Docklands is Beautiful

Beautiful Docklands

admin — Wed, 27 Feb 2013 03:28:44 +0000

Beautiful Docklands

Beautiful Docklands – even when the weather changes Docklands still provides breathtaking views.

David Napier

Further key facts

admin — Mon, 18 Feb 2013 02:30:46 +0000

Docklands comprises approximately 146 hectares of land and 44 hectares of water
It is approximately the same size as the CBD grid
By the end of 2013 it is estimated that $9 billion will have been spent developing Docklands
By the end of 2013 Docklands will have 5400 dwellings
By 2025, Docklands is expected to be home to 20,000 people, workplace to 60,000 people and a destination for 20 million visitors per annum
Docklands has seven kilometres of waterfront
Docklands is a world leader in sustainable commercial design, with nine buildings with a Green Star rating of five or above
In 2012 alone, some $2.4 billion was invested in Docklands
Private developers contribute $38 for every $1 of government spending

There’s nowhere to eat in Docklands

admin — Mon, 18 Feb 2013 02:29:42 +0000

Docklands is home to eight bars (http://www.docklandsdirectory.com.au/browse/bars), 40 cafes (http://www.docklandsdirectory.com.au/browse/cafes), 39 fast food outlets (http://www.docklandsdirectory.com.au/browse/fast_food) and 33 restaurants (http://www.docklandsdirectory.com.au/browse/restaurants).

And that bloody ‘ferris wheel’ …

admin — Mon, 18 Feb 2013 02:29:01 +0000

The Southern Star Observation Wheel is one of three giant observation wheels (London Eye and Singapore Flyer) in the world and the only one in the southern hemisphere.
Standing at 120 metres (equivalent to a 40-storey building), the Southern Star has a brand new geometric design, the shape of a seven-pointed federation star, revealing a “star within a star” design.
Its unique design will enable it to host more than of 15 million different LED lighting combinations which can be set to music to deliver an unforgettable experience.
When it opens, the new Southern Star will provide significant employment, training and development opportunities for Victorians, while supporting Melbourne’s pre-eminent position as a tourist destination.
Construction of this massive structure is complex and subject to strict occupational health and safety regulations. Construction has been, and continues to be, heavily influenced by Melbourne’s unpredictable weather.
The Southern Star is privately owned and operated.

Docklands is a planning disaster

admin — Mon, 18 Feb 2013 02:28:26 +0000

Docklands’ community infrastructure is coming in its second decade of development whereas, in an ideal world, it would have been present from the beginning.
But it is totally incorrect and insulting to the armies of planning professionals involved to claim that it is unplanned.
Docklands has been carefully and skillfully planned with the State’s development authority Places Victoria (formerly VicUrban and the Docklands Authority) co-ordinating wholistic planning across the entire precinct.
Docklands already has a community centre, a community garden, educational facilities, childcare centres, gymnasiums and is soon to get a new outdoor sporting courts and a library/community centre.

Docklands is a ghost town

admin — Mon, 18 Feb 2013 02:27:49 +0000

By the end of 2013, Docklands will have 9000 residents and a worker population of 35,000. Docklands has another 10 years of construction ahead of it and, being such a big place (Docklands is about the same size as the original CBD), it’s easy to find somewhere where you can find refuge from the crowded city.
Docklands is the “financial capital” of Melbourne, with most of the major Australian banks having either their headquarters here or, at least, a major presence. Commercial vacancies are rare in Docklands and our fine statistics are propping up Melbourne’s general vacancy rate.

There’s nowhere to park and, when you find somewhere, it is so expensive

admin — Mon, 18 Feb 2013 02:27:13 +0000

There are 21 off-street car parking centres in Docklands catering for thousands of cars. Prices start at $6 per day with hourly rates starting at $2.
The Docklands Chamber of Commerce has selected on-street parking as one of its major issues to lobby for in 2012-13.

You can never find anything in Docklands

admin — Mon, 18 Feb 2013 02:25:55 +0000

Wayfinding has been difficult in Docklands. However, the City of Melbourne is part-way into a wayfinding project which is rolling out a series of new three-dimensional maps to help pedestrians navigate their way around Docklands.
The Docklands Chamber of Commerce has selected wayfinding as one of its major issues to lobby for in 2012-13.

Docklands is hard to get to

admin — Mon, 18 Feb 2013 02:25:06 +0000

Connected by freeway, bus, cycle, boat, rail and tram, Docklands is easily accessible from anywhere in Melbourne or, indeed, Victoria.
Southern Cross Railway station is in Docklands, as is the associated coach terminal where Sky-Bus leaves at regular intervals for Tullamarine Airport. (Note: Southern Cross did not form part of the original Docklands development.)
Over and above the free City Circle Tram (tram number 35) which performs a “tangent” deep into Docklands, there are six other tram routes servicing Docklands. They are numbers 31, 11, 30, 48, 70 and 86. You can get anywhere in the city on a Docklands tram.
Docklands is served by Melbourne Bus Link routes 235, 238, 220 and 232 and the free Melbourne Visitor Shuttle visits Docklands every half hour.
Docklands is “cycling central” with the Capital City Trail carrying thousands of commuting and recreational cyclists through the very heart of the suburb.
Docklands has public, private and commercial marinas as well as berthing for corporate and leisure charter craft.
Docklands has dedicated taxi ranks and bus parking and is strategically located at the hub of Melbourne’s freeway network. Travel time from Docklands to the airport is significantly better than from the CBD. (More than 1.8 million vehicles are registered to use CityLink)

Docklands has no soul

admin — Mon, 18 Feb 2013 02:24:01 +0000

Docklands is almost brand new, with construction on the first apartments starting in 2000, and is only half completed‡. But it has a close-knit residential community who are proud to call themselves Docklanders. Our community is demographically different to the “average”.
According to the 2010 census, our median age is 29 and only 2 per cent of us are over 70 (compared with the national average of 10 per cent).
Docklanders are also far less likely to be married, with only 38.1 per cent being married (against a national percentage of 48.7) and nearly half of us never having tied the knot (against a national figure of 34.3 per cent).
We are better educated and more wealthy than most.
Ethnically, only 37 per cent of Docklanders were born in Australia (compared with the national average of almost 70 per cent) but Aussies are still the largest group. The next largest group are Chinese-born (8.7 per cent), Indian-born (6.5 per cent), England (3.9 per cent), New Zealand (3.4 per cent) and Malaysia (3.1 per cent).
While 27.9 per cent of Docklanders said they had no religion, nearly 18 per cent of us are Catholic, 8.4 per cent Anglican, 5.9 per cent Buddhist and 5.7 per cent are Hindu.
Does all this mean we have no soul? Not at all.