Gungahlin news

Transport

Roads ACT boss Tony Gill has advised that demolition of the collapsed bridgeworks on Barton Highway is to commence today.

The works should take five to seven days.

Meanwhile, problems from diverting traffic continue to plague Gungahlin commutes. People are coming off Barton Highway onto Gungahlin Drive, then turning right into Mitchell at the Sandford Street lights, and at Wells Station Drive.

Combined with the Flemington Road roadworks nearing completion at Harrison and Mitchell, we have a few serious chokepoints on Flemington Road and Gungahlin Drive. Tony has agreed to look at the traffic light sequencing to give more time to the through traffic.

Community & business

GCC has a rapidly growing base of supporters on its Facebook page. We hit a milestone in June when Wendy Elliott became GCC fan number 300, and the numbers are continuing to grow. Our next target is 400 fans, which is important because it would represent one per cent of Gungahlin’s population, making it a valuable sample size for feedback.

And the Facebook Insights analysis shows us very few of our fans have selected the ‘ignore’ option. This means our fans remain actively interested in what GCC is doing, our notices, and responses to questions.

You can join our Facebook supporter base at facebook.com/gungahlin.

Planning & development

Since I started working with GCC almost four years ago, I’ve been lobbying Planning Ministers Simon Corbell then Andrew Barr, and every planning official I can, for an overhaul of the ACT Territory Plan to ensure future subdivisions are designed so that passive solar design is not just possible, but also hard to get wrong, no matter how careless the builder.

Coupled with this, I’ve hammered the need for changes to the Residential Zone Code to ensure setbacks ensure people can build passive solar homes without their solar access being blocked by inappropriate surrounding design.

The ACT Planning and Land Authority (ACTPLA) finally started working on these changes through a series of “Sustainable Futures” workshops. Recently they released the culmination of this work and lobbying: two draft Variations to the Territory Plan that seek to make exactly these changes.

Community & business

If you value the work GCC does, how about becoming a part of the team?

We've had some great wins for Gungahlin over the last four years, in planning, urban design, public transport, energy efficiency, the environment and especially education.

But four years is a long time, and we urgently need fresh people.

We need someone to take over the GunSmoke advertising, so Damian can move focus on the design.

Matt Connors has had to resign, so we need a new vice president, someone who can backup the president at meetings and with the media. And thank you to Matt for all the work he's done over the last year or so in the role.

It is also time for me to stand down from the president role. I’m concerned that I haven’t been able to give enough time to the research and submissions for the many planning, transport and environment issues and consultations the ACT Government is throwing at us at a growing rate. I want to focus on this aspect, so need someone to take over as president.

You can help make your community a better place. Email me at president @ gcc.asn.au.

Community & business

Without business support, Canberra’s best community newsletter is finished.

Do you advertise in Gungahlin News?

Targeting of our previous supporters by Gungahlin News is hurting GCC finances so badly that the future of our highly regarded newsletter is in peril. Over the last year, we have lost as much as $4000 an issue due to our once strong advertising support being undermined.

Ironically, the Canberra Times started the Gungahlin News after GCC raised concerns about the areas that were missing out on the Chronicle! GunSmoke and the Chronicle have had a harmonious co existence for many years. The Chronicle’s weekly cycle allowed us to get time-critical information out to (part of) the Gungahlin community, and the bi-monthly GunSmoke allowed us more depth of discussion.

Let’s be really clear about what the circulation of your ad is. Gungahlin News goes to Gungahlin CBD, Harrison, Franklin and Forde. Within Gungahlin, the Chronicle goes to Hall, Nicholls, Ngunnawal, Palmerston and Amaroo. That’s it—straight from their “Media Kits”.

Planning & development

Could this be Canberra's food bowl?

The ACT Government is working on a study into future land use of the corridor from the Majura Valley north of the airport through to Hume.

Long-term, much of this vast stretch of land will be used for industrial development. This recognises that:

• it’s a high airport noise corridor unsuitable for any residential development
• it’s easily serviced by road freight on an upgraded Majura Parkway and Monaro Highway
• it’s alongside the proposed Very Fast Train route
• the existing industrial-designated areas of Fyshwick and Mitchell have been incrementally eroded by decisions allowing retail uses, meaning new areas are needed for serious industrial uses.

But the study also recognises that much of this demand will be years away, and that there should be planning for what can happen with the land in the meantime.

Transport

When a new subdivision is developed, it’s accepted that the ACT Government would not approve the development unless certain infrastructure is installed from Day 1—assets such as the roads, footpaths and street trees.

So why then is it that infrastructure essential to uptake of public transport is not also required up-front?

Gungahlin suburbs finished years ago still have huddles of amazingly tolerant bus users standing around shivering in winter drizzle and sweltering under summer suns. Meanwhile Roads ACT works through a waiting list of hundreds of well-used bus stops, installing a handful of open-air seats a year. Really popular stops with small crowds waiting every day might hit the jackpot and score a shelter—with seating for just three people! Go figure the maths on that.

Is it any wonder that at the first sight of rain, so many people abandon the bus in droves, and the roads become choked with cars?

By not requiring adequate public transport infrastructure up front in new estates, the ACT Government is effectively training new residents to instead use their cars.

Community & business

The Canberra Times (Suburbs worse off after road cancelled, 5/8/2010) incorrectly stated that the proposed Monash Drive road route around the base of Mount Ainslie has been scrubbed.

The reality is that that the ACT Government has requested the National Capital Authority remove it from their plans. The NCA has agreed only to investigate and consult on the proposal, but has not agreed to any cancellation at this stage.

Gungahlin Community Council has serious concerns that if ACT Governments of whatever guise continue to fail to deliver fast, segregated, efficient and commuter-attractive public transport for our residents, then Monash Drive will prove absolutely essential.

If we continue to plan for cars with one person in each, then morning gridlocks will surely follow. The alternative road routes into the city are simply not there. It's misguided for people to hang their hopes on the Majura Road upgrade - while needed, it's a far longer route, and will be avoided by many people destined for Civic, Russell and further south.

In a car city, the only alternatives to building Monash Drive are four-laning Majura Avenue into Limestone, bulldozing the trees down Northbourne, or ever-worsening rat-running through the northern suburbs - none of them attractive solutions and all having serious impacts on residents of North Canberra suburbs.

The NCA will be attending our meeting on 11 August to discuss Monash Drive, and GCC will continue to oppose the road's removal from plans until an ACT Government delivers on effective public transport.

Also at the meeting will be David Dawes and other staff from the new ACT Land and Property Services Department. They will explain how their supermarket policy affects the shopping centre sites at Amaroo and Franklin, and the program for accelerated release of new residential land over the next few years.

We'll also use the meeting to further our concerns about the proposed pokie club land sale for the Gungahlin town centre, selection of an appropriate site for the mosque, bringing forward release of more commercial and retail land in the town centre, plus the urgent need for more community centre facilities in new areas such as Franklin.

Transport

The Canberra Times (Suburbs worse off after road cancelled, 5/8/2010) incorrectly stated that the proposed Monash Drive road route around the base of Mount Ainslie has been scrubbed.

The reality is that that the ACT Government has requested the National Capital Authority remove it from their plans. The NCA has agreed only to investigate and consult on the proposal, but has not agreed to any cancellation at this stage.

Gungahlin Community Council has serious concerns that if ACT Governments of whatever guise continue to fail to deliver fast, segregated, efficient and commuter-attractive public transport for our residents, then Monash Drive will prove absolutely essential.

Community & business

With the recent news of the National Broadband Network Company selecting Gungahlin as one of the first parts of Australia to receive the new high speed internet network we are surveying our residents on the current quality of their internet service.

Please complete the short survey from the link below. Feel free to do the survey and speed testing a couple of times at different times of the day and night.

The NBN company has advised that their will carry out community consultations as part of the process to determine exactly which 3000 premises will be initially connected. We hope the survey results will enable us to advise them of exactly which areas of Gungahlin are receiving the worst service and so should be included in the initial roll-out.

Survey: click here

Community & business

Our campaign for better broadband took a great leap forward today. Senator Stephen Conroy announced that Gungahlin is to be one of just five locations to get the second stage roll-out of the National Broadband Network.

This means that some 3000 homes in Gungahlin with the poorest internet service are going to get fibre to the home, with installations due to start in the second quarter of 2011.

NBN boss Mike Quigley told IT News that one of the key factors in choosing Gungahlin was the strong community-based campaign on poor internet speeds.

This is a credit to Russ Gillon who set up www.actbroadband.net, Senator Kate Lundy who has campaigned on the issue for years, and Gungahlin Community Council volunteers such as Kevin Cox who have agitated for change for so long.

Telstra still has plenty to answer for, so don't miss our meeting next Wednesday 14 July where local Telstra GM Chris Taylor will answer your concerns.

Education

ACT Education has established a website specifically for the new Gungahlin College: http://www.det.act.gov.au/gungahlincollege

The site includes information on the subjects available to students and enrolment details.

Hopefully once new Principal Gai Beecher gets going in the job, we'll start to see regular updates on the construction and planning for the opening.

Community & business

Are you sick of poor internet service in Gungahlin? Still stuck on ADSL1 or even worse: dial-up? Have you been paying for higher speed ADSL services that instead run like dial-up or have you been forced to sign up for an expensive and relatively slow wireless service?

If so, then don't miss our meeting on Wednesday evening 14 July. Telstra Countrywide General Manager Chris Taylor has agreed to front up and answer your questions and concerns about the service Telstra has been providing for Gungahlin residents over recent years.

Mr Taylor's appearance at our meeting was triggered by a complaint from him about the accuracy of claims made by us and campaigner for better ACT broadband service Russ Gillon in an article in Gungahlin News (see tinyurl.com/26ynxgs). Mr Taylor wrote that he was "bemused" at the claims made, so we invited him to come to our meeting to explain where it was that we've all got it wrong…

We'll also be asking him why we should cop paying full price for services that Telstra deliberately 'shaped' as a way to cope with their congestion problems.

Our meetings are at the Palmerston Community Centre (behind the shops) from 7.30pm. Please make sure you let others with broadband problems know about the meeting.

The ACT Government has announced the appointment of Gai Beecher as the inaugural Principal of the new Gungahlin College. Ms Beecher was previously the Principal of the highly regarded Campbell High School.

I was invited by ACT Education head Dr Jim Watterson to represent the Gungahlin community on the selection panel for this vacancy. It was a great honour to be involved in making this decision that is so critical for establishing the College's pivotal role in the future of our town centre and our wider community. My particular areas of focus in the selection were how the candidates would ensure the college curriculum feeds into the courses offered by our local universities, so our kids can stay home while studying instead of being distracted working to pay the rent, how they would manage the multi-million dollar operation and entwine the college with the broader community, and how they would address concerns about bullying and cyber-safety.

Education

The new $72 million Gungahlin College has its first Principal - Gai Beecher, formerly the Principal of Campbell High.

The college and adjoining shared college-community library are rapidly taking shape, and Gungahlin residents are getting an insight into what an amazing facility it will be for our town centre.