Gungahlin population density worst - well durr...

And, good on ya Gun Al for pointing out to the “professional town developers” that another Anthony Rolfe along Flemington is not the best way to plan…

Bit late to throw 2c worth in here as have been away on a motorcycling vacation … have you seen the new endeavours going on in northern Franklin, right up near the Gunghalin shops? The very few tress on the side of the hill are being bulldozed! Seems those same planners who invented Anthony Ross and other startling social invites wanted to put the narrow road where the (very few) trees were… a dozen tres in hundreds of acres (old term) and they pull ’em out! And I am not sure where these thousands of new residents – with cars – are going to get out of Franklin to get to the Gunghalin shops. Maybe more sets of brilliant traffic lights like at Harrison School intersection; comingout of west side to turn left there is no left swing lane – but there is on the other three corners. Someone comes out to go to the really good Gunghalin shops and all the south bound cars get a red light – for no reason. Oh, Gun Al: what is that bit of roadwork southside Gundaroo near Barton Hwy?

Every time I drive down Anthony Rolfe Drive, my jaw drops. I’m flabbergasted that someone actually designed some of those terrace houses, they are so truly awful. And some of the surrounding roads, and their markings, are most unusual and confusing – what you’d expect in Paddington or Surrey Hills, not on a green fields site. Something’s gone wrong somewhere in the whole planning and development process.

Problem #1 – Developers buying overpriced parcels of land from the gov

Problem #2 – Government over-regulation of planning rules and conditions on that land

Problem #3 – Crappy Sydney-style developers bringing their bad ideas here

and so on..

Cameron: transition from town centre to surrounding residential areas would be a start – get some of the overall density they need to make the land yield stack up via quality apartment developments (think Viridian at Kingston) with quality communal open space, and better breaks between buildings.

Streets that, while not necessarily wider, have more provision for parking through solutions such as kerb insets, rather than choked streets. But some streets just plain have to be wider – Katoomba Street in Harrison is a classic example of a local collector that is far too small for the traffic it carries.

Don’t sell job lots of house blocks to single builders, leading to more cookie-cutter stretches of 6 or more houses almost identical.

Don’t replicate the abomination that is Anthony Rolfe Drive again right down Flemington Road as they are now planning to do – see our article.

That’s just a start…

This is what happens when you let developers develop suburbs, just like what Kate Carnell did with Gunghalin. I was looking at buying in Gunghalin in 2000. But after checking out Amaroo and Palmerston and seeing the area was just tree less sheep paddocks, I decided that no amount of marketing of ‘how close it was to the city’ was going make me buy a home here. So checked out other areas of Canberra with similar pricing and decide Gordon was quite lovely with nice streets (and plenty of new houses available), views and a infrastructure developed properly by government and not developers trying to squeeze every cent from every square metre of land.

Soon you can catch the very fast train to sydney and work there… :o)

There are heaps of apartments above the shops at the Raiders club end of the G. Medium density housing was how Gungahlin was planned. Eventually larger scale businesses will move out there. In the mean time get in your car like any other respectable Canberran and drive to work. Public transport… meh

So what exactly are you suggesting be done, Al?

Yes. Well, ok a few spare blocks in Duffy – for triple the price of Gungahlin and new Macgregor extension (where I’ve bought land)