Page 1141 - Week 04 - Tuesday, 2 April 2019
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amount of street sweeping across the city. That is an Olympic-sized swimming pool of leaves and rubbish that would otherwise find its way into our stormwater system.
Through our new approach to maintaining streetlights, we are increasing the available maintenance crews by 40 per cent, making our network even more reliable. The response time to deal with simple streetlight defects is two days, down from the previous 10. This is alongside the benefits of a 13 per cent more energy efficient network through new LED luminary technology as we continue to replace 45,000 streetlights.
The urban treescapes team, who work incredibly hard over the storm season, particularly on the south side of Canberra, are addressing the damage done and are now gearing up for the autumn planting season. Around 450 new trees will be planted during autumn and we will continue to plant more trees to augment our tree canopy and retain the character of our bush capital.
Alongside the investment in better services, we are also making our city safer and more livable for all by ensuring Canberrans are doing the right thing. I announced this week that we will employ six additional staff in new positions to create a dedicated compliance and engagement team. The new compliance and engagement team will provide extra teeth for the existing licensing and compliance area in Transport Canberra and City Services, who administer legislation including the Domestic Animals Act 2000, the Litter Act 2004 and the Public Unleased Land Act 2013.
For us to be an inclusive city for all our residents, all our residents must be confident that they can navigate through our streets and our shopping centres safely, without new and unexpected hazards. Canberrans living at the interface with the bush must be confident that those responsible for dumping waste on their doorstop will be stopped. Irresponsible dog owners, illegal dumping, tree damage, verge maintenance, moveable signs and the use of public land will be the focus of the new engagement and compliance team. The ACT government is committed to ensuring that the public follows the laws that govern each of these regulatory areas. If you act unlawfully, you are at risk of receiving an on-the-spot fine.
The ACT government is investing fairly across the city in improvements to our town centres and our local shops, north and south. On the south side we are changing the face of Tuggeranong with a $7 million investment in upgrades, including the complete renewal of Anketell Street and the laneway to the lake. We will be providing outdoor dining space, an open event space, a new pedestrian crossing, accessibility ramps and a new grassed area with shade, seating and a view over the lake. We are also investing in improving waterways and in additional street sweeping to address water quality in Lake Tuggeranong.
The ACT government is supporting the regeneration of Woden through the Woden experiment, a $1 million investment by our government to transform a previously challenging and windy space into a more vibrant centre, providing a great quality public space for people on the south side. The upgraded square features new furniture, areas set aside for pop-up food and drink vendors and a new nature play area, drawing more people into the heart of the town centre.
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