"Urban villages" would be created around light rail stops at Dickson and Macarthur Avenue, under a new vision for the Canberra's gateway.
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In a major overhaul of Northbourne Avenue, the light rail stops would become an urban hub, with small shops, cafes and pop-ups.
Paths and verges would be widened, new street furniture installed and pedestrian and cyclist access improved, according to the plan released by Planning Minister Mick Gentleman and new National Capital Authority chief Sally Barnes on Thursday.
Each "urban village" would have a "distinctive character and sense of place" it says.
Mixed-use "activity nodes" would increase the number of people living, working and playing close to the light rail stops.
The four corner blocks of the Macarthur-Wakefield Avenues and Northbourne Avenue intersection could have buildings up to 48 metres high, with surrounding blocks zoned for mixed-use.
The corner of Northbourne Avenue and Antill-Mouat Streets could have marker buildings up to 32 metres high.
The "activation" of ground floors of redeveloped buildings and the creation of new laneways would "contribute to a shift towards human-scale development, providing better pedestrian access and amenity to the light rail station and creating more interesting and attractive thoroughfares".
The Macarthur Avenue intersection is already undergoing a degree of renewal, with Macarthur House to be knocked down and Northbourne House repurposed as a Mantra Hotel.
A new transport interchange has just been built at Dickson, with ACT government office space also to be built in the area.
The plan is out for consultation now, but feedback already appears to be mixed.
An accompanying "engagement report" showed while some welcomed the prospect of transforming the tired corridor, others felt they weren't appropriate locations for increased foot traffic.
"Macarthur Ave is really just an intersection of several major roads. It doesn't really need to be a 'village', " one person wrote.
"I particularly support development of the Northbourne/ Macarthur intersection, which is at the centre of several important axes and its current state does not realise its potential," another said.
Others raised concerns that the "urban villages" could negatively impact on nearby centres like Braddon or Dickson.
The plan would ultimately transform Northbourne Avenue into a boulevard that prioritised cyclists and pedestrians over cars, trucks and buses.
Northbourne Avenue would be reclassified as a "transit corridor" rather than an "arterial road", with more trees and better pedestrian and cycling access.
The current three lanes of traffic would be reduced to two from Alinga Street to London Circuit as part of the Northbourne Plaza.
In the medium term "opportunities should be explored to transition Northbourne Avenue to two lanes south of Barry Drive" in order to widen the footpath, the plan said.
