Latham keeps its stones!

Back in November RiotACT readers were overwhelmingly in favour of keeping the Umbagong Stones which cross Ginninderra Creek.

Today Labor MLA Yvette Berry has announced they will be retained:

“I lived in Latham for 10 years and I know how close to residents’ hearts the stepping stones are”.

“I regularly take my kids and our dog out to Umbagong Park and I always see people of all ages go out of their way to cross Ginninderra Creek via the stepping stones” Ms Berry said.

Territory and Municipal Services investigated safety and access concerns and conducted community consultation between December 2012 and February 2013, which included holding a community meeting hosted by Belconnen Community Council.

“The consultation process collected more than 160 submissions from residents and users of the park, and I was pleased to see that about 80% of submissions asked for the stepping stones to remain in place”.

“This reflects the conversations I have had with members of the community who have made it very clear that they would have been disappointed if the stepping stones were removed” Ms Berry said.

Addressing the concerns about access for people with a disability and people with prams, the report found that there are pre-existing safe alternative crossing points which are now signposted that meet the requirements of the 1992 Disability Discrimination Act.