Page 2825 - Week 09 - Wednesday, 17 September 2014
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want to go. It should be somewhere that attracts people and that shows everything that is good about our national capital.
The ACT government likes to produce glossy brochures that show bustling streets full of people socialising under shady trees and at busy cafes. We all know that these glossy brochures are unrealistic but if anywhere in the city should be like these artists’ impressions, it should be the city centre. If only it was full of people enjoying the shady trees and clean paths!
People are also avoiding the city because it is difficult to access. The people who want to drive to the city may struggle to find a park. Those who travel by bus have to walk a long way to get to many parts of the city centre. They walk through City Walk or Garema Place but perhaps they do not even stop. It is disappointing, but not surprising, that most people choose to keep walking through City Walk and Garema Place. When it is so uninviting, people just want to get through it as quickly as possible. If there is no incentive to stop, they will keep going and eventually they will avoid the area entirely.
I am amazed by how many people have told me, since I wrote that piece, that they live in the city, in Canberra, and have for many years, yet they have not visited City Walk or Garema Place for perhaps a decade. So many people have told me that in just the last week or two. It has been quite staggering.
It is a reality that to actually get to City Walk or Garema Place is quite a production. Where does someone park their car if they want to go there? They have either got to park in the inside of London Circuit or park on the other side of Bunda Street in one of the Canberra Centre car parks. Of course, there are so many competing attractions either from London Circuit towards City Walk or from Bunda Street and from the Canberra Centre car parks towards City Walk that it is no wonder that people never quite get there.
You have examples of areas in Canberra that are alive. You only have to look at New Acton or Braddon to find places where people want to go. Canberra is not a boring place but Civic in its current state does not do much to contradict the idea that Canberra is lifeless.
I was pleased that my article inspired contributions from many people about their thoughts to improve the City Walk and Garema Place precinct. Some of them believe that reintroducing traffic would be a bad idea. Others believe that it would only give a perception of life in the city.
David Tickle from Hassell said:
Opening up City Walk to cars may mean … people will pass through the space, but this activity will be an illusion of vibrancy unless these people are given a reason to stop and stay.
I agree. Revitalising Civic should be about making the area more interesting and giving people a reason to be there, not just about looking busy.
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