Page 4020 - Week 11 - Wednesday, 20 September 2017
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Tens of thousands of hectares of grass is mowed by the ACT government every year across Canberra, with emphasis on major entry roads to the city and from the airport. Hundreds of sportsgrounds are provided and maintained, graffiti is monitored, removed and prevented through education programs and diversion measures. These are just some of the contributing factors making Canberra a livable and beautiful city.
But in a climate of growth and residential developments it is not sustainable to continue these services without taking a strategic approach. This cannot be done without first understanding the views and needs of the community. Currently, the ACT government manages a wide range of assets and services. We have over 1,200 bridges and drainage tunnels, 507 playgrounds, 280 irrigated sportsgrounds, nine public libraries and 112 urban lakes and ponds, to name but a few of the assets.
Our community path network is approximately 3,000 kilometres long. With the development and expansion of new suburbs expected to continue, we must focus on these assets to ensure a sustainable and equitable delivery of services. Already a program is underway to upgrade the 3,000 kilometres of community paths in our suburbs to encourage people to embrace an active and healthy lifestyle, which also reduces emissions and serves to reduce traffic congestion on the ACT’s thousands of kilometres of roads.
There are also some initiatives well underway to promote physical activity around our schools which are being coordinated by a dedicated schools program manager within TCCS. Seventy-two schools are participating in the ride or walk to school program. This number is expected to increase by another 36 schools by the end of next year. Earlier this year I was lucky enough to attend the ride or walk to school event at Weetangera Primary School. The students really enjoyed getting out in the winter sun for a brisk walk to school while socialising with one another.
A well-known deterrent for people to embrace active travel is safety risk, whether by traffic levels or by poor lighting in Canberra’s streets. Traffic calming measures are being progressed across the ACT in an effort to reduce speeds and improve safety on our roads for drivers, pedestrians and cyclists alike. Public street lighting is also very significant for encouraging active travel and helping people to feel safe and welcome to use Canberra’s many community paths and urban parks.
TCCS manages approximately 79,000 streetlights. An audit of this streetlight network is currently underway to ensure that there are no safety issues present. The quality and visual amenity of our suburbs is enhanced dramatically by our many beautiful urban parks, lakes and ponds. The federal government announced that it would contribute $85 million to the ACT healthy waterways project to improve the quality of water flowing into the Murray-Darling River, in addition to $8.5 million provided by the ACT government.
The project involves the installation of water management systems across Canberra to filter and clean waterways and is expected to be completed by the end of 2019. Whilst this is a positive step forward for residents and for the health of the Murray-Darling,
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