> ## Content Index > Fetch the complete content index at: https://insights.pacificinfragroup.com/llms.txt > Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further. # Can You Get There Without the Car? - URL: https://insights.pacificinfragroup.com/can-you-get-there-without-the-car/ - Published: 2026-10-14T07:37:57.000Z - Updated: 2026-10-14T07:37:57.000Z - Description: At Moncrieff East, the ACT Government linked parks, play spaces and a creek crossing into a walking and cycling network. - Author: Peter Hawke - Tags: Creative Design, Project Management, Government Spending, Social Cohesion At Moncrieff East, the ACT Government linked parks, play spaces and a creek crossing into a walking and cycling network. The result offers a practical way to judge a new suburb: where can people get to on foot? ![Wagi Bridge with tall orange markers above the creek landscape.](https://storage.ghost.io/c/8c/05/8c058c87-36d7-48e2-9884-f994e5b75996/content/images/2026/10/02-MONCRIEFF-EAST-MAX-YARRA.jpg) Wagi Bridge connects Moncrieff and Amaroo across Ginninderra Creek. A school can be close on a map and awkward to reach on foot. For a new suburb, the route to it deserves as much attention as the distance. At Moncrieff East in northern Canberra, the ACT Government’s Suburban Land Agency developed approximately 25 hectares of public open space around connected paths, parks and places to stop. Wagi Bridge carries walkers and cyclists across Ginninderra Creek to Amaroo, linking the new neighbourhood with facilities on the other side. That is a useful starting point for anyone planning a residential estate. A park needs enough room for the activities it promises, and residents need a practical way to reach it. The same applies to school, a local shop or a walk after work. ## A crossing with somewhere to go Wagi Bridge connects Moncrieff with Amaroo’s schools, shops and other community facilities. Its value comes from the paths that lead to it and the destinations they reach. The [launch of Wagi Bridge parkrun in 2019](https://mygungahlin.com.au/wagi-bridge-parkrun-launches-in-gungahlin/5442/?ref=insights.pacificinfragroup.com) added an organised community activity to that network. The bridge’s orange vertical markers make it recognisable in the open landscape. Its name also has a specific connection to place: [Wagi means “dance” in Ngunnawal](https://www.act.gov.au/%5F%5Fdata/assets/pdf%5Ffile/0003/1664274/reconciliation-action-plan-FINAL-for-web-A27295833.pdf?ref=insights.pacificinfragroup.com#page=7), and the naming proposal was endorsed by the United Ngunnawal Elders Council. It connects the suburb’s musical naming theme with the language of the Traditional Custodians. For a public client, these decisions require attention across the whole route. A well-placed crossing, connected paths and recognisable landmarks all help make a neighbourhood easier to navigate. ![Aerial view of curving paths, open lawns and retained trees within Moncrieff East.](https://storage.ghost.io/c/8c/05/8c058c87-36d7-48e2-9884-f994e5b75996/content/images/2026/10/01-MONCRIEFF-EAST-MAX-YARRA.jpg) Paths follow the open landscape between established trees and the surrounding homes. ## Keep the trees people would otherwise wait for Moncrieff’s farmland already contained mature trees and woodland. Mapping those features early allowed them to shape the open-space layout, with paths, seating and play areas positioned in relation to the existing landscape. New planting takes years to develop the scale of an established tree. Keeping significant trees gave the neighbourhood places with mature vegetation from the outset. The design also allowed the character to change along the ridgeline, from more developed parkland in the north to native woodland further south. The client supported a substantial mix of outdoor spaces. The recreation park provides sport, play and family facilities, while the hilltop play space introduces tuned musical instruments and a distinctive tower. The instruments sit away from homes, giving children room to experiment with sound while considering nearby residents. ![Aerial view of a viewing platform and paths beside the Moncrieff East pond.](https://storage.ghost.io/c/8c/05/8c058c87-36d7-48e2-9884-f994e5b75996/content/images/2026/10/04--MONCRIEFF-EAST-MAX-YARRA.jpg) The jetty and plaza provide a stopping point beside the pond near Mirrabei Drive. ## Give the everyday walk places to pause Near Mirrabei Drive, a jetty and plaza bring people to the edge of the water-quality pond. The platform gives walkers somewhere to stop and look across the water, with paths continuing through the surrounding open space. There were practical constraints beneath that finished landscape. Fill from the works needed to be accommodated, and an established stand of trees needed to remain. Sculpted mounds took up the material around the retained trees, avoiding disposal of that fill to landfill. Redbox Design Group, part of Pacific Infrastructure Group, contributed to the early estate planning and led the landscape design, including the Wagi Bridge concept and the linked parks and public spaces. Moncrieff East received the [2018 AILA ACT Landscape Architecture Award for Parks and Open Space](https://mygungahlin.com.au/moncrieff-community-recreation-park-takes-honours-at-landscape-architecture-awards/4470/?ref=insights.pacificinfragroup.com), recognising the wider landscape separately from the recreation park’s Play Space award. For the next new suburb, ask to see the walking routes while the layout can still change. Trace the journey to school, follow the connection to the nearest park, and look for somewhere to sit along the way. Those routes deserve space in the plan before the surrounding land is committed. Subscribe to Pacific Insights for stories about the decisions shaping our neighbourhoods.