Cap rents or iconic street’s charm will be lost

The charm of one of Brisbane’s best-loved streets will be lost forever unless huge rent rises are stopped, a councillor says.

A NEW University of Queensland study has given three inner-south high streets the thumbs up for their welcoming feel.

But a councillor says Boundary St in West End, which was rated number one in the study, is in grave danger from rising rents.

Cr Jonathan Sri (The Gabba) is calling for rates subsidies, rent caps or some other mechanism to stop traditional businesses from succumbing to a wave of bars and licensed venues.

The UQ study, led by senior lecturer Dr Dorina Pojani, gave Boundary St, Grey St in South Brisbane and James St in New Farm top marks on a range of five criteria.

Beaudesert Rd in the heart of Moorooka also scored highly.

Some other Brisbane high streets, including Oxley Rd at Corinda and Sherwood Rd, rated very poorly however.

Boundary St achieved the top score of 23.09 on a range of five criteria including human scale, imageability (uniqueness) and complexity (the presence of features such as street art, outdoor dining, number of pedestrians and attractive colours and building designs).

Cafe on the corner of Boundary and Mollison streets. Faye Mehmet, Clarissa Lazzaretti (waitress) and Stephane Mehmet with Emma Zimmerman and Jess Bonney. Picture: Jono Searle.

Grey St, South Brisbane, came in at number two on 21.67 and Beaudesert Rd in Moorooka was fifth-best in Brisbane on 19.48, behind James St, New Farm, and Nundah’s high street.

Corinda had a total score on all the criteria of 12.98, the second lowest after Upper Mt Gravatt. Sherwood scored 13.36 (fourth lowest).

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Wayne Shay, the third-generation owner of Shays Shoes in Boundary St, said rents were a challenge.

“Rents are something you can’t control so (caps or rates subsidies) is something that could be worth exploring,’’ Mr Shaysaid.

“Quite a few shops have gone and been replaced by licensed premises,’’ Mr Shay said.

“Catchment Brewing replaced the old fish shop, Charlie’s fruit shop closed recently, Student Flights had to shut after their rent was put up, Hullaballos dresses and accessories has left — a lot of other boutiques have come and gone.’’

Wayne Shay, owner of Shays Shoes in West End. Picture: AAP/Richard Walker

Mr Shay, whose grandfather Dennis’ older brother, Bernard, started the business in 1901, said he was luckier than most.

AHEPA (the Australian Hellenic Education and Progress Association), which operated like a Lions or Rotary, had kept his rent to reasonable levels.

Dr Pojani said most Brisbane high streets fell down because of their emphasis on cars over pedestrians.

She said it was vital for a city the size of Brisbane to have multiple focal points, rather than just one CBD, and emphasising high streets was one way to achieve that.

“We need to become a polycentric city with new neighbourhood centres based on suburban high streets,’’ Dr Pojani said.

“Our current urban design stems from when Brisbane was a small city but now, all of a sudden, we have grown up.

“Yet there has been a lag between the vision in urban planning and what’s on the ground.’’

Councillor Steve Griffiths (Moorooka) said council had actively tried to improve the Beaudesert Rd streetscape in recent years.

“It still has a village feel but hasn’t been yuppified yet,’’ Cr Griffiths said.

“There are a lot of traditional shops and range of cultures from African and Middle Eastern to Greek.”

Moorooka’s high street has a vibrant culture with many multicultural stores, cafes, hairdressers and other small businesses. Aster Benebru in her grocery store. Picture: Annette Dew

He said after council took that stretch of Beaudesert Rd over from the State Government, it removed an ugly concrete barrier in the middle of the road, widened footpaths, installed traffic calming, improved accessibility and turned a former intersection into what is now Manmeet’s Paradise Park, a cool landscaped retreat next to Woolworths.

‘The current speed limit is 60km/h but council is currently reviewing that,’’ Cr Griffiths said.

Dr Pojani’s team found Corinda was the fourth-lowest for imageability, although there was not much difference in all the streets surveyed.

In a few cases, such as at Corinda, even the sidewalks were too wide in relation to the local pedestrian traffic and “convey the impression of a bare, cold space’’.

Corinda and Sherwood were among the four lowest for complexity.

Oxley Rd, Corinda, scored poorly. Picture: Marc Robertson

“These streets tend to offer dull, uniform shops which are advertised on large billboards in a typical car-centric design,’’ her study concluded.

“The breaks between buildings (to accommodate driveways and parking lots) reduce the number of shops on the street, thus reducing the different types of shopfronts and signage.’’

Corinda had a total score on all the criteria of 12.98, the second lowest after Upper Mt Gravatt.

Councillor Nicole Johnston (Tennyson) said she liked the Sherwood Rd high street, which was her local shopping district.

“It’s been 20 years-plus since there’s been council or significant private investment in the area, though,’’ she said.

“It’s a very good little community hub, very practical and functional, it just needs some TLC.’’