King William Rd’s pavers soon to be pulled up, 32 years after they were installed and caused traders massive disruption
THIRTY years after they were installed, causing massive disruption for traders, King William Rd’s iconic pavers will be ripped up and replaced under a $6 million plan to improve the area. So how will council manage it this time?
East, Inner Suburbs & Hills
Don't miss out on the headlines from East, Inner Suburbs & Hills. Followed categories will be added to My News.
- Facelift for King William Rd as council sets aside $300k for designs
- Report says pavers nearing the end of their effective life
- Best restaurants, cafes and bars on King William Rd
RIPPING up King William Rd’s pavers — more than 30 years after they were installed — is shifting closer by the day.
Unley Council staff and elected members met with traders and landlords last week in the first step of consultation on how to spend $6 million allocated over the next two years to improve the Hyde Park shopping strip’s appearance.
This would include replacing the road surface either with new bricks or bitumen.
A shopfront with ideas and maps has been set up near the corner of King William Rd and Park St to solicit feedback — similar to what was done in 1984 before paving started in 1985.
The council’s general manager for city development, John Devine, said the foundation under the paving was now failing and had to be replaced soon after patch-up jobs over the past few years.
“The road will actually fail,” Mr Devine said.
“We can do what we like to the surface but that’s not going to do anything because the foundation has collapsed.”
“It’s a big investment so then council wants to do it in a way that moves King William Rd to a new model — a modern main street.”
Concept designs, which could include kerb extensions, more off-street parking and more greenery, are due to be presented to the council in August ahead of the caretaker period starting in September and elections in November.
Tenders would then be put out, with work starting in March or April 2019.
Acting mayor Peter Hughes said the council had known of the need to replace the pavers or return the road to bitumen “for some time”.
“With the condition of the foundations under the road absolutely needing attention, we need to start now,” Mr Hughes said.
“Putting it off will cost more in maintenance.
“Councillors I’m confident will be very supportive of proceeding, especially when we get a good concept plan of what it will be like.”
Replacing the existing pavers with new ones would cost about 20 per cent more than bitumen, Mr Devine said, with the extra money likely coming at the expense of other improvements to the streetscape.
Mr Hughes, Mr Devine and urban planning, design and transport manager Ben Willsmore have met with about 70 traders and landlords at five workshops.
Mr Devine said the aim was to make King William Rd Australia’s “most loved main street”.
“The opportunity for King William Rd is to provide an experience for people that want to come and linger and dwell and experience a main street,” he said.
Ros Ellery started ladieswear shop Denim Iniquity in 1982 and survived the disruption last time.
She said the lack of parking was her customers’ biggest gripe.
Reducing disruption in removing the existing paving was also important.
“I love the paving but if the paving is going to take twice as long as bitumen, businesses cannot afford in this economy something that’s going to take a long time and I’m sure the landlords would agree,” Mrs Ellery said.
A year of disruption
ONLY a few businesses remain from when King William Rd was ripped up for a year and 2km of pavers installed.
But they remember it well.
“It was terrible,” Denim Iniquity owner Ros Ellery says.
“The mess was horrendous.
“Our customers were loyal but other businesses went bankrupt.”
Unley Council got a $1.4 million grant from the Federal Government to hire 88 unemployed people to help out with the work, which in total was worth $5.5 million.
Not having the skills needed, the workers took longer than expected.
This delay was topped by wet weather and the SA Gas Company and Telecom also replacing underground services at the same time.
Much of the road was closed for a year as work continued.
“Takings in some businesses reduced to almost nothing”, Unley Council works manager David McCarthy admitted in a report at the time, although he blamed it on a media beat-up and not any actual access issues.
It was a “huge balls-up”, according to Mike Hudson, the only elected member still on council from 1986.
“I’m sure we’ve learned out lessons there and it should be a lot easier this time,” Cr Hudson says.
Carol Foord started dress shop Toff’s in 1978.
It is now called Wildchild Stylelab and Ms Foord is looking forward to the work despite the disruption last time, when she supplied Wellington boots for customers to get from their cars to her shop.
“So what we’ve got a few empty shops?” she says.
“I think what’s happening now is exciting.”
South Australia’s best lash technician of 2024 revealed
The votes are in and counted and it’s two-in-a-row for the winner of this year’s best eyelash technician.
A bit rich? Haigh’s gobsmacking luxe advent calendar is back
It’s only October, but SA’s favourite chocolatier is gearing up for Christmas in a big way – albeit with a whopping price tag. Take out a second mortgage and pre-order one now.