Green Square cocked up

Further to this old news, I believe that they only started their ‘consultation’ and delaying, after they were literally ready to start work on ripping out the grass and laying the woodchips.

Staff at the cafes were told to keep their cafe chairs out of the way of the machinery turning up next week, and found out what was planned.

Then they complained about losing the grass and suddenly there was a delay for consultation.

I’m vague on the exact details now tho.

I love Green Square – how much nicer would Dickson be with a bit of green grass somewhere near a cafe?

justbands said :

Gotcha. Still, I see no reason why some yuppie shops grass should remain green whilst kids sporting facilities are struggling.

But, those “yuppies” are Working Families, which means they’re entitled to everything.

The local businesses that fringe Green Square should organise themselves now, and start getting their staff to empty all their water on the grass. This is not the time to be leaving it un-watered. If there’s an organised person there, they could roughly assess how much water each shop/cafe can collect, and allocate each one an area to be responsible for.

Maybe we should suggest a grove of lemon tress, then.

I though drunks from that dive the Grail and the Durham would piss on that lawn often enough.

I urge you all to make these suggestions directly to Mr Stanhopes office then. Not for yuppies? Once again, tell that to a parent in the depths of Tuggeranong. I quite like the place myself, it’s ok every now & then…let’s face it though, it’s yuppie heaven.

The old ‘divide and conquer’ works again.

Green Square (which we never go near) can get watered without closing down every other sports oval in town.

That’s the argument Sonic etc want us to have. It worked for school closures.

A better approach is to work out how much water the place actually needs, and then perhaps design a greywater system to service it. If that fails, there’s some top quality recycled sewage soon to be available.

justbands said :

> If they were watering the grass while they made up their mind it would be a different matter.

Gotcha. Still, I see no reason why some yuppie shops grass should remain green whilst kids sporting facilities are struggling.

The patch of grass is pretty small … smaller than many back yards. That said, stacks of little kids play there on the weekends while their parents eat brekkie/lunch in the little cafes. I am a huge water conservationist, but in this case, I think the grass should stay (maybe put in a tank?). Green square certainly isn’t just for ‘yuppies’; central location makes it an ideal meeting place for the whole of Canberra and loads of local workplaces have functions there or drinks at the Durhams Arms etc…

> If they were watering the grass while they made up their mind it would be a different matter.

Gotcha. Still, I see no reason why some yuppie shops grass should remain green whilst kids sporting facilities are struggling.

justbands said :

Maybe I’m reading it wrong, but does it not say “we’re not doing anything with it until we’ve assessed our options & listened to the community”? Seems sensible enough to me. If they do get rid of the grass, well I guess that’s a shame..hardly a big issue though. It’s Kingston shops, used by a small minority, not some amazing community space. Try telling the parents of a cricket playing kid in Tuggers or Gunghalin that it’s ok that there’s fewer & fewer ovals for cricket, ’cause the grass in Green Square Kingston is still being watered!

Because while they’re arseing about changing their minds over and over again they’re not maintaining the existing amenity.

If they were watering the grass while they made up their mind it would be a different matter.

Giving precincts like this to the interested parties ie the businesses there would be a good way to go, provided the local chamber or association is willing to take responsibility for it.