News & Discussion: Adelaide City Council

[ynotsfables]

Brilliantly put together Shuz, Metro and Crawf, reading your posts has put a tear in my eye you are so incredibly right.

[Wayno]

4pm today on SBS1 is a 30 minute show called '20,000 Trees Under The Skyline'.

This film follows designer Ken Chava and his obsession with Central Park in New York. Out of the blue, Ken threw himself body and soul into a gigantic and obsessive project that turned his life around. For two and a half years, he scrutinised the 843 acres of parkland....

Might draw a parallel to our parklands.

[Wayno]

4pm today on SBS1 is a 30 minute show called '20,000 Trees Under The Skyline'.

Quoting myself. Lol. Narcissistic, not

So I watched this TV show which focused on a Designer, Ken Chava, and his 2.5 year goal/obsession/quest to accurately position every significant landmark (natural & man made) in NY's Central Park on a new tourist map. Quite an effort.

The main topic itself was a bit ho hum, but between the lines a few noticeable takeaways emerged:
* Many trees in CP are not indigenous to manhattan island or even nearby US species. An obvious goal with CP's design was to do whatever it takes to create a lush sanctuary. Many exotic trees, including massive london plane trees, which were especially celebrated during the TV show, are extensively planted. Plenty of US natives are also planted, but again those that are lush & majestic in nature. Contrast that against much of the adelaide park lands (botanic park & surrounds excepted). Have a picnic and nap under a gum tree at your peril.
* There is extensive man made public amenity throughout the park - basically many many places that act as destinations and where one feels comfortable & safe to pause and soak up the atmosphere. While this TV show was mostly focused on the importance of the flora, i noted that Ken, who is also an avid painter, placed front & centre a man made structure (e.g. bridge, pavilion, etc) as the focal point for his paintings. How many places in the our park lands can you go and paint a picture, or take a photo, that can be instantly recognised as being from our parklands, especially in the southern tracts? lacking identity - you bet.
* The majority of man made structures I noticed during the show, except for the gaudy belvedere castle and the impressive 'The Lake', are typically small & subtle by design, and remarkable in their own way. Perfect if you ask me, and readily achievable in our local context. Pavilions, fountains, monuments, arches, sculptures, and several places where you can purchase refreshments & conveniently go to the loo.
* The entry points to CP shown during the show were formally designed 'door ways' that, once passed through, made you feel you had entered a different room in a massive urban house, just with differing decor. Contrast that to many entry points in our southern parklands where scrubby tracks are often the entry point. Entering a teenagers messy bedroom comes to mind.

After the show finished i jumped online to read more about CP. I learned the ENTIRE park was designed in infinite detail via a competition, and then constructed over time. Somewhere else today (can't remember where) I heard or read the term 'if you fail to plan then you plan to fail' which, as far as I can tell, reflects on our situation. I say that knowing full well the Vic Park redevelopment work is underway. More trees and sport fields simply miss the point.

Sure, we don't have the $$$ necessary to do everything today, but fortune favours the prepared.

My recommendations are:
* create many 'rooms' in the parklands. Themes can be subtle, a change of foliage density for example.
* use exotic flora and use ALL the recycled glenelg wastewater to keep it green.
* create multiple identity points at 'ground level' and on a human scale. Yes the parklands as a whole have a clear identity, but again that misses the point. People simply don't identify with and want to hang out in 7.6 sq kilometres of inner-suburban land mass. They identify with what's in front of them, and that includes the tens of thousands of tourists who come to Adelaide and probably don't step a foot in the parklands outside botanic park.
* create formal entry points to the parklands. Not saying fence off everywhere else and force folk through these doorways, but put low stone walls, or wrought iron gateways, or hedges, or <insert other ideas here> at major intersections and most used entry points. Generate character & identity.
* but first build a comprehensive plan, be bold, be brave, ask for state & fed help, and get started.

Who knows, when work hits a critical mass, people just might buy into it, and I bet calls for LARGE structures, such as the state govt initiated permanent grandstand, which IMHO are proposed simply because no alternate formal plan of merit exists, will fade away.

[monotonehell]

A well prepared and thoughtful post Wayno. Reminds me of the golden years of this forum.

[Waewick]

I like your plan way no and agree wholeheartedly. What we need is it to be funded, which is the biggest issue.

[Reb-L]

Great contribution Wayno - an enjoyable and informative read. I hope its message reaches a few people in the ACC and other spheres of influence.

[mgb]

Excellent post. I totally agree.

The interesting places to go is exactly correct. It's not about being able to "see the hills view" while standing in the middle of it, but discovering something interesting 5m away. Some parts of the parklands do have this already, such as the Botanic gardens, the area around Rymill lake, and the Himeji gardens. Even the "garden of unearthly delights" if you forget for a moment all the funfair is an interesting example of using the space. With all the seating everywhere it felt like a nice place to be.


mgb

[Maximus]

I wonder if the ACC has ever considered something like this...

The Canberra City Council (not its actual name, but used for the purposes of easy comparison) has recently conducted a trial of temporary outdoor urinals in the CBD. They were 'deployed' in 'strategic' locations on Thurs-Sun nights, from 7pm to 7am, to try to address the somewhat antisocial behaviour of blokes relieving themselves up against building walls in city alleyways. Apparently using the toilet inside the club is too much of a hassle for these poor chaps. Anyhoo, it seems the trial was quite successful and it's now being considered as a permanent installation. A quick Google search shows Sydney and Perth have also tried a similar thing, although I'm not sure if it's been made permanent in either city.

Thoughts?

[Matt]

We've got "pop up" urinals here... they look like a manhole cover during the day, then at night they're like a free standing cylindrical thing with three spots to 'go' in.

They're obviously quite public and certainly turn heads when in use. One of them is on Shaftesbury Avenue, which is smack bang in the middle of a relatively busy intersection - swarming with people. Hardly subtle!

Pretty vile really, but certainly a better solution than going in alleyways or in the street.

[cruel_world00]

I wonder if the ACC has ever considered something like this...

The Canberra City Council (not its actual name, but used for the purposes of easy comparison) has recently conducted a trial of temporary outdoor urinals in the CBD. They were 'deployed' in 'strategic' locations on Thurs-Sun nights, from 7pm to 7am, to try to address the somewhat antisocial behaviour of blokes relieving themselves up against building walls in city alleyways. Apparently using the toilet inside the club is too much of a hassle for these poor chaps. Anyhoo, it seems the trial was quite successful and it's now being considered as a permanent installation. A quick Google search shows Sydney and Perth have also tried a similar thing, although I'm not sure if it's been made permanent in either city.

Thoughts?

I was in Canberra over a week ago and saw that. Sent a picture to the Lord Mayor too.

https://twitter.com/Mikey_Nicholson/sta ... 4378050560

[dsriggs]

I wonder if the ACC has ever considered something like this...

The Canberra City Council (not its actual name, but used for the purposes of easy comparison) has recently conducted a trial of temporary outdoor urinals in the CBD. They were 'deployed' in 'strategic' locations on Thurs-Sun nights, from 7pm to 7am, to try to address the somewhat antisocial behaviour of blokes relieving themselves up against building walls in city alleyways. Apparently using the toilet inside the club is too much of a hassle for these poor chaps. Anyhoo, it seems the trial was quite successful and it's now being considered as a permanent installation. A quick Google search shows Sydney and Perth have also tried a similar thing, although I'm not sure if it's been made permanent in either city.

Thoughts?

I was in Canberra over a week ago and saw that. Sent a picture to the Lord Mayor too.

https://twitter.com/Mikey_Nicholson/sta ... 4378050560

https://twitter.com/StephenYarwood/stat ... 1415120896

[Maximus]

I was in Canberra over a week ago and saw that. Sent a picture to the Lord Mayor too.

Good stuff, Cruel World. Great minds. And nice to see Stephen responding positively.

[Norman]

Another Sensational-Adelaide first?

POP-UP open-air urinals should be introduced in city's night strips to combat the problem of men relieving themselves in public, Lord Mayor Stephen Yarwood says.
The stench of urine from late night revellers peeing in doorways and in laneways has long frustrated the city's traders and residents, particularly in the West End.
Already in use in Sydney around popular nightspots, portable outdoor urinals were trialled in Canberra last month in a campaign marketed as Where to Pee in the Wee Hours.
More than 650 litres of urine was collected from more than 2000 men over nine nights, leading authorities to hail the trial as a success.
Perth and Sydney are going a step further by introducing pop-up urinals called Urilifts, that retract into the ground during the day and are used widely in Europe.
Mr Yarwood said the council should consider trialling portable urinals first
"I would be open to investigating it for next financial year," he said.
"To undertake a trial it would have to be cost effective, which would be the lighter, cheaper option."
That would rule out the more expensive Urilifts in the short term, he said.
Rob de Kok, who runs the Co-West creative writing hub on Currie St, near Light Square, said men urinating in the neighbouring laneway and all around the square was a constant problem.
He said he was sick of encountering puddles of urine, broken bottles and even discarded underwear.
"The stench of urine is right through the alleyway and it pushes into my building," he said.
Mr de Kok said something had to be done because "a bloke just wants somewhere to relieve himself".
He said portable urinals could be used for events in the square but called for a more creative solution, such as a design competition for a permanent urinal that would be "art and useful at the same time".

http://www.adelaidenow.com.au/news/sout ... 6613297495

[Maximus]

Another Sensational-Adelaide first?

Adelaide City Council Lord Mayor Stephen Yarwood has pop-up urinal plan
Tim Williams
City Messenger
April 05, 20131:38PM

POP-UP open-air urinals should be introduced in city's night strips to combat the problem of men relieving themselves in public, Lord Mayor Stephen Yarwood says.

Tim Williams, reveal yourself! Are you an S-A member, or just a lurker...?

[Matt]

http://www.adelaidenow.com.au/news/opin ... 6612736003

Re: lack of activity in the Parklands.
Couldn't possibly agree more.