AND the sign saga continues…

After our first reporting on the 30-year-old tourist information signs in Commonwealth Park and Acton car parks in April (“Let’s do the time warp again”, April 21, 2011), and again in June (“Suddenly, we have new signs”, June 2, 2011), it appears at least one of the old signs is still showcasing a Canberra long gone.

The information maps on Barrine Drive in Commonwealth Park (now gone) and in the Acton car park, included directions to icons such as the Canberra College of Advanced Education that became the University of Canberra in 1990, the Telecom Tower renamed Telstra Tower in 1993 and NATEX, now Exhibition Park in Canberra (EPiC) renamed in 1993.

The signs also included the original Caswell Drive pre-Gungahlin Drive Extension and Ginninderra Falls – which is no longer publicly accessible. Questacon is referred to on the map as “Science Centre” or “National Science and Technology Centre”.

And missing is the National Portrait Gallery, the Arboretum (a step up from the noted Yarralumla Nursery), the National Zoo and Aquarium, CSIRO Discovery Centre and the Canberra Glassworks.

The information signs were expected to be replaced as part of the ACT Government’s $1.1 million recreational direction signage project  “to encourage Canberrans and tourists to walk or cycle around our waterways”, that was launched in June.

And although at least 37 signs were installed around the 16km west-basin loop, this sign in the Acton carpark still remains.

According to Territory and Municipal Services, the signs replaced some of the older and redundant directional signage, which had been installed around the lake over the past 20-30 years.

One old heritage sign was also removed as part of this stage.

“There is an old heritage sign located near Commonwealth Bridge (city side) which has not yet been replaced,” a TAMS spokesperson said.

“It is expected that this sign will be removed as part of the second stage of works to install new recreation signage around the central-basin loop.

“The ACT Government is currently liaising with key stakeholders, such as the National Capital Authority, on the design of these new signs.”

But what’s another few months, after being out of date for more than 20 years?

The recreation signage project took about 18 months to develop and sees the installation of 100 signs across the ACT.