Residents, community groups and businesses have voiced their opinion on the direction of Belconnen's town centre over the coming decades.
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More than 220 pages of recommendations were released to The Chronicle under the Freedom of Information Act.
A total of 84 submissions, with names redacted for privacy reasons, outlined a raft of suggestions for how Canberra's most populace town centre should progress.
Some of the most persistent themes included a need to dramatically improve the lake foreshore at Emu Bank, Westfield Belconnen's design and influence on business diversity and the need to develop stronger links between the University of Canberra and Belconnen town centre.
"The University of Canberra is looking at 20,000-plus students with a large number residing on campus and in the Belconnen Town Centre," one submission said.
"The current goat tracks are an inadequate embarrassment."
Some of the most stinging criticism targeted past planning along the lake foreshore at Emu Bank.
One particular submission summed up many of the foreshore issues.
"There is no atmosphere or community feeling," one resident said.
"You drive there, fight for a car park, go to an indoor restaurant - can't even see the lake, and then hop in your car and go home. The open concrete areas where you could put seating have no shade and are ugly heat islands. No wonder buildings are empty."
The resident also pointed out that if pedestrians tried to walk there, they would have to cross a very busy road then walk through car parks, which were not pedestrian friendly.
Two other themes that cropped up in submissions included a park and an unused road. There was a focus on the need to improve Margaret Timpson Park while many submissions touched on the old fenced-off bus way next to Joynton Smith Drive.
Suggestions for the bus way were varied. One proposal was to turn it into a caravan parking area for visitors. Other ideas included filling it with medium density apartments, turning it into a landscaped cycle and pedestrian way or leaving as it is.
Several changes were proposed for Margaret Timpson Park, which was considered an under-used asset at the heart of the town centre.
The need for shade, public toilets, seating and play equipment were suggestions repeatedly requested.
More radical ideas for the park included removing the grass pyramids and a complete redesign.
The ACT government will use information from the consultation to shape the draft master plan before a second stage of consultation gets under way this year.
