The Impact Of The Car In Australian Planning - Essay Example

Moreover, the concentration of job opportunities and better growth opportunities in urban areas serve to create a false image of an urban location (Litman, 2015). Most urban studies observe that such conditions are likely to result in astronomical and widespread appreciation of land values. Consequently, this creates a new way of life which is a far cry from the one led in traditional societies. The premature absorption of the perceived urban life and ‘modernity’ thinking in third or second-world countries impacts negatively the socio-economy. Further, this has a major bearing on travel perceptions making the need for a private vehicle a necessity in the guise of imagined convenience especially among middle-class urbanites. Besides, Tseu (2006) observes that more pressure is piled on the existing infrastructure by emerging service industries like tourism and commuter businesses. It is important to acknowledge the fact that the initial design or plans may not necessarily have been made with these unprecedented traffic volumes in mind. Oftentimes and in the long run, the movement of vehicles is completely disorganized leading to a lack of enough space for not only the traffic but pedestrians as well. It is these sorry traffic conditions that have made motorcycles frontrunners to cars and encouraged urban sprawl (Kahn, 2006). The phenomenon, which is very common in poor counties, is a manifestation of government failure through its planners in its provision of accessible and affordable means of transport to the members of its low and middle-income cohorts.

In a few cities in Australia, non-motorized transport systems including cycling and even walking are on the rise (Litman, 2015). To most, Australians, this has always come in handy to complement motorized vehicles which, in most cases, are trapped in unending traffic gridlocks. Importantly, these alternate modes of transport have been found to guarantee equity and environmental conservation in a big way. In fact, it is against this backdrop that (Tseu, 2006) recommends careful and deliberate consideration of pedestrian traffic while discussing transport management activities.