How Adelaide Avenue will look with light rail. Image: ACT Government.
The ACT Government is finally set to unveil its transport vision for southern Canberra, anchoring it within a newly commissioned study.
Slated for a mid-year release, the long-awaited draft Southern Gateway Design and Planning Framework will guide development along the future light rail route to Woden and Mawson, including Adelaide Avenue, Yarra Glen, Callam Street and Athllon Drive.
A contract has now been awarded to the consultant Jacobs Group Australia to assess the corridor’s arterial road network in light of the Framework’s recommendations on possible infrastructure options for the next 15 and 25 years.
The contract provides insights into what may be included in the Framework, including the reimagining of these roads as a landscape-led, multimodal transport spine with strengthened active travel connections between housing, rapid transport stops, centres, jobs, services and facilities, while maintaining an effective transport network.
It lists the government’s ideas for particular precincts along the route, all with better active travel connections to and from light rail stops.
In the Inner South Precinct, Adelaide Avenue would become a Formal Avenue and approach route to Parliament House.
The Yarra Glen Precinct would be transformed into a Parkland Boulevard, creating a new gateway to Woden at the site of the current Yarra Glen roundabout.
In March, the Suburban Land Agency released a tender for a feasibility study into transforming the northern approaches to the roundabout into a new high-density, mixed-use neighbourhood serviced by rail, road and bus, and connected to bike and pedestrian paths.
A new intersection would replace the roundabout.
No roundabout. A possible new Yarra Glen intersection. Photo: ACT Government.
In the Woden Precinct, Callam Street would be transformed into a more pedestrian and cyclist-friendly street, with improved access between the Woden Town Centre and Canberra Hospital, and better connections to the new Woden Interchange from Chifley, Lyons and Weston Creek.
Lastly, the Athllon Precinct envisages a transformed Athllon Drive as a landscape-led corridor, futureproofing the extension of the light rail network and enabling the continued renewal of the Mawson Group Centre into a “walkable, vibrant and well-connected urban village”.
Community organisations along the light rail route are eagerly awaiting the draft Southern Gateway Framework to understand what development impacts there may be on their suburbs, particularly regarding the North Curtin Horse Paddocks, where a new medium-density suburb of 1200-1300 homes is planned.
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Curtin Community Association president Ian Elsum said in April that both the SLA and National Capital Authority draft plans for the horse paddocks were missing too much information, including traffic impacts and the draft Framework, so they could not be assessed as a whole.
The Association has said that the new developments will necessitate a new road interchange where Adelaide Avenue, Yarra Glen and Cotter Road currently meet.
This new piece of work should provide the traffic and transport answers and may herald the release of the draft Framework, which will go out to public consultation.
The consultant will provide transport scenario modelling and consider national and international case studies. A key task is to clearly show on a map where recommended multimodal transport network options will be located within the Southern Gateway corridor.
A final report due in October is expected to include recommendations for the various precincts within the Southern Gateway for short, medium (2041) and long-term (2051) implementation.
The contract is worth $214,467.22 (GST inclusive).