National Capital Authority calls for designs to revitalise Commonwealth Park

The federal government agency wants a contractor to design a concept plan for the park ahead of its 60^th anniversary under the name Commonwealth Park in November.

With more residential and mixed-use development to surround the park in coming years, it is the ideal time to assess the issues it faces, the agency wrote in its approach to market.

The authority noted the "bump-in and bump-out" impacts of Canberra's annual tulip festival on the space in their tender documents.

It wants to resolve restricted access before, during and after Floriade, as well as "imperfect planning and configuration of Floriade, Australia Day, [and] other major events".

Events at the park, which features the concert venue Stage 88, are complicated by heavy vehicle usage, loading dock issues, sewerage issues during peak times and a lack of access to power.

The landscape of the park has also taken a hit after hosting large numbers of visitors, with the authority seeking to "find the right balance between major events and the impact on the soft landscaping and treescape".

Increasing the tree canopy of the park, protecting the flying fox colony and updating amenities including toilets, benches and artworks is also part of upgrade plans.

The successful tenderer should also proposed "opportunities to create intimate and inviting spaces for the nearby growing residential development".

The 34.25-hectare park on the northern shore of Lake Burley Griffin was initially established as a recreational space for city residents and a showpiece of national horticultural excellence, a master plan by Dame Sylvia Crowe set out in 1965.

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The horticultural vision for the park has not eventuated however, with the area becoming more of a leisure and event space.

One of the features proposed in that plan included a scented garden, intended to be an inclusive space for people with a vision impairment.

The plans envisioned a garden of flower beds and aromatic herbs which could be explored by a path with a handrail, in which the names of the flowers would be set in braille.

Another proposed feature was a fresh water pool close to the Commonwealth Bridge underpass, intended for children to sail toy boats in.

The tender is open until January 25.

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