6.1 Car Dependency Restricting Travel Freedom

With high household car ownership rates, it would appear that most trips are undertaken safely and conveniently in the most efficient method for a regional or rural area. However, there are drawbacks to heavy reliance on motor-vehicle use including: • Increasing parking restrictions in destinations such as Ballarat and Geelong will drive up costs and will affect Golden Plains residents more than Geelong/Ballarat residents who have alternative modes. • Road safety with large portions of the road network having few road safety treatments (barriers, wide shoulders etc). This also impacts walkability and cycling safety with high traffic volumes through most towns. • Environmental impacts including noise and vehicle emissions • Limitations and potential social exclusion for those who cannot drive including: • Those with permanent or temporary limitations which means they cannot drive • Those not yet age-eligible to drive • Those who cannot afford a motor vehicle, maintenance and upkeep • Those who have not learned, or do not wish to learn, to drive. For many residents (63-78 percent), our survey revealed, there would be no change in travel patterns with improved transport availability. However, for recreation and social trip purposes there was 21 percent and 35 percent respectively of respondents who said they would increase their travel. As all respondents to the survey had a vehicle in the household, this revealed a demand for transport even with access to a private vehicle. This shows that there is still demand for greater transport accessibility even amongst people with access to private vehicles. “Not having a regular bus service from Rokewood to Ballarat impacts a lot of residents who are unable to drive or to even just get in for shopping. We rely on family members to drive us but a lot of us do not want to be that burden, or a lot of the time family may be working.” - Community Club