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56 Business View Australia - March-April 2016
PUBLIC WORKS &
Amendment C133 to the Yarra
Planning Scheme was gazetted,
allowing
the
introduction
of
Environmentally Efficient Design
to Yarra’s Local Planning Policy
Framework.
Yarra Council has also taken the
important step of joining
the Green Building
Council of Australia.
This will enable it to
engage with the
green building
industry
and
influence the
development of
guidelines that
help reduce the
env i ronment al
impact of new
buildings.
Yarra Council has
collaborated with several
government agencies, industries
and other councils across Australia
to promote the development of a
new rating tool by the Green Building
Council of Australia. Themethodology
proposed by this rating tool will be
used in Yarra to guide the design
and construction of future Council
buildings such as child care centres,
libraries and community halls.
Traffic and speed limits
Richard
Young
–
Manager,
Engineering Services, Yarra City
Council, explained that roads in the
City of Yarra see a great amount of
traffic. As Yarra is centrally located
in a city of 4.4 million people, it is
inevitable that its residents will have
to live with large numbers of motor
cars passing through their area on a
daily basis.
It is estimated that
about
600,000
motorists
travel
on Yarra’s roads
every day, either
to reach the
Melbourne CBD
or to end their
journey in Yarra
to work or visit
one of the many
attractions.
While Council does
not have the ability to
stop cars from entering
Yarra, there are a number of other
ways it can contribute to making the
lives of its residents more convenient
and safe. In fact, several steps have
been taken and the results have had
a remarkable impact.
Council’s ‘MoveWithUs’ initiativehas
made a significant impact on traffic
congestion. As part of this program,
Yarra became the first municipality
in Australia to implement a 40km/h
speed limit in all local residential
streets.