Page 2054 - Week 07 - Wednesday, 6 August 2014
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There are concerns about the overall impact on the amenity of the suburb, including the loss of trees and green space, and the visual impact on Dunrossil Drive and the ceremonial entrance to the Governor-General’s residence. There are concerns about the impact of the development on the critically endangered golden sun moth, which is known to be found in the remnants of natural temperate grasslands near the brickworks between Dudley Street and Lady Denman Drive.
The remediation of the brickworks site is of concern. There is a desire for more information about the extent of the contamination and the scope of the remediation works, and the impact of trucks coming and going through the area during the clean-up process.
I believe that these are all very reasonable questions, and I support the community raising those concerns and having their questions answered in a full way. I am looking forward to seeing how these concerns are addressed as the government responds and modifies its plans. Clearly, we are still in the early planning stages, so now is the time to sort some of these issues out.
I am pleased that at least in one area we are already working through some of the issues, and that is the key concern about traffic impacts. As the Minister for Territory and Municipal Services, Roads ACT sits within my portfolio, and people are asking about the new street layout and whether it will be able to deal with the additional vehicle traffic generated by the additional dwellings as well as the traffic passing through Yarralumla from other areas. There are concerns about the congestion within Yarralumla itself in terms of access to the local shops, entry and exit points in and out of the suburb, and also access to west Deakin from the Cotter Road.
The original plans for the brickworks included a raised roundabout at the intersection of Cotter Road and Adelaide Avenue, and that is not contained in the current plan. Some of the roads have been blocked off, presumably to address concerns about rat running, but in doing this, other problems may be created by diverting traffic back through the suburb.
These are valid concerns and questions that need to be addressed early on in the planning stages. Street layout is a crucial part of any development, even more so for an infill development such as this in which connectivity with the surrounding road, public transport and cycle network is critical. The last thing that anyone wants is for the development to become a drive in, drive out kind of place. It needs to be integrated with the rest of Yarralumla to include some services to support the new residents, to have good pedestrian and cycle access, so that it can become the kind of vibrant community that would be fitting for such a location, which is close to the city and transport corridors.
I am really pleased to say that this issue of traffic is on the government’s agenda, and we are listening to community concerns. As I said earlier, as the minister responsible for roads, after attending that public meeting I actually had Roads ACT come to my next catch-up with TAMS and I sought their advice on the questions that had been raised. They came back to me and indicated that, yes, they also had concerns about
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