It’s been a big year for news across the ACT but it seems transport, parks, and snakes are the things guaranteed to get you clicking. Take a walk back through 2023 and have a look at a dozen of our most popular news stories.
12. Seven years in the making, MyWay+ set to debut in 2024 (and there’ll be a demo bus to practise on)
by Ian Bushnell
A MyWay card tap station. The new system is on track to go live in the second half of 2024. Photo: Michelle Kroll.
Canberra commuters will be able to test run the ACT’s new bus and light rail ticketing system on a demonstration bus Transport Canberra will roll out in the first half of 2024.
Transport Minister Chris Steel said the government was working with supplier NEC on the final design of the MyWay card replacement, to be known as MyWay+.
The new system will allow passengers to pay for their travel with a contactless mobile payment system using a phone app, smartwatch, traditional travel card or credit/debit card to tap on and off and deliver real-time information and a journey planner to commuters.
11. Cost of Molonglo River Bridge project soars by $26 million
by Ian Bushnell
Critical project: An artist’s impression of the Molonglo River Bridge. Photo: ACT Government.
The cost of the long-awaited Molonglo River Bridge has now topped $200 million as the cost of construction materials soar.
Transport and City Services Minister Chris Steel told a Budget Estimates hearing that the cost of the project had grown from $175 million to $201 million and the budget had allocated a further $50 million to cover the increases.
10. Braddon roundabout to go in intersection makeover
by Ian Bushnell
Going: the intersection of Elouera and Mort streets in Braddon is to become more pedestrian-friendly. Photo: CRA.
The roundabout at one of Braddon’s busiest intersections will be replaced with a raised treatment to slow traffic as part of the more expansive streetscape upgrades being undertaken by the City Renewal Authority.
The CRA says the proposed works at the intersection of Elouera and Mort streets will make it safer for pedestrians and improve connectivity in the retail and hospitality precinct, including making it easier to walk to the light rail line on Northbourne Avenue.
9. Acton Waterfront park gets green light and a Ngunnawal name
by Ian Bushnell
Regional Development, Local Government and Territories Minister Kristy McBain with ACT Chief Minister Andrew Barr: Ms McBain wants to see more opportunities around the lake. Photo: Ian Bushnell.
The transformation of West Basin into a great public place is gathering pace with the Commonwealth approval of works for the Acton Waterfront park and its naming as Ngamawari, which means “cave place” in Ngunnawal.
The National Capital Authority approval and naming was announced at a smoking ceremony attended by Federal Regional Development, Local Government and Territories Minister Kristy McBain, Chief Minister Andrew Barr, NCA Chief Executive Sally Barnes, Ngunnawal Elder Dr Caroline Hughes and other Ngunnawal people.
The park, to be established on land reclaimed from the lake, will incorporate the stories and history of the Ngunnawal people.
8. Multi-million-dollar play space without toilets an embarrassment, says mother
by Ian Bushnell
Alice Thomas, six, on the slide at the Ruth Park Play Space in Coombs. Photo: Laura Maree Thomas.
The new $7 million Ruth Park Play Space in Coombs is a hit with the kids but one Canberra mother won’t likely return until there are toilets and a dedicated car park.
Laura Maree Thomas, from Isabella Plains, is not alone in her concerns about the playground, which has become a destination over the holidays for families across Canberra.
Her social media post about the family’s excursion to Ruth Park sparked a flurry of responses about the lack of facilities.
7. What happens when an EV catches fire? ACT firies say it’s ‘sobering’
by James Coleman
Firefighters putting out a Tesla fire overseas. Photo: Screenshot.
The ACT firefighters union has raised “sobering” concerns over what happens when an electric vehicle (EV) catches alight as the ACT Government looks at ways of speeding up the uptake of zero-emission transport.
The government heard from a variety of stakeholders as part of the Inquiry into EV Adoption in the ACT, as it looks to ban the sale of new fossil-fuel-powered cars by 2035.
6. ACT Government reveals plans to roll out European-style intersections across Canberra
by James Coleman
An artist’s impression of future ACT intersections. Image: ACT Government.
Canberra’s intersections will begin to look a lot like those in Europe under a new government plan.
The ACT Government’s draft ‘Design Guide’ calls for raised pedestrian crossings, coloured cycle paths, narrower roads and tighter corners to be rolled out across Canberra in an effort to slow down motorists and provide better protections for ‘active travel’ users.
5. One week on, how many drivers have Canberra’s new mobile phone detection cameras busted?
by James Coleman
A person caught using a mobile phone while driving by a mobile phone detection camera in NSW. Photo: NSW Police, Facebook.
Canberra’s new mobile phone detection cameras identified more than 1300 offences in the space of seven days.
Between 14 and 20 February, 1306 drivers were snapped with phones or other devices in their hands while driving, according to data shared by the ACT Government’s Transport Canberra and City Services directorate.
The three cameras were wheeled out to three roadside locations on 14 February at the beginning of a $9 million, five-year deal between the ACT Government and artificial intelligence developer Acusensus.
4. Breakfast hosts Ned and Josh reportedly axed from Hit 104.7
by Lizzie Waymouth
Ned and Josh had presented Hit 104.7’s breakfast show for nearly six years. Photo: Ned and Josh Facebook.
amplifyCBR’s announcement that Skyfire is returning next year wasn’t the only big news on the Canberra radio grapevine in October.
Sources informed Region that amplifyCBR “without warning or reason” informed breakfast hosts Ned and Josh that they had completed their last show for Hit 104.7 on 27 October.
The source claimed the hosts, Ned Breward and Josh Torney, were locked out of their office and advised via email they had recorded their last show.
3. Pialligo Estate to be wound up owing more than $6 million
by Ian Bushnell
The Pialligo Estate property: there are more than 500 creditors. Photo: Stephen Ning.
Liquidators have been appointed to wind up the Pialligo Estate farm, tourism and hospitality business, which owes more than $6 million to more than 500 secured and unsecured creditors.
It also means that staff can access a federal safety net program to claim unpaid entitlements. But customers will likely lose their deposits paid for event bookings such as weddings.
The appointment of RSM Australia Partners Frank Lo Pilato and Jonathon Colbran follows the 28 March announcement by Pialligo Estate Operations Director John Russell that the Estate had ceased operating after the business was unable to reach an agreement with its financier to continue trading.
2. What are Canberra’s wealthiest postcodes? See how your suburb measures up
by Lizzie Waymouth
The area containing Forrest, Griffith, Manuka and Red Hill has the highest average taxable income in the ACT. Photo: Michelle Kroll.
The ACT is known for its high median income, but do you know which Canberra postcode areas are the wealthiest?
It was one of the questions in our weekly quiz and just over half of you got it right. The area containing Forrest, Griffith, Manuka and Red Hill had a median taxable income of $84,044 in 2020-21, according to the most recent Australian Taxation Office data.
That places it as the 11th wealthiest postcode in Australia.
1. It’s snake season, so you never know where they might slither in
by Joanne Griffiths
There has been a rise in snake sightings in the nation’s capital, particularly eastern brown snakes. Photo: Jacob Filiatrault.
Snake season is in full swing in the nation’s capital.
In 2023, a video of the founder of ACT Snake Removals and primary investigator for the ANU’s Canberra Snake Tracking Project, Associate Professor Gavin Smith, relocating an eastern brown snake caught between a glass door and fly screen went viral.
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