Adelaide City Council plans to have fewer cars on the road with more priority to pedestrians and public transport.

The council open the draft Integrated Movement Strategy (IMS) for public consultation to help deliver an accessible city as set out in Council’s draft Strategic Plan 2012-16.

Promoting transport choices and streets that are ‘people-friendly’, the draft IMS proposes an approach that gives priority to pedestrians, cyclists and public transport while balancing the needs of business, parking, loading and accessibility.

Improving the public transport network has been budgeted at $2.6 billion between 2008 and 2018 to improve the public transport network by the South Australian Government, with cooperation from the council.

Electrification of the rail network, increases in bus services, extending the tram loop and priority for buses on Grenfell/Currie Streets are among the improvements.

Mayor Stephen Yarwood said 10 per cent fewer cars from more bus use, more people walking and more people cycling would be much fewer cars in the city, making it easier for those who need to drive to get around.

“This 10 year proposal is a common sense approach to tackle increasing car congestion in our city,” Mr Yarwood said.

Mr Yarwood said more transport options will help the city run more effectively and fewer cars will ease congestion.

According to Mr Yarwood, recent Council of Australian Governments’ report stated that if nothing changes, the cost of congestion to Australian cities could rise from $9.5 billion in 2005 to $20.4 billion in 2020.

“As our greater Adelaide population moves toward 1.9 million, we need to think about how we’re going to handle an increase of at least 100,000 residents, workers, students and visitors traveling to and around the city every day,” Mr Yarwood said.

Department of Planning, Transport and Infrastructure (DPTI) CEO, Rod Hook said the state government is investing heavily in public transport.

“It is timely now for bus priority to be placed on the public agenda; if the community wants buses to run on time we have to deliver far greater priority for buses on the road network leading into and through the city,” Mr Hook said.

A ‘balanced approach’ to parking to provide wider footpaths, more bike and bus lanes activities such as outdoor dining and laneway bars is also a part of the draft IMS.

According to the council, efforts will be made to retain on-street parking for businesses that are not as well served by public transport and off-street parking.