[Peakoil-announce] Sustainable housing plan without rail

[Alex Pollard]

Hi folks,

A particularly acute example of how myopic planning is here in the ACT. At
the very least rail should be considered as part of a sustainable housing
development. Instead, rail may be permanently obstructed without any due
consideration. Two letters to the editor follow

Alex
O4O4873828

ACT Peak Oil
http://act-peakoil.org


http://canberra.yourguide.com.au/detail.asp?story_id=1061040

28 September 2007
Plan to move railway station
John Thistleton

A new passenger railway station could be developed near the contentious $100
million Epicentre shopping development at Fyshwick under a draft urban
renewal project unveiled by ACT Planning Minister Andrew Barr yesterday.

The East Lake Renewal draft plan provides for options to relocate the
railway from Kingston to possible sites near the Monaro Highway, or
Newcastle Street west near Epicentre, or Newcastle Street east, or outside
the ACT.

A huge retail development is being constructed on the Epicentre Estate,
including 135 Direct Factory Outlet shops and 28 bulky goods stores. It has
triggered a bitter legal row between developers Austexx, the ACT Government
and the losing bidder for the site, Canberra Airport. A spokesman for
Austexx said the railway station would not have any impact on the
development and an airport spokesperson declined to comment.

A rail masterplan for the ACT is being prepared, considering associated
users and the regional context of rail in the ACT including passenger and
freight requirements.

According to the East Lake draft report, moving the railway station would
enable the development of a large parcel of land now occupied by railway
yards in Kingston to be integrated within the urban fabric of East Lake. A
corridor for future transitway options would be retained.

The Government is for the first time employing the CSIRO in planning a
high-density urban village at East Lake which it says will be the most
sustainable in Australia and possibly the world.

Work is expected to begin in 2009. Over the next 30 years, high-density
residential areas for 9000 people and light industries, such as IT firms and
retail shops will be rolled out, creating jobs for 3000 people. The
development will include 5000 residential units and 16,000sqm of commercial
space.

The East Lake area includes the Jerrabomberra wetlands on Lake Burley
Griffin's eastern shoreline, one of the most important waterbird habitats in
the ACT; Kingston's railway line; agricultural land; and historic Causeway
Hall at Kingston.

Canberrans have only eight weeks to respond to the plans.

Mr Barr said the redevelopment project was first raised in 2004 and there
would be more opportunities for people to comment after the consultation period.

CSIRO sustainable communities initiative director Sean Rooney said the
organisation's expertise would be applied to a complex range of social and
environmental sustainability issues arising from the redevelopment.

The sustainable communities initiative is running throughout Australia from
2007 to 2009, responding to changing climate, environmental degradation and
social and economic disadvantage.

According to the CSIRO, no one sector has the answer to these problems and
solutions lie in integrating skills, resources, knowledge and passion from
across all sectors.

__________________________________________

http://canberra.yourguide.com.au/detail.asp?class=your+say&subclass=general&story_id=1061657&category=letters+to+editor

Short-term gain

Myopic self-interest drives Labor's plans to terminate the rail line from
Sydney at Epicentre, rather than at Kingston, selling the land between to
make a motza ("Plan to move railway station", September 28, p1). Canberra
deserves better.

The railway line should be extended from Kingston to Civic as part of a plan
for an ACT-wide commuter rail network.

But the first step is to set aside corridors of land now before they're
covered with buildings.

Graham Macafee, Latham

Land for sale

Don't bother reading the ACT Government's transport policy because basically
that's it.

The Government's plan to move the railway station further from the city or
even out of the ACT to provide more sustainable housing by removing
sustainable transport shows it doesn't have a clue about sustainability.

The railway is our only sustainable option for transport to Sydney. Air
transport is hopelessly inefficient for such a short run, and the buses are
quickly succumbing to the traffic jam in the Sydney road tunnels.

The railway station should be moved closer to the city, not further from it,
since this is essential to get people to use it.

We need to retain freight yards in Fyshwick too, and get freight back onto
the railway as well.

The Government's only real policy is to sell land, to anybody for anything.

Dave Kelly, Aranda