Page 3459 - Week 09 - Wednesday, 22 August 2018
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Another important part of that is about rubbish and litter, because that is a community responsibility. We do expect there to be sufficient bins. Whether that includes recycling bins as well as general rubbish bins for waste that goes to the landfill, there must be enough bins around. I note that there are 1,130 bins around Canberra which are emptied up to five times a week. In some places, for example, where there are lots of food places, that may need to be more frequent.
In fact, just yesterday, I got a letter from the minister in response to a constituency issue about litter around Ricardo Street in Wanniassa, which is near the Gartside Street restaurant precinct. A constituent had been concerned about the amount of littering, and I got a letter back from the minister yesterday. So there are concerns that people raise—about littering and the number of bins, about gardens and maintenance of footpaths et cetera, and street sweeping in those areas, which could incorporate rubbish as well.
Parking is another thing that is often raised with us. There was a bit of a missed opportunity at Gartside Street recently. There has been some nice work done. It looks so much better. There used to be bare earth, where there once was grass, and people used to park on the footpath. That has been improved a lot. But it has not improved the parking situation in the restaurant precinct around Gartside Street. I have lost track of the number of times constituents have talked to me about the fact that they drive there, cannot get a car park, and go somewhere else. So it has a business impact on those local businesses, and some of them, of course, are small businesses.
We also often hear about graffiti. In some cases it is a government responsibility, depending on the location. In other cases it is up to the owners or managers of the shops. I note that there are legal street art and graffiti sites, although I was a little surprised that, on the minister’s map that I have just been looking at, it talks about legal graffiti sites but it points to a big concrete overpass over a street. I wondered whether that was a bit of a safety issue—encouraging people to climb up and paint legal graffiti onto a concrete overpass. I am sure it is some kind of artistic licence, rather than actually encouraging that to take place.
With respect to playgrounds, some places, such as Wanniassa shops, have a playground nearby, and they have a fence nearby, which assists to keep children away from the car park. Wanniassa shops has had a bit of a resurgence recently. It is not only about government maintenance services; a couple of new tenants in a shopping centre can make an enormous difference to a shopping centre. Coles moved in. Also, the markets at Wanniassa have made a big difference to that shopping centre. Of course, there are other great businesses in Wanniassa, such as Capital Chemist.
Playgrounds are often raised. In fact, the Calwell shops have often asked for an improvement in the playground there. It is a very paltry-looking playground and it could do with some improvement, which would make it an even better destination for families when they go to do their shopping.
Going back to the issue of graffiti, I do like the addition in some cases of murals on some of the walls. Erindale shops is another example of that. Along the bus stop side of Erindale there is a lovely mural which has improved that area as well.
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