7 August 2016

Ask RiotACT: Greening the Kingston Foreshore

| MochaMan
Join the conversation
9
Kingston Foreshore

Hi,

What thoughts do others have in respect to enhancing the greening initiatives for the concrete corridors around the foreshore?

I am a firm believer that the foreshore cannot have enough trees/shrubs.

Some actions have been taken with respect to plants/vegetation but with consideration to views being impeded by level one apartments upwards there are other options available as to dense vegetation without height.

I think larger moveable pots would be an option. Is is always a balancing act with public amenities, one good example being Circular Quay in Sydney, during large events/New Years you would not expect to see anything however at other times during the year it is a concrete wasteland/heat sink.

What creative options are available to enhance the botanical weight within the Kingston Foreshore ?

Join the conversation

9
All Comments
  • All Comments
  • Website Comments
LatestOldest

As someone who lives on the foreshore, don’t worry – we still have a view of the other ugly apartments that surround us!! I cannot believe the potential that this area had but has been ruined by dull, concrete everywhere. It could have been funky but it aint. It is noisy and badly built – the quality of the apartments is pretty bad. Shame for Cbr – you coulda but didn’t.

I would just support fewer ugly buildings; having them set back further from the lake; and better planned from the beginning to really include “social amenity” – not just pay lip service to it.

I’m sure the view is very nice looking out of the units onto the lake and Kings Avenue bridge. But, the view of the apartments now built on the Kingston Foreshore from Kings Avenue bridge is a bit of a let down. There is a sameness about their aesthetics and design that is, well, boring – in my view anyway.

Hopefully, when a few trees grow, it will also look less stark.

I would also like to see the old planning “rule” about the hilltops always being the highest points.
Anyone else remember that one? It made such a difference to how the city looked. – being the Bush Capital and all.

Didn’t it go about the same time as Telecom Tower came along.

I would just support fewer ugly buildings; having them set back further from the lake; and better planned from the beginning to really include “social amenity” – not just pay lip service to it.

I would also like to see the old planning “rule” about the hilltops always being the highest points.
Anyone else remember that one? It made such a difference to how the city looked. – being the Bush Capital and all.

creative_canberran8:49 pm 19 Jul 16

Should this discussion not have taken place at planning stages of the development and not after everybody has moved into their luxury apartments? Adding deciduous trees to “green” up an area is such an overdone and poorly thought out concept. What happens to all the leaves in winter? They dry up and blow onto the water and end up in the bottom of the lake, start rotting and further contaminate what is nearly always covered by green algal blooms. Just because European trees help the winter sun to warm up north facing properties, they shouldn’t be the first option for beautifying concrete wastelands. Some nice native pines would bring a pleasant aroma to the air and the beautiful sound of wind caressing her needles. Native trees attract honey eaters and parrots, instead of those pesky Mynah birds that love takeaway food scraps. We live in Australia, not Paris or London. Take your exotic trees elsewhere and add some more of Australia to its bush capital.

I don’t know if you used to walk through Canberra pine forests before the fires, but pines and conifers do lose foliage yearly, even if they don’t go bald like deciduous trees. And the Mynah’s like native gum trees as much as the foreign plants, while the native Powerful Owl likes Oak trees as much as the native trees.

I would support a mix of native and foreign species. Foreign deciduous species bring colour and open up more day light in cooler months.

wildturkeycanoe6:39 am 19 Jul 16

Should this discussion not have taken place at planning stages of the development and not after everybody has moved into their luxury apartments? Adding deciduous trees to “green” up an area is such an overdone and poorly thought out concept. What happens to all the leaves in winter? They dry up and blow onto the water and end up in the bottom of the lake, start rotting and further contaminate what is nearly always covered by green algal blooms. Just because European trees help the winter sun to warm up north facing properties, they shouldn’t be the first option for beautifying concrete wastelands. Some nice native pines would bring a pleasant aroma to the air and the beautiful sound of wind caressing her needles. Native trees attract honey eaters and parrots, instead of those pesky Mynah birds that love takeaway food scraps. We live in Australia, not Paris or London. Take your exotic trees elsewhere and add some more of Australia to its bush capital.

You would think the powers that gave the green light to this development might have had a look at Brisbane’s problems with a concrete foreshore along much of their river. The Kingston Foreshore should have involved less kowtowing to the developers, and there should have been a much broader public foreshore with gardens and greenery. Not just in pots. The apartment dwellers would still have their views over the lake, but they would also have some shady amenity. The restaurants along the foreshore suffer from too much heat and blinding sun in the summer. Picture if they had been developed with a further 20 meters of setback, and some large deciduous trees. Another Labor Government fail.

HiddenDragon6:44 pm 18 Jul 16

“….at other times during the year it is a concrete wasteland/heat sink…..” – yes, like a painting by Jeffrey Smart, but with a somewhat more limited palette. If there are (PC) water lilies, or suchlike, which could cope with the climate here, they could be used to add some interest to all that brown water.

creative_canberran4:37 pm 18 Jul 16

I’m generally a fan of the Kingston Foreshore, there’s plenty of green around, though mostly isolated to both ends of the foreshore rather than throughout.

Have to bare in mind a lot of the trees are still immature, and many along the canal are deciduous, nice colours in autumn but bare half the year and too thinly spaced too.

I’m a bit disappointed with the west side of the Island. Earlier models and renderings (like this: https://encrypted-tbn2.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcRJeqetizL-BNfp7pIGRNfUvfFcImWy4W64HHojhJvT_pIZRg-H4g) showed a much higher density of planting. It’s ended up a thin strip of trees and a large expanse of boring grass with a thick pathway. They can do with many more trees along there, put in a mixture of evergreen and deciduous so the westerly sun gets used in the cooler months.

Daily Digest

Want the best Canberra news delivered daily? Every day we package the most popular Riotact stories and send them straight to your inbox. Sign-up now for trusted local news that will never be behind a paywall.

By submitting your email address you are agreeing to Region Group's terms and conditions and privacy policy.