Holdfast Bay Council is looking at turning the Glenelg’s Jetty Rd shopping strip into a pedestrian mall and banning cars

HOLDFAST Bay Council will investigate banning cars from Glenelg’s Jetty Rd on some weekends and public holidays.

A car ban on Glenelg’s Jetty Rd on some weekends and public holidays is being investigated.

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HOLDFAST Bay Council will investigate banning cars from Glenelg’s Jetty Rd on some weekends and public holidays.

Councillors voted unanimously last week to seek a report into occasionally turning the busy seaside shopping strip into a pedestrian mall.

The report will be separate to the $150,000 Jetty Rd masterplan due to be complete by December but, if positive, could feed into it.

Cr Sam Charlick told last week’s council meeting the proposal had been “a thought for a while” among elected members and perhaps now was a good time to look at it while masterplan was being put together.

“I’ve heard plenty of conversations about the issue – whether or not Jetty Rd should be permanently or temporarily or occasionally a pedestrian mall,” Cr Charlick said.

The move has come after three years of successful Tour Down Under street parties, during which Jetty Rd has been closed to traffic.

The street is also closed for New Year’s Eve celebrations.

Cr Lynda Yates said an issue in the past had been the Transport Department’s opposition to trams sharing the road with pedestrians.

Trams terminate at Brighton Rd when Jetty Rd is closed for the street party and New Year’s Eve.

Cr Yates said the inconvenience of tram passengers having to walk 1km from Brighton Rd to Moseley Square could outweigh the benefits of closing the street to cars if the aim was to get more people to shop in Glenelg.

“If you could have the tram running along as normal, that would help,” Cr Yates said.

“You could still have sidewalk stalls going onto the road a little with the trams in the middle.”

Trams run through Melbourne’s pedestrian-only Bourke St Mall.

Consultation on the Jetty Rd masterplan will start this month.

Cr Charlick’s motion called for separate consultation with Jetty Rd businesses, Glenelg residents and the Transport Department on the pedestrian mall idea, but did not specify a timeframe.

Support among Jetty Rd business owners for closing Jetty Rd to cars, even occasionally, was mixed last week.

Lightbox Gift and Home and Attitudes Boutique owner Simon Martin said it was a “fantastic idea” that had worked well for his business at the Tour Down Under street party.

“Anything that can promote the area and bring people to the area could be a great initiative,” Mr Martin said.

The Teahouse owner Susan Sayegh said it might be good “if it was just public holidays” but not on weekdays when customers liked to park on the street near her business.

The owner of Makis Yiros, who only goes by the name Makis, said he would oppose any “strangers” coming into Jetty Rd, such as if there was a market in the street when it was closed to traffic.

“Some outsiders coming in to sell food – no,” Makis said.

Touche de Paris saleswoman Ina Pope said closing the street “occasionally would be a good thing but not all the time”.