Road transport, livability and sustainable development are closely linked. Sustainable transport solutions are integral to ongoing economic development in urban and regional areas and quality of life in urban, regional and remote communities. Australia is a unique continent. It is geographically large with a population of just under 20 million people and a large road network length of around 900,000 km. The population settlement patterns which include large urban cities as well as regional and remote communities means that Australia faces many challenges which are similar to those in both developed and developing countries. This report provides selected examples that highlight Australia's response to the challenges of providing road transport solutions that enhance livability and encourage sustainable development. These challenges include building and maintaining infrastructure to meet the economic and social aspirations of communities; improving the efficiency of strategic freight corridors to meet expected freight growth; improving public health, air quality and road safety; reducing urban congestion and greenhouse gas emissions; reducing environmental impacts to air, water, landscape, biodiversity and ecological resources; reducing amenity impacts such as visual intrusion and traffic noise particularly in urban areas; and contributing to the quality of life, livability and well-being of regional and rural communities. Within urban and metropolitan areas, a relatively mature road network and key trends such as growth in the freight task, low public transport patronage rates and increasing congestion, mean that an integrated approach to the provision of transport services including the role of land use planning, managing road space and existing road capacity effectively will be important aspects of achieving an improved quality of life and reducing environmental impacts. In regional and remote areas, transport infrastructure is essential for regional economies and meeting the needs of local communities. The types of responses to these challenges include the National Greenhouse Strategy which acknowledges the importance of reducing transport greenhouse gas emissions through best practice in transport and land use planning. The paper provides examples of sustainable transport solutions for urban and metropolitan areas including a discussion of the benefits of the M5 East Freeway in Sydney and travel behaviour change programs known as TravelSmart and TravelBlending both of which involve voluntary behaviour change. Further examples illustrate the social, economic and environmental roles of road infrastructure with an emphasis on regional and rural areas. The development of road infrastructure in Boigu Island (which is Australia's northern most territory located at the northern tip of the Yorke peninsular) illustrates how quality of life of local communities is enhanced through transport solutions. For the covering abstract see ITRD E135448.
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