‘No surprises’ approach to East-West bikeway consultation

BUSINESSES along the proposed East-West Bikeway have been promised a “no surprises” approach by the Adelaide City Council during consultation about the project’s design — but one cafe is unconvinced and is circling a petition to scrap the project.

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BUSINESSES along the proposed East-West Bikeway have been promised a “no surprises” approach by the Adelaide City Council during consultation about the project’s design.

But that has not reassured one cafe with outdoor dining along the strip — which has started a petition urging council not to proceed on Flinders St.

A total of $5.5 million has been allocated for the design and construction of a bikeway between Dequetteville Tce and West Tce that will make all angled parking parallel, reduce lanes during off-peak times, and is likely to impact on-street dining areas.

It comes as demolition work has begun on Frome St bikeway between Carrington and Wakefield St, to remove of sections of the concrete median and resurface the road including the bike path.

A cyclist riding through Adelaide’s CBD. Picture: Campbell Brodie.

Concerns the East-West bikeway will become another Frome St debacle this month prompted councillors to request to see the consultant’s “engagement strategy”, including questions that will be put to property, business owners and residents of Franklin and Flinders about the design, before approving it.

The first stage of consultation, a letter to about 1400 property owners, occupiers and key stakeholders, is planned to begin this month.

The second stage, engagement by “door knocking, meetings, online form, email and phone to collect information to feed into the concept design” to be completed next month.

Lord Mayor Martin Haese has encouraged people concerned about the East-West corridor to look at the Frome St “mark two” streetscape when it is unveiled in mid-December.

A concept design is expected to be released in February, however cafe The Flinders Street Project last week began a petition urging council not to proceed with the East-West bikeway on Flinders St.

In a post on its Facebook page, the Flinders St Project wrote that a potential demolition of its outdoor dining area would remove “50 per cent of our seating and force us to close our doors for good”.

“We have one chance to stop this disaster and that is the people of Adelaide saying no! Stop spending our money to ruin our city!!”

In a second post it clarified that it was not “anti-cyclists, anti-development, or opposed to making the city a safer place”.

The cafe encouraged people to come past and sign its petition which had received eight signatories, and will be presented to council at a meeting on Tuesday night.