Time to learn from planning overreach

Robauz said :

It’s very disappointing that the NIMBYs have won yet again with the Yarralumla brick works. We all love going to Paris and New York and all the facilities that high density offers, but here we seem to always want three level max apartments. Maybe the ACT government needs to be a bit tougher and not be so worried about vocal whingers and just plan what is good for the city. From 1800 to 300 apartments, is not a scale back but a slaughter.

The principle of higher density is that it should be applied where it does the most good.

ie Close to the City and to public Transport.

The previous designs were frankly awful on every level and had a flow on effect of proposing a very expensive second crossing of Adelaide Ave with traffic problems in the tiny number of exits from Yarralumla.

Adelaide Ave is already under pressure from poor public transport and other ill thought out developments further out, simply piling on more cars into an existing inadequate road system. The cars exiting Yarralumla already struggle to get onto Adelaide Ave and the proposal would have doubled the number of dwellings in Yarralumla without anything added to get people out and to work.

I personally think Yarralumla should be built up to provide better facilities and lifestyle whilst maintaining the appearance and character of the suburb. It can easily be achieved by allowing increased density on the existing large residential blocks, along the public transport corridors, but mostly that has been blocked by the totally inconsistent ACT Planning regulations that discourage this in all but a few sites close to the shops.

The problem is that the ACT Government is a speculator hooked on selling green fields sites for cash. The normal natural urban infill is actively discouraged because that competes with the Government sales. This is why the whole planning system has stuffed up Canberra, its open urban parkland and the surrounding natural countryside.

It’s very disappointing that the NIMBYs have won yet again with the Yarralumla brick works. We all love going to Paris and New York and all the facilities that high density offers, but here we seem to always want three level max apartments. Maybe the ACT government needs to be a bit tougher and not be so worried about vocal whingers and just plan what is good for the city. From 1800 to 300 apartments, is not a scale back but a slaughter.

dungfungus said :

rosscoact said :

dungfungus said :

Masquara said :

Let’s just be clear: the Westside Container Development was Andrew Barr’s brainchild, and he pushed it and threw our million dollars at it for zero return. I have yet to see one single person there on driving past – daily.

Now that’s an inconvenient truth.
I have often criticised the millions of dollars that Barr used to throw at the NGA blockbusters out of his “special events” account but this pop up mentality surpasses all before it.

You know that you could just cut and paste the following sentence which would save yourself a heap of typing.

Here you go.

Everything the Liberal Party does is beyond reproach. Nothing anybody else does is worthwhile.

Here’s a shorter version

Libs good – not Libs bad!

Try it and let us know what you do with the spare time it creates.

If you bothered to read my other post in full you would see my reference to an “useless futsal slab” that was built previously where the pop-up now is.
I was expecting you to nominate this as a Liberal failure but you have completely missed it so I will remind everyone else that this was a blunder of the Carnell Liberal government.
I give credit where it is due and vice-versa.
Happy now?

You didn’t need to tell us, we already knew.

But nice to see this first for you. An acknowledgement that even your sacred cows drop cow pats.

rubaiyat said :

The idea of pop ups is spontaneity location and moving on.

This failed on all levels.

It lacked purpose intimacy and timeliness. The architects, I was surprised there were any, came up with nothing, and the location is nice sort of, but totally wrong for this.

I hope everybody has learnt from this and has another shot somewhere more relevant to the idea of popup and next time keeps the budget down and pulls their finger out getting it done.

The ACT Government continues to be hip and cool by moving from Twitter-Periscope (whatever that is) to pop-up cabinet meetings.
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2015-09-02/act-government-pop-up-cabinet-comes-to-woden/6744324
Who do they think they are representing for goodness sake?
Hopefully, whatever pops-up will eventually pop-down.

HiddenDragon said :

“These agencies need a change of culture and to develop a mature and respectful attitude towards the residents of Canberra.”

Indeed, but not just the agencies in question – the “shut up (unless you agree with us), pay up, and do what you’re told” mentality is all-too-common.

Having yet another go at the Liberals?

In this case the Abbott government.

The idea of pop ups is spontaneity location and moving on.

This failed on all levels.

It lacked purpose intimacy and timeliness. The architects, I was surprised there were any, came up with nothing, and the location is nice sort of, but totally wrong for this.

I hope everybody has learnt from this and has another shot somewhere more relevant to the idea of popup and next time keeps the budget down and pulls their finger out getting it done.

dungfungus said :

watto23 said :

dungfungus said :

Masquara said :

Let’s just be clear: the Westside Container Development was Andrew Barr’s brainchild, and he pushed it and threw our million dollars at it for zero return. I have yet to see one single person there on driving past – daily.

Now that’s an inconvenient truth.
I have often criticised the millions of dollars that Barr used to throw at the NGA blockbusters out of his “special events” account but this pop up mentality surpasses all before it.

An actual fact is the ACT government planned for $800k and paid $880k. I’ve seen many people there, although not as popular as it probably needs to be. So what do conservatives propose we actually do? Never try anything or try to improve anything? Governments need to spend money on a wide variety of things to satisfy the greater community. Every little thing they do can’t be a benefit to YOU. Now IMO it may not have been the best value, but I also see the total cost as being quite small in the scheme of the ACT budget.

You call it an “improvement”?
I know it was built over an equally useless futsal slab but the odd wild animal-free circus has used that slab to provide family entertainment.
I have yet to meet anyone who has visited the place and found it a positive thing for Canberra. At the same time everyone I know from out of Canberra that has seen it thinks it is appalling.
Anyone bothered to ask ACT Tourism their opinion? I am assuming they are still around after the stunningly vibrant and multi-million dollar CBR campaign (another flop).

When Kate Carnell spent all that taxpayers money on a world class futsall slab she really put Canberra on the map.

When I was travelling in Europe strangers would fete me, take me home, feed me and introduce me to their daughters. Just to have me regale them with the story of how a small obscure Australian city took on the world by taking a piece of land that had been dedicated as green lakeside parkland, first covered it with bitumen to create desperately needed car parking and then in a huge leap of imagination again covered that with beautifully engineered concrete.

“These agencies need a change of culture and to develop a mature and respectful attitude towards the residents of Canberra.”

Indeed, but not just the agencies in question – the “shut up (unless you agree with us), pay up, and do what you’re told” mentality is all-too-common.

rosscoact said :

dungfungus said :

Masquara said :

Let’s just be clear: the Westside Container Development was Andrew Barr’s brainchild, and he pushed it and threw our million dollars at it for zero return. I have yet to see one single person there on driving past – daily.

Now that’s an inconvenient truth.
I have often criticised the millions of dollars that Barr used to throw at the NGA blockbusters out of his “special events” account but this pop up mentality surpasses all before it.

You know that you could just cut and paste the following sentence which would save yourself a heap of typing.

Here you go.

Everything the Liberal Party does is beyond reproach. Nothing anybody else does is worthwhile.

Here’s a shorter version

Libs good – not Libs bad!

Try it and let us know what you do with the spare time it creates.

If you bothered to read my other post in full you would see my reference to an “useless futsal slab” that was built previously where the pop-up now is.
I was expecting you to nominate this as a Liberal failure but you have completely missed it so I will remind everyone else that this was a blunder of the Carnell Liberal government.
I give credit where it is due and vice-versa.
Happy now?

dungfungus said :

Masquara said :

Let’s just be clear: the Westside Container Development was Andrew Barr’s brainchild, and he pushed it and threw our million dollars at it for zero return. I have yet to see one single person there on driving past – daily.

Now that’s an inconvenient truth.
I have often criticised the millions of dollars that Barr used to throw at the NGA blockbusters out of his “special events” account but this pop up mentality surpasses all before it.

You know that you could just cut and paste the following sentence which would save yourself a heap of typing.

Here you go.

Everything the Liberal Party does is beyond reproach. Nothing anybody else does is worthwhile.

Here’s a shorter version

Libs good – not Libs bad!

Try it and let us know what you do with the spare time it creates.