Adelaide City Council is progressing plans to transform Light Square into green space

Controversial council plans to substitute the road west of Light Square for green space have been met with opposition from councillors and nearby business owners.

Lime2 Cafe owners Peter and Antoniette Domhoff are not happy with a council proposal to transform Light Square. Picture: Brenton Edwards

Adelaide City Council is pushing a bold plan to transform the road west of Light Square into green space, despite nearby business owners describing the council as “idiots”.

The plan would turn the area west of Light Square into a car-free green zone, while the road east of Light Square would become a two-way street.

Adelaide City Council is pushing a bold plan to transform the road west of Light Square into green space, despite nearby business owners describing the council as “idiots”. Picture: Brenton Edwards

Seventy-nine per cent of people surveyed by the council have supported the idea, and 11 per cent supported a second option to retain the western road while reducing parking and street lanes.

Only six per cent rejected both options.

But on Tuesday night, councillors expressed concerns that the options are uncosted and crucial traffic impact studies have not yet been completed, despite the council already spending $90,000 on the project out of $250,000 allocated for the 2024/25 financial year.

Councillor Henry Davis told the council’s planning committee the surveyed residents and businesses “have no idea how much it would cost”.

Lime2 Cafe owners Peter and Antoniette Domhoff aren’t happy with the proposal. Picture: Brenton Edwards

The council’s city shaping director, Ilia Houridis, confirmed the concept was uncosted after Mr Davis asked: “Do we have any indication whether it’s $1m or $400m? Any kind of ballpark figure about how much this will cost?”

Another councillor, Carmel Noon, told The Advertiser a traffic impact study, which has not been undertaken, was “critical” and would “inform what that whole area is going to look like”.

Asked if the traffic study should have been undertaken before spending $90,000 on a draft plan and survey, she said that was “correct” and “a good point”.

Peter Domhoff, who owns Lime Square Cafe on the west side of Light Square, slammed the idea and called the council “idiots”.

“You need to open the city up, not close it all down,” he said. “You’re gonna have a bigger population. You need to open things up so people can move through. (When the council spoke to me) they hadn’t even counted the cars or anything yet, and I was like, ‘what is wrong with you people?’.”

Co-owner Antoinette Domhoff said the plan would hurt her business, especially if parking was reduced when the street is reconfigured.

She said several business owners on the street shared the same concern.

The plan would remove the left-hand turn from Morphett St into Waymouth St, and the exit from Philip St to Morphett St.

It would also remove the slip lane from Morphett St, heading north and into the TAFE carpark.

Council’s planning committee voted on Tuesday to approve a recommendation allowing the plan to progress to the next stage, which would include costing, a traffic impact and finalising the masterplan.

The masterplan would be subject to further approval.