- $22 million to be spent on the project
- Roe St between Fitzgerald and Stirling St to be addressed
- Will include a suite of upgrades including street furniture and CCTV
The Property Council of Australia released a recipe on how to revive the CBD at the end of March.
The report found that despite significant drops in CBD patronage, it retains a special place ‘in our heart’. 65% of survey respondents believed that the CBD will continue to provide memorable experiences.
It’s also still seen as the place to meet for both small and large groups, (60% and 54% respectively) likewise for the eating out (67%), shopping (65%), and events and entertainment (63%).
Five points were raised as important moves to entice people back:
- Free public transport and parking on “slow days” (Monday and Friday),
- Facilitate more street activations, such as late-night shopping, night markets,
- Reimagine unused spaces, including pop-up spaces,
- Accelerate greening of the CBD, and
- Offer commuters more “micro-mobility” solutions such as cycling, e-bikes, or scooters.
In recent weeks, the Australian Capital Territory government said it had commenced trials of electric bikes and scooters for workers, not only to get to and from work, but, to get between meetings.
Sydney City also saw the surge in bike use during the pandemic. Popular pop-up bike lanes throughout the city were trialled throughout the pandemic, and are now being made permanent.
Brisbane has created a lottery to offer a lucky few public transport users free travel for a year. The city will also trial allowing bikes and e-scooters on public transport from 1 July.
Your move, WA
The Western Australian government has spent $22 million to revitalise Roe Street, a thoroughfare that cuts off the city from the restaurant and entertainment area of Northbridge.
The “car-dominant corridor”, the state government said, will become “a vibrant city destination, improving connectivity and transport options between Northbridge and the CBD.”
The project will target the area between Fitzgerald and Stirling streets, and “deliver separated space and wider footpaths for pedestrians, alfresco dining and protected uni-directional bike lanes.”
Transport minister Rita Saffioti also said the refresh to Roe Street will include more trees to provide shade and urban cooling, additional street lights and CCTV, as well as street furniture and free public wifi.
