The following residents of the ACT draw the attention of the Assembly to the following issues of concern to Casey residents:
The suburb of Casey, and surrounding areas, has grown considerably with roads, public amenity, public transport, and community infrastructure all needing investment to cope with this growth.
The major roads servicing the area (Gungahlin Drive, Horse Park Drive, and Clarrie Hermes Drive) slim down to one-lane each way as they converge around Casey – creating a hotspot for car-accidents and near misses with pedestrians.
Congestion, vehicle accidents and near-misses (including with pedestrians) are common, particularly during peak commute and school drop-off/pick up times, around St John Paul II College, The Grove (Retirement Village), the Nichols District Playing fields, Gold Creek High School, and the Casey Group Centre.
A residential development planned for the Casey group centre is likely to be approved, bringing a further 200 units and 500 more residents to an area already facing pressure.
The many footpaths and shared paths servicing Casey are too narrow.
Bus based public transport is grossly inadequate, especially on weekends.
There is a lack of clarity from the ACT Government on the future purpose of the remaining parcels of land in the area, there is no plan to deliver a much needed indoor-sports centre for Gungahlin, earmarked in the original Concept Plan for Casey.
Your petitioners, therefore, request the Assembly to call on the ACT Government to:
1. Develop and commit to a timeframe to fully duplicate Gungahlin Drive, Horse Park Drive, and Clarrie Hermes drive; including interim measures to ease road congestion by converting the existing single-lane roundabouts to dual-lane.
2. Survey the share paths and footpaths in and around the Casey Group Centre and widen them where necessary - particularly at the northern end of Kingsland parade, and the on Gungahlin drive that that joins The Grove (Retirement Village) with Casey Group Centre.
3. Provide improved public transport options including greater frequency of local bus services (especially on weekends) and investigate providing light rail to the Casey group centre.
4. Develop and implement a process to provide Gungahlin (and ACT) residents with a way of meaningfully interacting on community issues where those issues span multiple ACT Government Directorates.
5. Commit to a proper community consultation process when it comes to planning and decisions regarding the remaining parcels of land in the area.