Page 4809 - Week 13 - Wednesday, 11 November 2009
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The issues that have been raised by Mr Coe are on behalf of the concerned residents, and they are certainly not frivolous. I note that Mr Coe and Caroline Le Couteur, as I understand, have visited the site—and I commend them for doing that—and that they remain committed to the concerns of the community.
My understanding also is that the project is in its final design stage and that the opportunity to ensure a good outcome for the residents of Harrison and residents in the north of Canberra is fast disappearing. The government has the ability to resolve this issue by supporting Mr Coe’s motion and by addressing the community concerns, by going back to the drawing board and redesigning the road. I urge the minister to do so.
MS PORTER (Ginninderra) (12.02): Mr Coe’s motion and Ms Le Couteur’s amendment show an ignorance of the exhaustive processes that are followed before road alignments are decided. Arterial roads in the ACT are positioned after a thorough investigation process to ensure that they are placed in the most effective locations.
Although I understand that Mr Coe left school not too long ago, I doubt that he has since qualified as a town planner and a road engineer. He is a member for Ginninderra. Obviously he thinks that by questioning the decisions of the people who do know what they are talking about—that is, town planners and road engineers—he can undermine the government, that it is as simple as that.
Obviously the road positioning in this instance takes into account the surrounding landform, ground suitability and the provision for efficient connectivity between adjacent suburbs. In fact, the alignment of Well Station Drive has been determined by two planning feasibility and design studies. The outcomes of these studies resulted in the establishment of the current road alignment and reserve for Well Station Drive that was subsequently documented in the territory plan in 2003, as Mr Barr has outlined. Of course, roads need to be planned very early in the planning process in developing new suburbs; this will inevitably mean that people have not moved into the new suburbs.
The constraints in moving the route to the east mostly involve the proximity of Sullivans Creek. They are as follows. Sullivans Creek passes under Horse Park Drive on the same alignment that the alternative approach road would have to take. Constructing a road on the same alignment as the creek is not possible. Constructing the road on either side of Sullivans Creek is also not feasible as the formation next to the creek is not suitable for road construction. Water levels from Sullivans Creek during flood periods would inundate the road unless it was constructed at a high level. Again this would involve significant costs in construction.
There are other reasons why the location of this intersection of Well Station Drive and Horse Park Drive has been chosen. These are as follows. The current intersection location will align with the proposed collector road into Throsby. Moving the collector road into Throsby further to the east to align with the alternative intersection location would place the road close to—I am going to have a go at saying this now, Mr Barr—Goorooyarroo nature reserve.
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