Residents not impressed with roundabout plans
Residents not impressed with roundabout plans
Wednesday December 10 2014, 2:20pm
Public feedback on the proposed redevelopment of the Port Douglas entrance roundabout has been negative, to say the least, with commenters on last week's news story and Facebook page criticising the design and cost of the project.
Plenty of ire has been directed at the fact that the design will not feature any major greenery in the central circle of the roundabout.
The Queensland Government's Department of Main Roads and Transport, which controls the roundabout, has placed several restricts on what the project would be allowed ot feature.
These restrictions include that there would be no irrigation or plants with stems thicker than 50 millimetres in the central circle, so a lush green roundabout is out of the question.
The rules also state that maintenance will only be allowed twice a year, reducing the possible complexity of the feature.
A Main Roads spokesperson said the restrictions were in place for safety reasons.
"The conditions are imposed for the safety of motorists and roadworkers who may need to maintain the infrastructure," said the spokesperson.
The designer of the roundabout, local artist and architect Kate Hewitt, said she and everyone else involved in the project had to work within the government's rules.
"Our original ideas for the project were way out there and fun, we wanted a lot of trees and a lot of greenery," she told the Newsport.
"However we have to obviously work within the rules that [the government] has put on the project."
Ms Hewitt's three designs all feature mainly 'hardscape' (concrete and stone) creations in the central circle, with flowing, organic themes that incorporate function in their form, such as pebble beds that assist with drainage.
To make up for the somewhat desolate central circle, the verges of the roundabout will feature heavy greenery put in place by the contractor for the project, Mossman-based Papillon Landscapes.
Ms Hewitt knows there's been a fair bit of grumbling about the designs, but considers it part and parcel of the job.
"I've been told that it's going to be a bit of a hard sell to the public," she said.
"I hope people like it but it's hard to please everyone - personally I'd also much rather see greenery in the centre of the circle but we're already pushing the limits of the rules with this design."
Other contractors that submitted designs to council were not compliant with the government's limits.