Page 3505 - Week 10 - Wednesday, 18 September 2019
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MS LAWDER (Brindabella) (10.25): I thank all members who spoke on the motion, and for their support in varying degrees. Generally it was absolute support. It will resonate with the residents of Wanniassa that someone has finally listened to some of their concerns. Mr Steel referred to the fact that I wrote to him about this issue specifically. That was almost two months ago, so imagine my surprise and delight when I received a response to my letter just yesterday.
As the minister pointed out, the letter contains a number of points about the path from the Wanniassa park and ride over to the bus stop on Athllon Drive. The government apparently did some research that said that the floodway would rarely be flooded. That is not really the point; the point is that it is a floodway. It is intended to channel water down towards the wetlands and to filter that water before it goes into Lake Tuggeranong. At times the volume of water down that floodway will be significant.
However, it is not only in that specific moment that it is an issue because as the water flows over the path—which I have seen happen because I visited it while it was raining, quite lightly, in fact—it leaves mud behind which stays there for quite some time. That creates the slipperiness.
We have occasional devastating flooding events in Canberra. Some members may remember such a flood in 1971 in Woden, where I think seven Canberrans died crossing a floodway, some of them in a car. It is human nature, unfortunately, that leads us to underestimate the power of floodwater. I would hate to see something like that happen again in Canberra.
It is not just the water and the flooding; it is the mud and slipperiness. From my visit to the floodway and the path from Wanniassa park-and-ride car park over to the Athllon Drive bus stop I know some people take a shortcut straight down the hill rather than following the path, which is a zigzag to alleviate the slope of the path. If the path went straight down and up it would be too steep for many people to use. So the path is a little longer than the direct route.
Once again, unfortunately, it is human nature to take a more direct path, and we often refer to these as desire lines. The minister believes the mud from people creating their own path is adding to the mud on the path. Having visited myself, I am not convinced that is the case. From my experience, the deposits of sediment on the path came from the water flowing across the path down the floodway towards the wetlands.
According to the minister’s letter, TCCS officers have observed evidence of pedestrians using a short and direct route instead of the new footpath and that this incorrect use has resulted in damage to the grass and is contributing to silt accumulating on the footpath. However, many constituents remain concerned about the mud and sediment on the flat centre of the path within the floodway itself, which is where the water crosses across the path.
It is good to see from the minister’s reply to my letter and the response to today’s motion that it has been acknowledged that the current situation poses some issues and that TCCS has been asked to look into how access in this area can be improved.
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