Here’s another aggravation to get off my chest - some examples of really bad placement of service enclosures between Surfers and Mermaid Beach.
I’m reluctant to highlight these on social media but in the hope that things can be done to improve situations like this, and also to avoid more of the same, we are compiling an Urban Repair Inventory for our new Better Broadbeach community group Better Broadbeach Facebook
If you see examples of poor pavement design around Broadbeach, please email photos to betterbroadbeach@gmail.com
To achieve good pavement outcomes, service enclosures must be addressed early in the design process. For anyone interested to learn about how this can be done better, the Australian Institute of Landscape Architects Qld is hosting a webinar on this topic at 1-2pm this Wednesday 23 February 2022.
AILA QLD WEBINAR REGISTRATION https://www.aila.org.au/EventDetail?EventKey=NAT5421D
Service enclosures - cable pits, surface ducting and access covers
Beneath our feet there are thousands of kilometres of cables carrying essential services to the community. These services are owned and managed by a diverse range of authorities and asset owners. At the ground level, access to this network is critical for inspection and maintenance. Below the surface, enclosures housing cables must be safe and durable.
The challenge for the landscape architect is to manage how these services are integrated across various urban and landscape environments. Not only do they physically interact but they visually interact with the environment and therefore need to be visually unobtrusive. When specifying enclosures, the diversity of these environments requires consideration of a number of factors which vary in importance depending on the application.
The presentation gives a comprehensive overview on the importance of specifying the correct service enclosure. This is followed by a review of the ‘project specific’ factors that will influence system selection & specification including (but not limited to) material choices, design loads, slab/pavement integration, aesthetics, safety, security and compliance. Also featured is a detailed exploration into lids and access covers on the back of the new Standard, AS 3996.