Page 5096 - Week 12 - Wednesday, 26 October 2011
Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Speeches . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . . PDF . . . . Video
example, as well as the spin that they are trying to put on the GDE, is why the people of Canberra, particularly people up in Gungahlin, have very little faith in anything said by this government, and in particular by Simon Corbell, when it comes to finishing dates for projects.
The government argues that we should not be caring about cars anyway, that it is pushing us towards public transport. If only this public transport talk was supported by actions. Complaints about the public transport system from Gungahlin to other town centres are numerous. The services are infrequent; that is, if they turn up. Multiple services depart from the same area within minutes of each other and then commuters are faced with hour-long waits for the next service. Many of the services that go along Horse Park Drive are congested so that commuters face uncomfortable rides or are not able to board the bus at all. The plan for buses to travel through the town centre is poorly thought out, with buses building up during peak times and causing traffic congestion for other users and safety issues for pedestrians.
The issue of the town centre is an important one for Gungahlin residents. An online poll conducted by Gungahlin.net shows that 4,000 people cared enough to vote on whether Hibberson Street should be closed to traffic. From my many hours spent standing outside the Gungahlin Marketplace talking to constituents, I know that the local residents want to support their local businesses. However, it is difficult for them to do so when traffic congestion and problems with parking mean that it can take more time and be more inconvenient to visit their local town centre than to travel to the nearby Belconnen shopping centre.
In January this year the Canberra Times highlighted a 1973 project undertaken by the Australian National University. This project, which engaged young people in a think-in to develop ideas on what an ideal town centre would look like, created the concept of a utopia to be called Gungahlin. This idea looked at the issues of childcare, public transport, building a community and building a society that embraced our senior citizens. One of the young students in this group later became a town planner and now lives in Gungahlin. The Canberra Times had this to say about his experience:
… he now lives in Gungahlin and says that he is consistently disappointed with the way it turned out, confronted as he is every day by what he sees as the abandonment of sound planning principles.
He goes on to detail exactly what he feels is lacking:
He points out that many of the houses face the wrong way, the street names are not legible from a distance, and many of the streetscapes lack the definition of trees above the roofline. Could this be considered a ‘utopia’ for today’s Canberra residents? Some would say no.
Ed Wensing, the planner quoted in this article, makes simple suggestions to improve the visible make-up of the area and also enhance the community spirit. However, this government has lacked the foresight and planning to see that small details can have a large impact on the sense of community and liveability of such an area.
The government may argue that they are supporting local Gungahlin residents through the provision of community facilities. After all, planning is underway on a 50-metre
Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Speeches . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . . PDF . . . . Video