Work on Glenelg tram tracks delayed until after school holidays

WORK to replace tram tracks on Glenelg’s Jetty Rd will be delayed until after school holidays and Mother’s Day after a backlash from local traders.

WORK to replace tram tracks on Glenelg’s Jetty Rd will be delayed until after school holidays and Mother’s Day after a backlash from local traders.

Transport Department general manager for infrastructure delivery Jon Whelan told a public meeting on Wednesday night that work would take place between May 15 and June 9 to avoid busy retail times in the seaside shopping strip.

The department announced last Wednesday that work would take place between April 26 and May 19, but only after Holdfast Bay councillor Amanda Wilson revealed the date at a council meeting the night before.

The new tracks will be quieter and create less vibration, and be safer for cyclists.

Mr Whelan said moving the project back was “riskier” because rain would prevent concrete being laid but the government had listened to traders.

In another change from what was announced last week, north-south access across Jetty Rd will be available through either Partridge and Gordon streets or Colley Tce and Moseley St throughout construction.

The council will offer free parking in its Colley Tce, Moseley St and Elizabeth St carparks.

Jetty Road Mainstreet Committee chairman Mark Faulkner said the changes were a “win for us”.

“I’m not going to sugarcoat it. When the work starts it won’t be good for us, but it has to be done,” he said.

Touche de Paris shop owner Helen Brinkworth said the work could result in her business closing.

“You’ve put me in a terrible position because of the comfort of some people on a tram,” she said.

The council will promote the message that Jetty Rd is “closed to traffic but open for business”.