Christopher Pyne: King William St is tired and anything but a showcase for our city

King William St is grimy, dirty, often abandoned and unpleasant. But everyone has a role to play in restoring it.

“When I raised my displeasure with the state of King William Street, most people urged me to keep my views to myself. It was as if a mafia like omerta was visited on the subject.” Picture: Kelly Barnes/Getty Images

When I returned to Adelaide full time after retiring from Australian politics in mid 2019 and became reacquainted daily with the Central Business District, it struck me that the development of the city was moving ahead apace.

Except in one rather black hole – King William Street between Victoria Square and North Terrace.

When I raised my displeasure with the state of King William Street, most people urged me to keep my views to myself. It was as if a mafia like omerta was visited on the subject.

So it was to my satisfaction to read that Advertiser columnist Caleb Bond shared this view in his piece last week.

Bond belled the cat. He also derided North Terrace but I don’t agree with him about North Terrace.

I happen to like the wide footpath on the northern side and the tall buildings growing on the southern side. The tram adds some colour to our main cultural boulevard.

The road works will end soon enough and finally a couple of eyesore properties are being converted to modernity.

I do agree with him that al fresco dining should be allowed on North Terrace. While on the subject of al fresco dining, it is one thing for which former premier Don Dunstan should be thanked.

While he is credited with many things that he had nothing to do with (the Adelaide Festival Theatre for example), we can take credit for being the first Australian city to embrace dining on the footpath.

Why is this such a groundbreaking initiative?

Well, apart from bringing a touch of the Mediterranean to Australia’s premier Mediterranean climate major city, it brings people out onto the street.

People expect to eat in a clean and tidy environment, not a slum. In Rundle Street, we see the benefits. It is vibrant, clean and busy.

In King William Street, we see the opposite. It is grimy, dirty, abandoned much of the time and unpleasant.

King William Street lacks footpath dining experiences. As a result, there are no customers on the street insisting that the small business owners keep the area clean. So there are no small business owners asking the Adelaide City Council to keep it clean.

While it would take time, the Adelaide City Council could change the dynamic of our central boulevard by encouraging a burgeoning of street dining.

King William St is grimy, dirty, abandoned much of the time and unpleasant. Picture: Brenton Edwards

King William Street should be bristling with high-end shopping experiences.

How many down-market convenience stores, $2 gifts and card shops and bubble drinks outlets does the CBD need?

They are attracted to King William Street because the rents are low. The rents are low to attract tenants because the street is tired and anything but a showcase for our city.

I know no one wants to say it, but why are the rough sleepers left to sleep in the doorways of, in some cases functioning and in other cases seemingly abandoned King William Street buildings for what seems days or longer?

The South Australian Government, SA charities, SA Police and many others who provide services to the homeless do a sterling job in difficult circumstances but the only way to provide the assistance that the homeless need is to address the problem daily.

That’s a job for SA Police. Those who find themselves in this situation need to be assisted into care – to get the medical attention they require, emergency accommodation and then potentially, longer-term accommodation.

The operators of the bus routes through King William Street have a role to play, too. The bus stops on the western side of King William Street are often in dire need of a clean.

The message being sent to tourists and potential investors staying at the Mayfair Hotel when they walk out onto Adelaide’s showcase street and have to step around wine bottles, stubbies, half-eaten burgers, cigarette butts and nangs, quite apart from turning their stomachs, would hardly encourage them to talk up Adelaide when they get home or stay here longer.

It might not be the bus operator’s job, but it would be a positive civic action.

The same goes for property owners on the street. While their buildings sit waiting for demolition or redevelopment, they should be required to at least keep the ground floors presentable.

They could at least cover in the windows with brown paper, clean the windows and send the cleaners in a couple of times a week to keep the areas around their buildings clean. That wouldn’t break the bank.

Finally, the Adelaide City Council could make a real difference just by taking out the pressure washer and giving the street a weekly spray. Get the gum off the pavement and keep the street spruce. There isn’t a problem with the median strip and the trees. They look great and are one of the few things saving the precinct.

So please, don’t cut them all down and replace them with something utterly unnecessary.

Everyone has a role to play in restoring our jewel in the crown – the pedestrian, regulators of street dining, property owners, developers, the SA Government and the Adelaide City Council, the Department of Transport, the small business owners, even SA Police.

Let’s all pull together and get it done – otherwise Bond might run for Lord Mayor on a platform of cleaning up the streets. The mind fairly boggles.