@zorrobandito I'd agree (as a #canberra n).

The hard truth though is that the government wants us to take public transport into the city, where people want to drive. The ACT government is reducing the number of parking spaces available, and their prices are going up thanks to supply and demand. So going to see something at the theatre is no longer just a quick drive to free parking. We've grown too used to having parking available after hours and driving to things.

There's plenty of good restaurants, shopping, cinemas, and the theatre in the city centre. It's the question of how you get there.

@PaulWay yep, Canberra always has been the 'city of the car' and people have got used to that with decades of smooth roads with little traffic.

The things that govt builds are not for the people of today, whose habits are hard to change, but for the people of tomorrow.

The wife and I have been catching the bus to the theatre for a while now - it takes a bit longer but it's a nice, novel way to start and finish an evening.