Dickson shops suffer as bad behaviour, parking woes take gloss off centre

The Dickson shops have always had an air of bohemia to them, but a recent surge in anti-social behaviour has even its tolerant patrons and traders on edge.

This, along with fewer parking spaces since the advent of the Coles supermarket, has exacerbated already tough trading conditions at the North Canberra group centre.

The situation has the Dickson Residents Group worried, especially with City Renewal Authority street upgrades and the proposed Tradies redevelopment on the horizon threatening more disruption.

Convenor Jane Goffman said the new Coles and the coming development were welcome, but their consequences needed to be managed.

Ms Goffman said the centre also did not feel as safe as it used to with mainly drug-fuelled, bad behaviour unsettling some.

This was a separate issue from the familiar presence of homeless people, which needed attention but was not the primary cause for concern.

She said a stronger police presence, such as foot patrols in the centre, would be welcome.

“People are regularly in the centre off their heads,” Ms Goffman said.

“It’s definitely drug-related. There’s a lot of shouting and abuse. It’s not necessarily being directed at the shoppers, but people are witnessing it, so if they don’t feel safe going to the centre that they’ve traditionally gone to, they can easily opt to go somewhere else.”

It was the sort of behaviour that won’t be picked up in crime statistics because people who are intimidated or abused won’t report it.

A surge in graffiti has also increased perceptions that the area is in decline.

Ms Goffman said Dickson remained a great shopping centre with a welcoming, inclusive community, but there was a problem, and it was getting worse.

She said the business vacancy rate at her last count in November had hit 25 per cent, and some long-time shops were on the brink of closing.

“That’s a big number. That’s not something you ignore,” she said.

“So the businesses that three years ago were doing really well are struggling now, and what that means, of course, is we have many more that are now marginal.

“So if you add another shock, the risk is they’re going to go.”

The parking situation was not helping, with 50 free parking spaces lost since the Dickson Village development, with remaining spots being government paid parking.

While the Coles underground car park had free two-hour parking for customers, Ms Goffman said it created a barrier for visitors to the centre.

Ms Goffman said the centre needed more affordable and accessible parking and called for the introduction of free two-hour parking as in other group centres.

She said the planned street upgrades needed to be done in stages to minimise disruptions for shoppers and traders so you don’t destroy what you’re setting out to save.

“I’m extremely conscious that we’re entering a phase when a lot of things in Dickson are going to change,” Ms Goffman said.

“The Tradies are entitled to redevelop their land, and I think they want to do a really good job of it.

“Obviously, that means that we will have a construction zone, and construction zones aren’t always the easiest places for people to navigate through.

“It means noise, it means it’s harder to find somewhere to park. So let’s make it easier for people. Let’s make sure people feel safe.”

ACT Policing said it was aware of recent concerns about anti-social and some criminal behaviour in Dickson and urged the community to report all crimes such as property damage, thefts or incidents where someone is causing a public disturbance.

“This information allows police to identify and respond to incident trends as they emerge,” a spokesperson said.

“Officers do conduct formal patrols of shopping centres and regularly engage with shopkeepers and staff in both formal and informal settings.”

An ACT Government spokesperson said its projects and activities incorporate strategies to support improved public safety, including decluttering spaces to improve sight lines, better lighting, and creating high-quality environments that encourage visitors and significantly increase passive surveillance.

The spokespersons said there was a diverse mix of free and paid, short and long-term, government and private parking in the broader Dickson Group Centre.

This included free short and time-limited parking provided by the ACT Government and free parking provided by private car parks.

Construction projects had been staged to manage disruption and would continue to do so.

“The core shopping precinct upgrade has been coordinated to occur after the completion of the Dickson Village development and to minimise overlaps with the Dickson Tradies redevelopment,” the spokesperson said.

The ACT Government would work closely with local businesses before, during and after the street upgrades.

A range of initiatives were planned to minimise disruption where possible and may include a staged approach to construction as well as encouraging spending to support local traders.

“While there will be short-term impacts, this project will help local businesses over the coming decade and beyond,” the spokesperson said.

“With strong community support, the government has prioritised upgrades to the Dickson shops and tasked the City Renewal Authority to engage with local businesses and key stakeholders on the designs for these improvements.”