Speech in the ACT Legislative Assembly

25 March 2009

I move – That this Assembly:
(1) notes:
(a) the continuing delay in upgrading the car park at the Nicholls Shops is a considerable concern and frustration to Nicholls residents and businesses; and,
(b) that the Government will conduct a community meeting in Nicholls to discuss the upgrade of the car park.
(2) calls on the Government to ensure the plans for the upgrade of the Nicholls shops car park take the needs to the community into account by:
(a) conducting genuine community consultation;
(b) considering widening the car park to provide for safer use of the car park; and,
(c) taking into account expert engineering advice from Roads ACT.

Mr Speaker, the Nicholls Car Park is another example of this Government’s litany of infrastructure failures.

I move this motion today because the continuing delay in upgrading the car park is of considerable concern and the cause of significant frustration amongst the businesses and residents of Nicholls.  It is also clear the consultation process was a complete sham.

Unsurprisingly, Mr Speaker, like so many times before, the current plans for the upgrade of the car park do not reflect the needs and desires of Nicholls residents and businesses.

This Stanhope-Gallagher Government does seem to have a problem with Gungahlin.  Whether it is the Gungahlin Drive Extension, traffic in the town centre, bus services, suburban planning, block size, or community infrastructure we see only one thing from this Government: absolute failure. 

If there is one thing you can say about this Government: they have been consistent on infrastructure. Like every other project the Government has failed on, we have the same ingredients:
- the promise something will be done
- the announcement of consultation
- the inevitable failure to consult properly
- further delays to the works when they realise the community won’t accept their bungled attempts at cover up
- re-announcement in an election campaign.

In December last year I placed a question on the notice paper regarding the Nicholls shops and in January was advised that work would commence by the end of February.  In March I raised the fact that the work had not started and was advised it would be further delayed.

The problem with the Nicholls shops car park it is simple: it does not have enough capacity for the size of the shops, there are no loading zones, and the car park is too narrow, creating safety issues and causing many accidents.

The Government’s plan is to make the traffic through the car park one way, have all traffic diverted through Paisley Street to exit shops, to make parking 45 degree angled rather than 90 degrees, and to construct a footpath to the adjacent Gold Creek School car park.

This plan creates more problem than it solves.  The Gold Creek School car park is about 100 metres walk from the shops, and walking from that distance is not practical for a suburban shopping centre.  People go from suburban shops to get in and out quickly. Such a walk would quite literally drive traffic way.  Paisley Street was not designed for such a traffic load and there is poor visibility where it meets Kelleway Avenue.  Indeed, the current main entrance to the shops at Kelleway and Lexcen Avenues is a roundabout designed for the high amounts of traffic that a local shopping centre generates – a much more appropriate entrance than the Paisley Avenue t-junction.  Just yesterday the Minister for Territory and Municipal Services gave us a sermon about the importance of road safety around shopping centres whilst at the same time his department advocated directing all outgoing traffic through this t-intersection and through a street not designed for the load.

Had the Government engaged with the community properly in the initial consultation they would have realised these issues were significant issues for the Nicholls community.

In a stunning admission on ABC 666 Chief Minister’s talk back on 20 March the Chief Minister admitted that the consultation involved “perhaps a not overly extensive letterbox drop.”  The plans that were on display at the shops were not a substitute for wide reaching consultation.

It is my understanding now that the government has delayed works due to the considerable objections of local residents, and plans to conduct a meeting in late April. We are yet to hear about this formally though.

I hope this time the government will take account of the needs of Nicholls businesses and residents by conducting this next round of consultation genuinely, by considering the width of the car park, by ensuring two-way traffic can continue at the main entrance to the shop, and not directing all traffic through Paisley Street.

I would like to thank all those in Nicholls who have contacted me regarding these issues and I look forward to the Government taking into account their concerns, by upgrading the car park. Indeed, the fact that such a large number of people have contacted me about this project is evidence that the consultation did not work.

I commend the motion to the house.