If only 36 people were using the Beardy St Mall – either inside or outside the buildings – we hardly call it bustling with activity.
So what will 36 parking spaces (the number proposed for the East Mall), an access road, lots of cars and SUV hoping to find a parking space, perhaps even the odd motor-home looking for the relocated visitor centre bring to our Mall? It all seems more chaotic than vibrant.
Our big box shopping centres are vibrant. Hundreds of people throng the shopping precincts thanks to easy access to undercover and outdoor parking occupying at least as much space as the shops and walkways.
By contrast, traffic in the mall would take up a huge amount of space and create noise and pollution for a tiny increase in people – the occupants of the 36 parked cars. Cities such as Tamworth control traffic by charging by the hour for parking.
Susie Dunn says No! No! No! RK Crosby is concerned about changing our city heart from “innately feminine: inclusive, safe, connected, a place of gathering and sharing – to the masculine: fast, moving, unsafe ..,”.
What do you think?
Council’s plans already include shop-top housing and more residential development, but progress is slow because many are concerned for the health of their families and don’t want to live in areas that can’t meet World Health Organisation air quality guidelines. The elephant in the room isn’t planning, but pollution, and the fact that “the more smoke people breathe, the greater their risk of developing cancer, dementia, infertility, diabetes, heart disease, lung conditions like asthma, and many other chronic diseases.”*
The key consultation issues are those under council control. Will moving the library and the visitor centre make our city more vibrant, or just cost huge sums of money and make important facilities harder to access?
Resources will inevitably be scarce. What should be the priorities? Opening up the Courthouse for community use and bringing more people to Beardy St? Creating the proposed laneways in the Plan sooner than the stated 5-20? years? Hydrotherapy? Implementing the plans for the East Mall? Opening up Dangar St? More information signs and displays, QR codes for further information on places of interest and recommended walking routes? Shade sails, perspex wind-breaks, refreshed planter boxes in the mall? Fit-for purpose parking, traffic and active transport strategies? Developing effective ‘report-it’ software to keep track of and fix important maintenance issues that could generate a sense of ownership and pride in our community? What else could council do with available resources?
Before submission fatigue sets in (on this and 7 other current consultations, including $800 million water and sewer proposals), read the City Centre Plan, have your say by 17 August and copy to all councillors!
Cr Dr Dorothy L Robinson is an elected Armidale Regional Councillor.
The above is a personal opinion and not the opinion of Council.
- Wood heaters and health factsheet by the Centre for Safe Air, a NHMRC Centre of Research Excellence led by Professor Fay Johnston at the Menzies Institute for Medical Research, University of Tasmania.
Got something on your mind? Go on then, engage. Submit your opinion piece, letter to the editor, or Quick Word now.