Improvements for three city mainstreets on the cards
Hutt St, Melbourne St and O’Connell St were once the places to be. That’s no longer the case, but the City Council hopes it can help them regain their shine.
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CBD and North Adelaide main streets that have lost their “identities” are set for revamps under a plan to improve business and revitalise the struggling strips.
At a committee meeting tomorrow night, Adelaide City Council will discuss aesthetics and infrastructure upgrades of Melbourne, O’Connell and Hutt streets.
A council report said the streets had “high vacancy and churn rates”, lacked business diversity and had either a diminished or “diluted” identity.
The council voted to prepare masterplans for the three streets in March last year, but this is the first time it has discussed options.
Deputy Lord Mayor Alexander Hyde, whose ward covers Hutt St, said the streets had become “tired” and needed a boost.
“A lot of the businesses and local economies down there have languished a little bit … they used to have an identity,” Cr Hyde said.
“Melbourne St was the centre for fashion, Hutt St was a premier for food and dining … and they have lost all that now and have high vacancy rates
“Now, more than ever, our once-bustling shopping, dining and entertainment precincts need attention.”
The council expected to start short-term projects along the streets by June.
Those included improving shopfronts, deep cleans, installing drink fountains, “atmospheric” lighting, greening, decluttering, better connections to the parklands and temporary entry and exit statements.
The City has asked the council how much the projects would cost.
Cr Hyde hoped work would begin as soon as possible to help with the post-COVID-19 recovery.
North Adelaide Precinct Association president Linda Zaccara said parking and lighting should be given priority along Melbourne and O’Connell streets.
She would also like to see a mixture of businesses return to the strip to benefit the local economy.
“It would be nice to have North Adelaide as a place people can stop … have a coffee with a friend and then hang around, go for a walk around and see some interesting shops,” Ms Zaccara said.
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Hutt Street Traders Association president Colleen Slight was pleased to see the plan progress.
The council report acknowledged there were safety concerns with the street, which the group put down to the nearby Hutt St Centre
Ms Slight declined to comment on how the “short-term” progress would alleviate those safety concerns.