25 March 2021

Draft designs for three shopping centre upgrades ready for feedback

| Ian Bushnell
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Minister for Transport and City Services Chris Steel

Minister for Transport and City Services Chris Steel said the upgrades to the shopping centres are intended to encourage Canberrans to shop locally. Photo: Dominic Giannini.

Facelifts for three Canberra suburban shopping centres are one step closer with draft designs being released for public viewing and a tender out for consultants to produce final plans for the projects.

During the election campaign, Labor promised upgrades for the Campbell, Duffy and Kaleen shops and is now seeking community feedback on the draft designs including pop-up presentations at each shopping centre.

The successful tenderers, to be engaged next month, will also produce cost estimates and construction documentation with work to be completed over the next three months and will include community feedback into the final designs.

Minister for Transport and City Services Chris Steel said the government wanted to know what it’s got right, what should be prioritised and how it can make the local shops somewhere residents want to be.

He said the focus for feedback will broadly be on accessibility including footpaths, car parking and crossing locations.

“In addition, improving spaces for gathering and enjoying the public space whether that be with new seating and landscaping, or lighting,” he said.

Mr Steel said that in Duffy the Government was particularly interested in hearing from children and families about the existing play space beside the shopping centre and what improvements can be made to make it an enjoyable area to play.

He said the upgrades were intended to encourage Canberrans to shop locally, in turn providing improved financial outcomes for businesses and stronger community connections by bringing people together at their local centre.

“We recognise that including community feedback into projects like these ensures the best outcome for those that are regular visitors to the local shops,” Mr Steel said.

“I encourage the community to head to YourSay, take a look at the designs and provide feedback either electronically or in person at one of the pop-ups planned at the local shops.”

Mr Steel said that the design phase of the project had already created about six new jobs and many more were expected once construction started.

Pop-ups will take place at Blamey Place, Campbell shops on 1 May 2021 from 10 – noon; Duffy on 17 April from 2 – 4 pm; and Kaleen South at Gwydir Square also on 17 April, from 10 – noon.

In the 2020-21 budget, the government also invested in detail design for improvements to Pialligo, including formalised car parking, new footpaths along Beltana Road and traffic improvements including a new left-in, left-out intersection with Beltana Road, Kallaroo Road and Pialligo Avenue.

This work will commence in the coming months and will include further consultation with residents and businesses.

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Local shops? They’re all unkempt wastelands. The ACT Government could carry our municipal services to save themselves. Canberra is starting to look like Detroit or Baltimore. Just mow the grass first, and then, when we can find the shops, then we can think about making them look second world.

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