Removal of part of Bowen Place (east of Kings Avenue)

In May 2015, the National Capital Authority (NCA) invited interested people and organisations to provide written comments on the removal of part of Bowen Place (east of Kings Avenue). Comments closed on 5 June 2015.

The NCA has prepared a Consultation Report for Works Approval application 19930 (WA19930), an internal application lodged by NCA Estate Development and Renewal for the demolition and permanent closure of part of Bowen Place (East of Kings Avenue). The Report was prepared in accordance with the NCA's 'Commitment to Community Engagement (February 2015)' which details how the NCA conducts consultation. The outcome of consultation process and the associated consultation report is available below.

Purpose of Report

The purpose of the report is to provide a greater level of consistency and transparency in the NCA's decision making process. The Consultation Report outlines the submissions received and provides responses to any of the issues raised. Public consultation took place between 18 May 2015 and 5 June 2015.

Comments

The NCA received one written submission during the consultation period. The key issues raised during public consultation were:

1. Inconvenience of temporary closure and justification for permanent closure is invalid.
2. Information regarding risk of this road against other intersections.
3. Support for cloverleaf style interchanges and that alternative arrangement proposed will be confusing.
4. Closure of road prior to completion of master planning for Kings Avenue.
5. Traffic demand from potential increased development in the area.

Outcome

On 1 July 2015, works approval was granted to WA19930 for the demolition and permanent closure of part of Bowen Place (East of Kings Avenue).

Further Information

For further information, please contact the Works Approvals Team on worksapproval@nca.gov.au or by phone 6271 2888.

Background

The purpose of the demolition of the Kings Avenue off-ramp to Bowen Place is to improve traffic safety on a low-volume road with a high-risk merging lane, rationalise direct access into the Parliamentary Zone, and to reduce confusion for motorists who currently turn left (eastwards) counter-intuitively in order to eventually drive in a right (westwards) direction.

The removal of the off ramp is also consistent with the preliminary master planning for Kings Avenue and Masterplan for the Parliamentary Zone in the National Capital Plan. Roads ACT are the land custodian and assessed the current demand of the connection between Kings Avenue southbound and the Bowen Place westbound. The usage of this link road is relatively low, at approximately 100 vehicles per day.

The current temporary road closure associated with the Bowen Place Crossing works has not dramatically impacted the usage of the road network in the vicinity. Roads ACT have provided support the removal of this part of Bowen Place based upon their review of the impact to the†level of performance during the period of the temporary road closure, which commenced in February 2013. The removal of the Kings Avenue off-ramp to Bowen Place will consolidate access from Kings Avenue into the Parliamentary Zone at the signalised intersection with King George Terrace. Signage will be updated as part of this project to reflect this change. The removed road will be replaced with dry grassland and various new eucalyptus trees to match and integrate into the existing landscape.

You can leave us comments below, register as a user, or logging in. You may also submit your comments to the Works Approval Team by email or Twitter at @nca_media

Written Comments can be sent to: Andrew Smith, Chief Planner, National Capital Authority, GPO Box 373, CANBERRA ACT 2601 or delivered by hand to the NCA office at: Ground Floor, Treasury Building, King Edward Terrace, PARKES ACT 2600

Further information on the proposed works is available from the works approval team by telephone on (02) 6271 2888.

Permission to disclose name and address

The NCA seeks an open and transparent consultation process. Following public consultation on the proposal, the NCA will prepare a Consultation Report which will be published on the NCA website. This report will include a summary of each submission. The NCA intends to publish the name and suburb of each person making the submission, but will not publish contact details (such as physical address, email or phone number).

If you have a concern about having your name published on the internet or if you wish to make a confidential submission, you must make this clear when submitting your comments. Say why you want your submission to be kept confidential.

The NCA will consider requests for confidentiality, but cannot make promises in advance. If you have concerns about confidentiality, please contact the NCA to discuss before making a submission.