26 March 2013

City to the Lake. A more glorious dawn awaits?

26 March 2013 | johnboy

YouTube brings us the ACT Government’s new grand plan to sweep future development down to the Lake, complete with a new stadium:

City to the Lake is a transformational project being developed within The City Plan, and is integral to realising the City’s potential as we embark on our second century. The ACT Government is committed to full community consultation and we will be conducting a range of consultation activities in coming months.

City to the Lake is about sharing our vision for what Canberra, in its second century, could be. This fly-through brings those possibilities to life.

There is, it seems, a whole website devoted to the cause:

— A new aquatic centre and pleasure beach on the waterfront allows the everyday activity of the City to connect with the Lake.

— Ferries and water taxis can deliver people to the City at a new ferry terminal.

— The new waterfront will offer restaurants, cafes and places for people to meet, promenade or simply sit and relax.

— Continuous public access is provided where cyclists and pedestrians can both experience the waterfront safely on generous, separated paths.

— The City streets will extend to West Basin to provide easy access for pedestrians and vehicles and clear views of the Lake.

— Stormwater will be captured and treated through a series of water gardens before entering the lake. This cleansed and filtered water can be used to top up the aquatic centre facilities and the beach pool. This will ensure that the Lake water quality is enhanced and protected.

UPDATE: Chief Minister Gallagher’s media release is now available:

ACT Chief Minister Katy Gallagher today announced two projects that have the potential to transform the city centre and guide future development in the heart of Canberra.

At the National Museum of Australia, the Chief Minister was joined by Minister for Economic Development Andrew Barr and Minister for Environment and Sustainable Development Simon Corbell to announce the two projects: ‘The City Plan’ and ‘City to the Lake’ projects.

“As we celebrate our first 100 years, and look towards our next century, it is appropriate to talk about the role of our City centre, and how it can become a more dynamic, vibrant and sustainable place.

“The City Plan will provide a blueprint for future infrastructure development, land release and incentives for redevelopment right across the city. It will guide our decision making on what facilities and infrastructure are needed, where these should be located, and what should be the appropriate mix of land use,” the Chief Minister said.

The City to Lake project was also unveiled. This project will extend the city towards the lake, and finally link the two areas. It encompasses an area stretching from West Basin to Anzac Parade, and may include:

• A rectangular sports stadium;
• A new convention centre;
• Cultural facilities;
• An aquatic facility and urban beach; and
• Making Parkes Way a split-level boulevard to seamlessly link West Basin and Civic.

UPDATE 26/03/13 13:22: The Liberals Jeremy Hanson agrees the plans look pretty but questions if they can be achieved:

“Although many of the concepts look attractive, I question the Government’s ability to deliver on their promises. We all remember the grand designs for a new Government Office tower which Andrew Barr and Katy Gallagher promised to deliver, but then dropped once the hard questions were asked by the Opposition and their flawed planning was exposed.

“After the extraordinary Cotter Dam cost blow outs, the GDE, the prison and other botched infrastructure projects, Canberrans should not be fooled by glossy brochures and slick videos that are no substitute for competent infrastructure delivery.

“I will be seeking a detailed briefing from the Government on their proposal and will pay particular attention to some of the hard questions that will need to be answered, including costs, timelines, consultation, parking, disruption to existing parkland and amenities, budgetary impact, and who will be paying for this project,” concluded Mr Hanson.

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Prospector7:21 pm 04 Apr 13

City to Lake is primarily about privatising open public space for yet more ubiquitous blocks of flats and commercial premises….in the process, robbing the community of lake to mountain vistas and of opportunities for developing Acton Park into a major municipal waterside parkland and recreational facility.

Over the years, successive ACT administrations have used the usual ploy of letting the West Basin open spaces go to the dogs; the last straw was the conversion of Acton Park into a “temporary car park”.

By devaluing these precious public spaces, governments punt that they will face limited community opposition to handing them over to private property interests for the sorts of ill conceived developments contained in ‘city to the lake’. Of course there are the usual trinkets designed to win over the public…quays, coffee shops and the like.

Pork Hunt7:25 pm 27 Mar 13

Mr Evil said :

miz said :

Au contraire, Mr Evil, I would expect there to be an egalitarian, salt and pepper mix of tenants!
And BTW, your spin on my views, while interesting, is quite incorrect. I refer you to #49. For further detail, please go back to original post about the issue you continually feel obliged to raise (even when off topic), as I am getting sick of being misquoted by people who can’t be bothered to read.

Salt and Pepper mix – so long as it doesn’t include any disadvantaged youth?

After all, they might steal stuff/rape your pets/set fire to your car/pee on your doorstep.

Is this the DIY weekend thread all of a sudden or what?

Masquara7:19 pm 27 Mar 13

Watson said :

Masquara said :

All good. “Fake beach” culturally alien to Australians and clearly aimed at tourists from SE Asia. Canberrans can still head for the coast!

You’ve never been to Brissy then? Their fake beach does attract lots of tourists but the locals love it too. I’m all for it.

And I don’t get people complaining about the lake being dirty. Apart from the blue-green algae (which admittedly do appear way too often) there is nothing wrong with that water and we swim in it all the time.

You mean the one at Southbank? If you think it’s conceivable that Canberra could create anything remotely similar to the Southbank lagoon and precinct – driven by Queensland mega tourism & mining dollars – you are very much the optimist!

Mr Evil7:07 pm 27 Mar 13

miz said :

Au contraire, Mr Evil, I would expect there to be an egalitarian, salt and pepper mix of tenants!
And BTW, your spin on my views, while interesting, is quite incorrect. I refer you to #49. For further detail, please go back to original post about the issue you continually feel obliged to raise (even when off topic), as I am getting sick of being misquoted by people who can’t be bothered to read.

Salt and Pepper mix – so long as it doesn’t include any disadvantaged youth?

After all, they might steal stuff/rape your pets/set fire to your car/pee on your doorstep.

c_c™6:39 pm 27 Mar 13

Some potbellied, cobweb of an academic whose been at ANU since the 1960s was on Win News tonight complaining that the plan is bizarre and we’re all too focused on the myth of Walter Burley Griffin’s plan.

You know what I think is bizarre, that this academic formed such a firm conclusion about the plan within 24hrs, and despite trying, still sounded a bit sour grapes that an interstate firm was asked to do the plan rather than him.

miz5:46 pm 27 Mar 13

Au contraire, Mr Evil, I would expect there to be an egalitarian, salt and pepper mix of tenants!
And BTW, your spin on my views, while interesting, is quite incorrect. I refer you to #49. For further detail, please go back to original post about the issue you continually feel obliged to raise (even when off topic), as I am getting sick of being misquoted by people who can’t be bothered to read.

watto234:07 pm 27 Mar 13

Ben_Dover said :

We do not need another stadium, it would be a complete waste of money. Open the bidding for contractors on the condition they will have to make the thing pay to recoup their money, see how many are interested.

How is it a waste of money? The problem with stadiums is they need to be updated to continue to attract events that use them. People enjoy attending sporting events as much as they enjoy galleries, museums and festivals. They are talking about building a new stadium by the end of the deacde as the current one will be close to 40 odd years old. a study was done and to significantly upgrade Bruce it would cost half as much as a new stadium and no where near as good.

Ben_Dover3:39 pm 27 Mar 13

We do not need another stadium, it would be a complete waste of money. Open the bidding for contractors on the condition they will have to make the thing pay to recoup their money, see how many are interested.

mezza762:21 pm 27 Mar 13

Felix the Cat said :

Cool. No mention of how much it will cost or how it will be funded though. It would cost many billions of dollars I would think.

Probably – although im not sure that the Government needs to pay for all of it. There seems to be a lot of private buildings/apartments/office space there – Im sure if companies are going to make a fortune developing these sites – the community can ask them to pay for some of the infrastructure. The stadiums are a different deal – they only ever lose money – so it’s likely that’s a cost the ACT would need to pay.

Chop711:22 pm 27 Mar 13

Gungahlin Al said :

Watson said :

Masquara said :

All good. “Fake beach” culturally alien to Australians and clearly aimed at tourists from SE Asia. Canberrans can still head for the coast!

You’ve never been to Brissy then? Their fake beach does attract lots of tourists but the locals love it too. I’m all for it.

Yes indeed. Brisbane’s Southbank “fake beach” is amazingly popular, and not the slightest bit “culturally alien”. Take your blinkers off Masquara.

Will they have a wall to swim and get changed behind like the one you supported at the Gungahlin pool?

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