Opposition talks about Urban Growth
Press release.
David Ridgway visits Gawler to talk about urban growth.
Mr David Ridgway, Opposition spokesperson on Urban Development and Planning visited Gawler last week after an invitation from the Urban Growth Boundary Community Forum Committee.
A spokesperson for the Committee said that members outlined community concerns in the Barossa, Gawler and Playford areas about proposed urban growth. Issues discussed included the lack of appropriate consultation before decisions were announced, lack of information about the potential impact of urban expansion on local communities and concern that the timing of decisions being directed by political expediency rather than based on solid planning.
Issues noted of particular relevance to the proposed developments at Gawler East and Concordia involving Gawler and Barossa councils included uncertainities about water, power and sewerage infrastructure, issues of traffic build up affecting the Gawler area, environmental and heritage issues, impacts on nearby river ecosystems and the need to protect quality rural land from urban development.
Mr Ridgway outlined the directions that would guide Opposition policies on the issues and particularly stressed concerns about lack of transport and other infrastructure and protection of productive rural land.
Spokesperson for Urban Growth Boundary Community Forum, Mr Paul Koch said that the Committee appreciated Mr Ridgeway’s involvement and would continue to press all political parties in the State to understand of the depth of concern there is in the local community and to respond with policies that protected community interests.
Traffic Concerns
July 10, 2008, 12:56 pm
Filed under:
Barossa,
Development,
Environment,
Gawler,
Planning,
South Australia,
Sustainability,
Urban Growth Boundary,
Urban Sprawl,
ugb | Tags:
Gawler East,
Lend Lease,
Planning, sustanability, 30 Year Plan, gawler,
Traffic,
Urban SprawlIncreasingly the wider community is becoming attuned to rising fuel prices and the cost of running a car, in particular driving to work. More and more people are using trains, buses and trams to commute to work if possible.
With the cost of fuel rising, it is becoming evident that it is not viable to simply keep pushing population growth out onto the urban fringe and then force people to rely on cars to get to work.
We currently have proposals to push the urban boundary further from the metropolitan heart. When the cost of fuel edges towards $2 a litre what will be the financial impact on people in these new developments? A more enlightened and sustainable view is to develop appropriate housing close to employment and services.
At a local level, traffic in and around Gawler is a constant problem. Murray Street is almost at capacity and the Government is conducting a traffic survey and looking at the impacts of different developments on traffic flows and movements.
A proposed solution is to create bypasses to accommodate the new housing developments but this will not solve the problems caused when these new residents want to travel into Gawler to access shops and services. Gawler, with its current traffic problems, is already a commercial destination, and the new developments of Target and off Para Road will draw additional traffic into the town.
It is inevitable that doubling our population with new housing developments will add to our traffic problems in Gawler, not solve it.
Hopefully the Government will start to take a more long-term view of urban development taking into account social and environmental outcomes. To do this they need to consider local concerns and not simply adopt solutions that seemed suitable last century.
