Greens outline vision for Northbourne Ave

[Buzz Killington]

ACT Greens MLA Caroline Le Couteur has today released her vision for the future of Northbourne Avenue and the surrounding area.

The vision is attached as additional comments to the Planning Committee's Report on Inner North Canberra tabled today in the Legislative Assembly.

It's important that we grasp the opportunities being presented in the Inner North Precinct to create a truly cosmopolitan and sustainable community along Northbourne Avenue", said Caroline Le Couteur, Greens planning spokesperson.

"We must ensure that we are building to meet the needs of the future, while preserving the character of our suburbs. In particular, we need to be building to meet our wider ACT goal of 40% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions by 2020.

"Planning needs to reflect the trend towards smaller household sizes, as well as allowing people to age in place.

"I believe that we need to increase the density of dwellings immediately adjacent to Northbourne Avenue, to allow the area to truly become a viable transport corridor.

"While we are seeing some good examples of redevelopment in the Northbourne precinct, we need to see more commercial uses of residential buildings on the ground floor, such as coffee shops and convenience stores.

"We also need to ensure that these buildings are of high quality, sustainably designed and include generous communal spaces to prevent social isolation.

"The Greens want  to ensure that we retain the level of public housing in the area, although, given the poor condition of many of the current stock, it would be beneficial to redevelop it sustainably, and to includes features such as community gardens.

"This type of redevelopment will go a long way to supporting improved transport infrastructure for Northbourne Avenue. As outlined in my Active Transport Plan, I published last year, I believe that we need to add a bus only lane, an improved and safer cycle lane, and better walking path connections to the residential areas, while allowing for light rail in the future," Ms Le Couteur said.

The Report can be found at: http://www.parliament.act.gov.au/committees/index1.asp?committee=113&inquiry=823&category=19