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Dacland’s own in-
house urban design
team are constantly
looking for ways to
use good design to
bring people together.
One way is creating
safer streets in new
communities.
“Good design relies on
understanding how people feel
comfortable using their space,” said
General Manager Design, Jonathon
Fetterplace.
Dacland creates roads that are
pedestrian friendly, encouraging
people to leave the car at home and
walk or cycle to nearby parks and
gathering places.
“Our streets are not all linear.
We design curves and elbows
in roadways to slow cars down
and create a safer environment,
directing vehicles onto main roads
and making local streets more
pedestrian friendly,” Jonathon said.
At Rothwell, a one-way road
system and raised areas of road will
slow traffic around a large central
park. The raised areas of road
will be made of similar textures
to materials used in the park,
creating a subtle pedestrian and
bike connection. “It’s a combination
of these little considerations
that result in a superior safety
outcome,” said Jonathon. “And
that in turn encourages people to
spend more time outside, which
is how neighbours meet and how
communities develop organically
over time.”
In Dacland communities,
pathways are set back further from
the road, adding even further to
pedestrian safety and also creating
a grand sense of open space where
people love to be. Dacland’s design
guidelines require that houses
are set well back from the road
wherever possible, resulting a
more attractive transition between
a home and the streetscape that
encourages people to create
gardens and interact.
“People should be able to open
their front doors onto a pleasant
setting that invites them to linger,
rather than going straight out
the front door and into their car,”
Jonathon said.
Dacland also avoids creating
roads along back fences where
no one is overlooking the road:
“Houses that look out onto the
street create a safer environment
for both the people in their homes
and those walking up and down the
street,” he said.
A lifestyle
with the lot.
Find outmore
REGISTER NOW
manzeenevillage.com.au5 MANZEENE AVENUE, LARA
CALL 0419 914 637
LAND NOW SELLING FROM
$165,000
Featuring lots up to 690m
2
Why choose when you can have it all?
Enjoy a relaxed lifestyle with easy access to
Melbourne, Geelong and Victoria’s best beaches.
Safer streets
by design
Manzeene Measures Up!
It’s not surprising
that recent Manzeene
homebuyers Johanna
and Nic picked Lara
as the perfect place
to live!
‘Energetic’ pretty much sums up
this young couple’s lifestyle. They
spend evenings mountain bike
riding, weekends trail running and
practising yoga, and often enjoy
an early morning surf. Johanna is
a primary school teacher with an
outdoor education background,
and Nic works in health promotion
research at Deakin’s Geelong
campus.
Several years ago Nic, originally
fromWarrnambool, found work
in Geelong – Johanna’s home town
– and it wasn’t long before their
mutual enjoyment of all things
outdoors saw them move to Lara
together.
“We were travelling to Lara at
least once a week to ride in the
You Yangs, and we just loved it!”
says Johanna. “It suits our lifestyle
perfectly. At the time, I was
teaching in Werribee, so Lara
meant a shorter daily
commute too.”
“We’re surrounded by outdoor
opportunities in every direction,”
Johanna said. “The surf coast and
the You Yangs are nearby, and
we’re right between many of our
widespread favourite locations like
Buxton where we love mountain
bike riding, Trentham for dining
and fuelling up on yummy bread
from Red Beard’s Bakery, and Lorne
where we bushwalk in the Otways.”
The couple have been renting
in Lara for the past seven years,
and were toying with plans to buy
a home when they discovered
Manzeene Village.
“We’d been looking mostly at
established homes to renovate later,
when we dropped into a display
village on the way home from a
morning surfing. Everything fell
into place pretty quickly from
there,” said Johanna.
“Nathan from Fairhaven Homes
suggested we visit Manzeene
Village, and suddenly we had a
home design and a block of land
that were just perfect.
“Manzeene’s ample parkland
was absolutely key. In fact
Manzeene’s whole design promotes
‘incidental’ physical activity – like
walking to the shops not driving –
which really adds to kind of healthy
lifestyle we’re after.”
Johanna and Nic plan to marry
next year, and their chosen home
has plenty of family potential: “It’s
perfect for entertaining, and if we
do have kids there are no major
road between us and the local
parkland, so that’s a bonus.”
They were interested to hear
that around 80% of homebuyers at
Manzeene Village are Lara locals,
so there will be a strong sense of
local community which they are
looking forward to being a part of.
“We’re so excited! We call into
the display home every now and
then to measure up and tinker with
our interior design ideas.”
“It’s a combination of
these little considerations
that result in a superior
safety outcome,”
–
Jonathon Fetterplace
Dacland General Manager Design
Curves and elbows in roadways slow down cars to create a safer environment.
Manzeene homebuyers Johanna and Nic enjoy a ride in the nearby You Yangs.
Page 3 ~ Spring 2016
A Real Sense Of Place / Free