Page 470 - Week 02 - Wednesday, 19 March 2014
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deliver staged transport improvements along the road corridor in the Civic section, including a dedicated bus lane in each direction, a separated cycle path, improved pedestrian facilities, and a new central median strip planted with trees.
The long-term vision for Constitution Avenue is to provide a vibrant, mixed-use, tree-lined grand avenue with enhanced public transport, cycling and pedestrian movement—indeed, a grand avenue, Madam Speaker.
As part of the project the character and visual amenity of the avenue will be enhanced through the delivery of a tree replacement program for the existing oak trees to replace trees in advanced stages of decline. Established trees will be used to replace the trees that have been removed and an additional 229 new trees will be planted along the avenue. A central median will be created and planted with new oak trees and the verge on both sides of the road will receive significant landscape upgrades.
As commercial and residential development advances along Constitution Avenue, the public realm spaces will be upgraded to achieve the visionary design. The phase will be coordinated by the National Capital Authority in conjunction with site owners and developers. The upgrade of Constitution Avenue will ensure that the necessary infrastructure is in place to support the visionary design.
Last week the Chief Minister announced the release of the government’s city plan, a blueprint to continue the transformation of our city centre. The ACT government’s city plan initiative will generate economic activity and create jobs. The plan sets the spatial and urban planning policy framework for the city centre towards 2030 and beyond. Importantly, the city plan provides a guide for decision-makers, both public and private, which will steer the city centre towards the commercial and cultural hub which the community clearly expressed Civic should be in the consultations.
A central element of the city plan is the introduction of light rail—capital metro. Capital metro is the critical component of our future public transport network. Walter Burley Griffin designed the major avenues in Canberra, including Northbourne Avenue, to include electric street cars operating within broad central medians. The capital metro project continues this vision and will be the backbone of Canberra’s future public transport network. It will also provide a catalyst for an economic resurgence along Northbourne Avenue.
Capital metro stage 1 will be a light rail service along a 12-kilometre route from Hibberson Street in Gungahlin to the city centre. The government will be integrating transport and land use planning with existing or planned infrastructure to create a revitalised urban corridor, provide better access to public transport, generate a range of housing and commercial opportunities and optimise land and infrastructure use.
The capital metro project will encourage development, particularly at the anchor points both in Gungahlin and in the city. As a key landowner and as a land manager under the leasehold system, a unique opportunity exists for the ACT government to both directly and indirectly encourage urban renewal along the corridor.
Capital metro represents a major capital investment to deliver economic growth and development with a significant economic uplift effect along the corridor,
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