The bridge formerly known as red goes in

EvanJames said :

So they spend a fortune removing the willows because the Tree Police have decided they’re bad. Next flood event, the quiet and very pretty pathway that went along at river-level is washed away, to the point that the road above was also undermined.

So another fortune is spent fixing this. The idiots are truly in charge.

Whilst they were good at holding the bank together, they were bad for the overall eco system. You only need to read the link above to see how bad.

This is not the only place they have been removed, since their removal from Gininderra Creek the whole creek is now alive, instead of being chocked by these plants that had no right being there. Though when it rains heavily the flow is much faster and in places spreads out more, but a small price to pay.

Now before accusing me of being a tree hugging greenie, let me assure you I am not, but for once this is one green policy I wholeheartedly agree with and the minor effect of the removal can be well managed.

So they spend a fortune removing the willows because the Tree Police have decided they’re bad. Next flood event, the quiet and very pretty pathway that went along at river-level is washed away, to the point that the road above was also undermined.

So another fortune is spent fixing this. The idiots are truly in charge.

johnboy said :

The rest of the lake didn’t have its willow banks denuded by nutters from the ACT Government.

http://www.riversmart.org.au/FAQsrivers.htm

maxblues said :

JC said :

maxblues said :

You obviously missed the period during construction of the Westfield bus station when the bridge was used between the shopping centre and the car park between immigration and what would become the new community health centre. It was well patronised in that position and I was surprised that they decided that this was only ‘temporary’.

Nope, I was here, it was well patronised because it was the only way to get into the mall from the western part of Belconnen. The bridge over the churches centre was being replaced and the entrance into the mall next to the interchange wasn’t open.

Now both are fully functional if the bridge had of somehow been left in that temporary location the only people it would “help” would be immigration workers too lazy to walk an extra 200m to go through the churches centre and the bridge over Cohen Street or go the other way through the interchange and cross that oh so busy and scary road at the traffic lights.

So how many bridges do you want in that area?

As many as there used to be. It was not long after the bridge was removed that a young pedestrian was killed there.

So do you mean two, like say circa 2008, where we had the red bridge and the Churches Centre bridge, or 1 like when the old red bridge was put into the temporary location with the Churches centre bridge closed?

If two, then there still are two bridges. One connecting the mall to the Churches Centre made up of one part of the old red bridge and the mall extension itself is a bridge that bridges the space that the old red bridge bridged, which was the bus way and Joynton Smith Drive (both now part of the Westfield carpark. So in essence the count now is the same as it always was. The ONLY thing different now the busway and Joyton Smith Drive (from the mall to Benjamin Way) don’t exist and Cohen street is extended, which has a perfectly good set of lights. I used them this morning, I obeyed them I made it across.

I put it to you again the only reason to have a bridge in the location of the temporary bridge is to save immigration workers a 200m walk to the nearest safe crossing. Besides even if the bridge was left in the temporary location, how exactly do you think you would get into the mall? After all the entrance that used to be served by the permanent and temporary bridges is now closed. So the only way in would be to walk around the cinema’s and come in near where the ANZ bank is. In which was it is probably shorter to walk the extra 200m.

maxblues said :

JC said :

maxblues said :

You obviously missed the period during construction of the Westfield bus station when the bridge was used between the shopping centre and the car park between immigration and what would become the new community health centre. It was well patronised in that position and I was surprised that they decided that this was only ‘temporary’.

Nope, I was here, it was well patronised because it was the only way to get into the mall from the western part of Belconnen. The bridge over the churches centre was being replaced and the entrance into the mall next to the interchange wasn’t open.

Now both are fully functional if the bridge had of somehow been left in that temporary location the only people it would “help” would be immigration workers too lazy to walk an extra 200m to go through the churches centre and the bridge over Cohen Street or go the other way through the interchange and cross that oh so busy and scary road at the traffic lights.

So how many bridges do you want in that area?

As many as there used to be. It was not long after the bridge was removed that a young pedestrian was killed there.

With two perfectly good and safe alternatives less than 200m either side. So will ask again how many bridges do you want? One every 50m though reckon if you did that some people would still want to take a short cut.

JC said :

maxblues said :

You obviously missed the period during construction of the Westfield bus station when the bridge was used between the shopping centre and the car park between immigration and what would become the new community health centre. It was well patronised in that position and I was surprised that they decided that this was only ‘temporary’.

Nope, I was here, it was well patronised because it was the only way to get into the mall from the western part of Belconnen. The bridge over the churches centre was being replaced and the entrance into the mall next to the interchange wasn’t open.

Now both are fully functional if the bridge had of somehow been left in that temporary location the only people it would “help” would be immigration workers too lazy to walk an extra 200m to go through the churches centre and the bridge over Cohen Street or go the other way through the interchange and cross that oh so busy and scary road at the traffic lights.

So how many bridges do you want in that area?

As many as there used to be. It was not long after the bridge was removed that a young pedestrian was killed there.

gooterz said :

JC said :

gooterz said :

Its not really a bridge over anything.. I could have just been a dirt mound with some concrete.

I’m sure they could have found a better use for it.

My how memories forget quickly. What you describe is what was there before and guess what? It got washed away, that’s why the path has been out of action for so long.

Now whilst this bridge isn’t spanning a vast body of water like Sydney Harbour, it is doing what it was designed to do, which is to provide a path that hopefully doesn’t get washed away like the last one.

Its amazing how the rest of the lake sure doesn’t fall in. Why does this one area in particular need a bridge?

Actually the lake proper has a wall all around it. This part is actually on the Molonglo river, in a part where it narrows, meaning the water gets quite tubulent and speeds up when it is flowing after a storm. The path was on a very narrow strip right next to Morehead Drive.

The work that was done here was two fold, the wall holding up Morshead Drive was strengthened and the bridge and the rocks below put in place to prevent further washouts, with rocks being much harder to wash out than dirt and sand.

Also as Johnboy said work has been done over the past few years to remove willows that would have once helped strengthen the bank, though of course with side effects to the ecosystem hence why they were removed.

A quick look at google earth will show how narrow this point is and if you zoom far enough down it shows quite clearly where the path was washed away. Would love to have seen how much dirt and concrete you would need to fix that, when the bridge is far simpler, no doubt cheaper and will probably do a better long term job.

https://maps.google.com.au/maps?q=Morshead+Drive,+Campbell,+Australian+Capital+Territory&hl=en&ll=-35.303595,149.162471&spn=0.007425,0.016469&sll=-35.301672,149.158003&sspn=0.001313,0.002059&oq=Morshead+Drive&t=h&gl=au&hnear=Morshead+Dr,+Campbell+Australian+Capital+Territory+2612&z=17

maxblues said :

You obviously missed the period during construction of the Westfield bus station when the bridge was used between the shopping centre and the car park between immigration and what would become the new community health centre. It was well patronised in that position and I was surprised that they decided that this was only ‘temporary’.

Nope, I was here, it was well patronised because it was the only way to get into the mall from the western part of Belconnen. The bridge over the churches centre was being replaced and the entrance into the mall next to the interchange wasn’t open.

Now both are fully functional if the bridge had of somehow been left in that temporary location the only people it would “help” would be immigration workers too lazy to walk an extra 200m to go through the churches centre and the bridge over Cohen Street or go the other way through the interchange and cross that oh so busy and scary road at the traffic lights.

So how many bridges do you want in that area?

JC said :

gooterz said :

Its not really a bridge over anything.. I could have just been a dirt mound with some concrete.

I’m sure they could have found a better use for it.

My how memories forget quickly. What you describe is what was there before and guess what? It got washed away, that’s why the path has been out of Action for so long.

Now whilst this bridge isn’t spanning a vast body of water like Sydney Harbour, it is doing what it was designed to do, which is to provide a path that hopefully doesn’t get washed away like the last one.

Its amazing how the rest of the lake sure doesn’t fall in. Why does this one area in particular need a bridge?

JC said :

maxblues said :

I still think the ‘temporary’ ‘red bridge’ over Cohen St, Belconnen between Immigration and Westfield should have been made permanent. It seemed to be well patronised and there has been at least one pedestrian death nearby since its removal. Now that the new multi-storey community health centre has been completed there will be a lot more pedestrian traffic in the area and many become impatient crossing at the Lathlain St lights.

You do realise that what this bridge used to bridge (the bus way and Joynton Smith Drive) is now covered over (except for a small part near the cinema) and forms the bus interchange and the Cohen Street extension. The bridge would have been right over the intersection of the bus interchange and Cohen Street. So what exactly do you think is it going to bridge?

As for pedestrians there are lights to cross from the new health centre to the bus interchange and from the bus interchange to the mall. If people are impatient enough to ignore them and get themselves killed then they should get a Darwin award. If people are too scared then they can always walk down the side of immigration and utilise the bridge that connects the mall to the Churches Centre, which ironically is made up of another part of the old red bridge, as the original bridge in this area was removed when they demolished the old interchange.

You obviously missed the period during construction of the Westfield bus station when the bridge was used between the shopping centre and the car park between immigration and what would become the new community health centre. It was well patronised in that position and I was surprised that they decided that this was only ‘temporary’.