Page 4038 - Week 11 - Wednesday, 20 September 2017
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Canberra is an active city, especially as the weather warms up, thank God. So the quality of footpaths and cycling routes is also important to the community. The community paths priority list is an online resource that every Canberran should flag. It is one of the most useful pages available, second to fix my street, for keeping our paths in great shape. The paths priority list takes into consideration fix my street requests and prioritises paths to be upgraded on the basis of safety, linkages to community destinations, likely demand and cost.
This resource lets you see the location and descriptions of the works. For example, the paths priority list last year showed me that, in Belconnen town centre, the stretch of College Street between Chandler Street and Benjamin Way was a priority for upgrades and, sure enough, that work was completed in early 2017. There are also more detailed documents listing the current contractor works packages which specify the exact location and types of works being undertaken. It is extremely useful to have a central place where the public can find information about what the plans are for footpaths around the city. If someone has identified a problem footpath they can consult this register to see if upgrades are planned and, if not, they are able to report the issue through fix my street.
Coming from Queensland, which ranges from very hot to slightly less very hot, I was in awe of Canberra’s seasonal changes when I moved down here. When my first autumn arrived I was blown away by the tree-lined streets that burst with reds, oranges and yellows. Of course, I soon learnt to soak up the beauty while I could, because it does not take long until all those leaves have hit the streets. In short, when I moved to Canberra I learnt about deciduous trees and then I learnt about leaf blowers.
I also found out that the ACT government ensures that each street in Canberra is swept at least twice a year. Suburbs with more deciduous trees are swept more often. Kaleen, for example, is swept three times a year and Ainslie gets swept five times. Many of us just wake up and notice that our street somehow looks different or improved. For those wanting to be better informed, the schedule is available online. These schedules are, and indeed should be, informed by community engagement—not deputising but community engagement—so that services meet the public’s expectations.
The better suburbs campaign, which was launched yesterday, will help to make our city services even better, and I was very pleased to join the minister and Ms Orr at that launch yesterday. The campaign will give the public an opportunity to provide input on how they would like their suburbs to look, feel and operate in the future. Canberrans will be able to have their say about where and how TCCS should be expending its very great effort. And, given the comments of Ms Lee and Ms Lawder and given that they have some views on this, I trust that they will be engaging very solidly in this process. The government’s commitment to community engagement and transparency in the delivery of services ensures that Canberrans understand how decisions about their suburbs are made and how services are targeted in the best possible way.
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