing policies that will make a real difference

Should cycling get a huge increase in funding?

It’s an ultra low-cost option with real potential to provide mobility in increasingly congested inner areas. Cycling warrants a massive increase in funding for infrastructure

Does Turnbull’s ’30-minute city’ work for secondary school trips?

If Malcolm Turnbull’s idea of the 30-minute city is going to work anywhere it should work for traditionally local trips like getting to high school, shouldn’t it?

Should Melbourne Airport rail be an election issue?

The Greens election promises include $1 Billion to build a rail line to Melbourne Airport. Probably good politics but it’s doubtful such an evidence-free promise is good policy

Are cities bigger than we imagine?

Cities are invariably much “bigger” than they seem. Administrative boundaries almost always fail to capture the full extent of a city’s economic and social influence

Is the one-metre cycling law a sensible reform?

There are doubts about whether the one-metre overtaking law increases safety for cyclists, but that’s not the only rationale for the law; it has an important symbolic role in promoting cycling

Is the High Speed Rail bandwagon slowing down?

In an astonishing display of sanity – especially during an election campaign – the Turnbull Government has backed away from its earlier enthusiasm for High Speed Rail

Is this the time to ramp-up infrastructure spending?

Biz Shrapnel reckons it’s time to build; construction costs are plummeting and governments have a “window” of opportunity – it might not last – to spend on infrastructure

Is the Greens’ Transit City a good idea?

A “dispersed network” is the smart approach to public transport but politics means the Greens’ Transit City plan for Perth leaves most of the important questions unanswered

Infrastructure costs: is like compared with like?

Comparing the costs of ostensibly similar infrastructure projects is a fraught exercise. Differences in scope are often overlooked; it’s vital to compare like with like

Is this a fair comparison of transport promises?

This table showing the election promises of the three major parties on public transport should be useful but it frames the information in a way that blatantly favours one party

Is this tram project good policy?

Labor’s election promise to extend Melbourne’s Route 11 tram by one kilometre isn’t about good transport policy; it’s a political move to protect incumbent David Feeny