News & Discussion: Adelaide City Council

[cruel_world00]

http://www.adelaidenow.com.au/news/sout ... 6086321730

AN iconic structure in Victoria Square - rivalling the Eiffel Tower - is among suggestions made to improve the city centre.

More than 2700 ideas have been uploaded to Adelaide City Council's Picture Adelaide website and iPhone app, which calls on city workers, shoppers and residents to photograph what they love, want improved or want to create in the city centre and upload it with comments to a CBD map.

Among the ideas submitted since the campaign was launched in April, was a suggestion from "Ben" for an "iconic structure in Victoria Square which would become the centrepoint of our city and would rise far above the current Adelaide skyline".

He called for an observation deck and restaurant at its peak, and for lighting features.

"At a significant height you would not need to worry about it being dwarfed anytime soon - this would put Adelaide on the map," he posted.

Another upload, by "Shuz", agreed, but called for the attraction to be taller than the 323m Q1 Tower on the Gold Coast, so Adelaide could "take the title of (having) Australia's tallest building".

Other ideas include an observation deck on the top of Westpac House - Adelaide's tallest building - and a floating pontoon on Torrens Lake for concerts and events, as well as floating restaurants and bars. The suggestions will be used as feedback for the council's 2012-16 Strategic Plan.

Disposable cameras also were given to schools and community groups to take photos and submit their ideas, and reply-paid postcards, which can be filled out and sent back, have been mailed to city residents and placed in city libraries, community centres, UParks, the Aquatic Centre and golf courses.

Lord Mayor Stephen Yarwood said Picture Adelaide was "a new way for people to have a say".

"The app means that people can send us their ideas as they think of them while they're walking around the city and take photos of what they love as they pass by their favourite spots," he said.

Many submissions also pointed to areas needing improvement, such as extended tram routes around the city, activating dark and dirty laneways, a need for more rooftop and vertical gardens - some with fruit and vegetables which can be picked by the public - and better bike-lane systems.

And other people took to the site to share what they love about the city, with the Parklands, Central Market, Northern Lights of the Adelaide Festival and the Rundle Lantern covering the UPark building on the corner of Rundle and Pulteney streets emerging as favourite icons.

The Picture Adelaide website, http://www.pictureadelaide.com.au, and the free iPhone app will be open until the end of the year, when the council's 2012-16 Strategic Plan is finalised.

Looks like someone is famous.

[dsriggs]

Pretty dopey thing for Shuz to be saying, tbh.

[iTouch]

question, why doesn't Westpac House have an observation deck? Is it merely because it's never been proposed or is it something more sinister like a health issue or danger risk or something?

[AtD]

^ probably because the floorspace is worth too much as office space.

[omada]

Love this initiative. I used it to suggest improvements to Chinatown. ie adding Asian tree plantings, gardens, street art, more stalls. What irks me about Chinatown/Moonta St in particular is the Gouger Street end, it is lifeless, primarily due to the Asian supermarket on the corner takes away valuable Moonta St frontage that could be used for restaurants etc. It also reminded me of some debate years ago about extending Chinatown, I feel this idea should be explored again.

[skyliner]

A very interesting site. Good to see the ideas and others involved in thinking about Adelaide's future.

ADELAIDE - TOWARDS A GREATER CITY SKYLINE

[Waewick]

Love this initiative. I used it to suggest improvements to Chinatown. ie adding Asian tree plantings, gardens, street art, more stalls. What irks me about Chinatown/Moonta St in particular is the Gouger Street end, it is lifeless, primarily due to the Asian supermarket on the corner takes away valuable Moonta St frontage that could be used for restaurants etc. It also reminded me of some debate years ago about extending Chinatown, I feel this idea should be explored again.

perhaps leave China town as is and reflect the impact of other asian cultures on the area.......

de regulating things will be a way to see the real Asia town happen.

[Wayno]

perhaps leave China town as is and reflect the impact of other asian cultures on the area

At one point Stephen Yarwood was talking about a 'Little India' being established somewhere near the markets. I'm unsure of current status.

[mattblack]

Hi David,

Just wondering what was going on in the southern parklands, seems to be alot of earthmoving going on now for weeks. Also, while ive got you, do you have updated plans on Victoria Park, looks like a bomb has hit the place but really looking forward to a positive outcome.

Cheers

[UrbanSG]

Matt, the SW parkland works are part of the Adelaide Central Reinforcement Program.

ETSA are replacing a lot of the high voltage overhead powerlines in this area with underground lines to link the CBD with the new Keswick substation.

[david]

The answer to the question about major work being done in the South Park Lands is correct - it is work being done by Electranet. The damage to the Park Lands is massive and I for one am not at all happy with the way the work is being monitored.

In reply to Mattblack I am attaching a marked up copy of the Victoria Park Masterplan which is my rather crude attempt to show what is happening there now. This is our $1.8m project to remediate the southern end and to create 9 playing fields for soccer/football.

There were to have been 10 playing fields but areas have now been set aside to protect remnant native vegetation and the habitat of the Copper Chequered Butterfly, a rare species found in that area recently. There are many native plants in that location as well as colonies of trap-door spiders all of which Council is determined to protect. The wetlands shown further south are part of the Keswick/Brownhill Creek Stormwarter Drainage Scheme which is yet to be finally designed and funded.

I hope this is of some help

Vic Park MP0134.JPG (742.03 KiB) Viewed 2355 times

David
DLM

[Will]

I thought that the new council was going to be more progressive and youth friendly.

Sadly, decisions such as these, only show that nothing has changed.


As a young person, this is bitterly dissapointing. I work very hard during the week, and Saturday night is my night to have fun. Yes, I drink, but I also do not go into the city to create havoc. I should not be punished for the anti-social actions of a small minority.

Furthermore, I cannot see how forcing thousands of people out at the same time will make things better. Instead I foresee more violence as thousands of drunk people jostle for taxis at the same time.

City's 3am curfew call

Local News7 Jul 11 @ 07:30am by Alice Higgins


Town Hall has backed a four-hour mandatory break in trade for city pubs and clubs instead of the State Government’s proposed three-hour lockout.

The City Council last week voted in favour of a 3am to 7am shutdown an hour longer than the government’s planned 4am to 7am break.

Lord Mayor Stephen Yarwood said the council voted to extend the trading ban by an extra hour based on advice from Police Commissioner Mal Hyde.

“(The) council thought it was prudent to err on the side of caution and 3am is a good balance between ensuring vibrancy in the city but also minimising the risk to city users,” Mr Yarwood said.

The government last July revealed plans to force pubs and clubs to close from 4am to 7am under a raft of clampdowns aimed at curbing alcohol-fuelled brawls in and around licensed premises.

Cr Natasha Malani unsuccessfully moved an amendment to back a three-hour shutdown from 4am to 7am.

“Three am is early, in my opinion, and I am a sensible citizen,” Cr Malani said.

Cr Houssam Abiad said a 4am curfew was a “fair call”.

“The Commissioner for Liquor and Gambling, his advice was 4am and I thought he was best placed to make a decision on that, not (the) council,” Cr Abiad said.

Cr Megan Hender said the council could be viewed as “shutting down the city early” if it backed a 3am lockout.

“I think a curfew is important but we just need to be careful about the message we send,” Cr Hender said.

“We could lose some of our young people to the bright lights of Sydney and Melbourne.”

But Cr Anne Moran said a three-hour lockout should start at 3am. “If you close at 4am, you will still have police clearing out the place when people are arriving for work,” Cr Moran said.

Cr Mark Hamilton agreed: “You cannot say that closing at 3am will be of detriment and cause a flurry of youth to go to Sydney and Melbourne,” Cr Hamilton said.

“We do not want our youth to be mugged, stabbed and murdered.”

Cr Michael Henningsen said a 3am lockout did not mean Adelaide was a “Hicksville town”.

“It is completely fallacious to assume that by supporting the original motion, we are some sort of back water,” Cr Henningsen said.

However, the group voted against a move which would allow the commissioner the power to grant liquor license holders exemptions from the lockout.

The Liquor Licensing Bill remains before Parliament.

In an emailed statement, Consumer Affairs Minister Gail Gago said she welcomed the council’s vote to support a break in trade.

The council will now forward its response to the Bill to the commissioner.

[[Shuz]]

To add onto Will's comments; It's already hard enough to get a taxi as it is, let alone forcing everyone out into the streets at once. This is only going to make things worse, not better.

I propose that on Friday and Saturday nights, that Hindley and Rundle Streets be closed off to traffic entirely. That way, people won't be as intrusive of each other's space, which would consequently lead to reduced violence and better safety for all.

[Waewick]

yay welcome to the 18oo's to the youth of Adelaide

what a deplorable decision/idea/concept

way to become irrelvant ACC - now to convince the state governmnet to completly disband you (given not only do you have no planning powers of relevance - your also clearly becoming a lap dop entity anyway.)

Cr Michael Henningsen said a 3am lockout did not mean Adelaide was a “Hicksville town”.

“It is completely fallacious to assume that by supporting the original motion, we are some sort of back water,” Cr Henningsen said.

uh, yes Cr it does - you have made this city a joke.

[Matt]

So when the clock strikes 3, every nightspot in Adelaide will suddenly vomit drunken revellers out onto the streets?
Great thinking.

For a city so seemingly desperate to improve its reputation, this does it no favours whatsoever.