New plans revealed for Pitt St upgrade in Adelaide CBD, but not everyone is happy

There’s a new plan for the final leg of the pedestrian link between the Railway Station and Central Market, but one way or another, traders are concerned.

The Hotel Metropolitan publican, Damian Peterson, wants the original council plan to make part of Pitt St one-way. Picture: Keryn Stevens

Construction of the final leg of the pedestrian link between Adelaide Railway Station and the Central Market – an upgrade of a short side street – will take up to 10 months.

After the disaster of the Bentham St works, traders and other users are desperately hoping there won’t be repeat – but there are already complaints over part of the design.

Plans for the Pitt St redevelopment have been released to businesses and residents, and $1.92m set aside in the Adelaide City Council budget for work to start.

“Construction is anticipated to commence late 2023 and will take 6-10 months to complete,” the council says on its web page.

Bentham St – part of the link, between Waymouth St and Franklin St – was closed to traffic for nine months last year, three months longer than originally intended, as parts of the new footpath had to twice be ripped up and relaid as it did not meet standards.

The council’s city services director, Tom McCready, said “targeted consultation with key stakeholders on new designs” for Pitt St was being conducted after they were “revised based on previous feedback”.

But there remains some controversy because previous plans for the southern end of the street to be one-way, heading south, have now been dumped.

The change has major implications for the Adelaide Festival Centre-owned Her Majesty’s Theatre, which built a special loading dock on the street based on the one-way design.

An Adelaide Festival Centre spokeswoman confirmed it had problems with the design.

“The design of Her Majesty’s Theatre incorporates a state-of-the-art loading dock for the delivery of theatrical sets and equipment, designed in consultation with Adelaide City Council,’’ she said.

Adelaide City Council artist impression of the Pitt St redevelopment, opposite the historic Central Markets entrance. Picture: Supplied

“The current Pitt St upgrade design presented in June 2023 presents challenges for the required access.”

She said the council had “provided assurances of finding a solution” for Pitt St, which is between Franklin St and Grote St and opposite the Adelaide Central Market.

The Advertiser understands the two-way design is favoured by only one major business on the narrow street, and legal action was threatened if it was not retained.

Metropolitan Hotel publican Damian Peterson welcomed action on the project.

“We are delighted that something is finally happening in the street, and the City of Adelaide project team have been really fantastic providing the final detail,” he said.

But Mr Petersen agreed that most businesses were keen for the council to return to a previously planned one-way section at the southern end.

“It is disappointing that council hasn’t followed their own traffic-management recommendations from the beginning of the project, that the southern end of Pitt St should be one-way heading south,’’ he said.

“It will continue the daily bottleneck of traffic and not maximise pedestrian access.

“I’m sure it will look fantastic – it can’t look any worse. It will be paved, kerbless, it will be tree-lined and a nice upgrade, but it is a vastly less impressive project than it was (in original designs) in 2017.

“Bentham St, which has just finished, was turned into one-way, and there doesn’t seem to have been a problem there.”

The overall Adelaide Railway Station to Central Market link was announced in 2012.