Estate Development Code

This is the first of a series of articles on ACT building codes. The character and liveability of our city is a product of these codes. Here is a brief introduction to Estate Development Code and why it needs to be revised.

Ring fencing Molonglo 3

Molonglo 3 East is in an early stage of planning and the significance easily missed driving by. In the Planning Design Framework the ACT Government outlines what it does and does not want, however, the intention is to leave plenty of space for good urban planning. 

Molonglo Valley Stage 3 timeline 2004-2040

This article is a chronological list of the Molonglo Valley Stage 3 development stages and contains the key documents to download. It is mostly for reference purposes.

Evolution of the Molonglo Valley

The Molonglo Valley is not flat and that is well known but it does cause problems. In Molonglo 3, on the north of the river, the gradients can be a challenge.

Gradients in Molonglo 3: cycling from John Gorton Drive Bridge

Bicycles are arguably the most efficient machine ever invented, however, everything has its limits. A 30m section of steep path is all that is required to bring a cyclist to a stop. Pushing a bike up steep paths is not popular amongst cyclists. Better is to build the paths so that they are never so steep to become unrideable. Austroads Standards tell us how. Hilly terrain requires careful route and path design.

Molonglo Valley: Notes from the Lost Valley

Molonglo Valley is not lost, but it is still trying to find its way. The next step seems to be the Molonglo Valley Community Council. It is nowhere close to finished and hopefully, the Molonglo Valley Community Council will make a difference.

Walkable cities: trouble in Whitlam

Pedestrians will take the shortest route. That is the idea behind the design of walkable cities. Cyclists are the same. Roads may circle around, but direct paths must crisscross the city to make it easy for active travel. Whitlam fails the test.

Molonglo Valley: getting it right first time round

The Molonglo Valley is currently under construction and the cycling infrastructure is poor. If we wait until a suburb is finished then the problem will be with us for decades. This is what is happening now in the Molonglo Valley estate development.

What is wrong with Whitlam Stage 2?

The active travel facilities planned for Whitlam Stage 2 fall short of expectations. As human behaviour follows infrastructure, this lack of future proofing active travel facilities is directly detrimental to achieving an increase in active travel in the ACT.

When strategies collide: climate change, active travel and environment

The ACT Government goals found in the ACT Climate Change Strategy 2019-25, the Molonglo River Reserve Management Plan 2019, and the Active Travel Framework conflict and are difficult to reconcile. These strategies show commonalities but there will be trade-offs. In the Molonglo Valley, active travel is poorly served.