Bold plan proposes ‘civic heart’ for Tailem Bend’s main street
A master plan for streetscapes across the Coorong district has proposed sweeping changes for Railway Terrace, including fewer car parks and more green space.
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A “civic heart” green space, reconfigured car parking and a youth centre have been proposed in a bold vision for Tailem Bend’s main street.
Coorong councillors received copies of a master plan for Railway Terrace – as well as for Coonalpyn and Tintinara’s main streets – on Tuesday.
Key to the consultants’ plan for Tailem Bend was replacing the car park in front of the railway station with a grassed “civic heart”.
Such an area might include:
- The steam engine, relocated from the playground
- Better walking paths running parallel with the railway line and main street
- A zebra crossing linking it to the Willow Street precinct
The car park near Mallee Street could be reconfigured to better accommodate RVs and other visitors, and additional car parking could be added down past the old fire station.
The playground could also be rearranged to bring equipment closer together, making space for a new skate park at the far end and possible conversion of the old fire station into a youth hub and/or community arts facility.
More greenery, better signage pointing back to the highway and incorporation of more Indigenous stories and cultural references would improve Tailem Bend’s CBD more broadly, consultants City Collective advised.
Lack of pedestrian crossings is a problem, feedback suggests
The master plan was based on feedback from almost 200 local people collected at an earlier stage of consultation.
Locals suggested there were not enough safe crossing points along Railway Terrace, which was a problem for a road that was about 13 metres wide.
The lack of RV parking or a waste dump point was also a problem, as was a lack of lighting at some points and the disconnect between the skate park, near Mallee Street, and the playground 300 metres down the street.
On the bright side, the century-old railway station made a beautiful focal point for the town, and the vacant fire station could be used for all sorts of things once it was cleaned up.
Consultation period will open soon
Councillors voted on Tuesday to launch another round of public consultation and see what people thought of the master plan.
Mayor Paul Simmons was sure the council would get plenty of useful feedback.
“This is perhaps … the most important part of the consultation: to put meat on the bones of the proposal, to get the public and ratepayers to have a good look at what’s proposed, what they don’t like and what they like,” he said.
“We collected the information, now we seek to review the information.”
More detailed concept images will be produced for a future round of consultation, before the master plan is finalised.
Once councillors approve the final plan, the council would budget for the proposed improvements over a number of years.
In the meantime, members of the public will have 21 days to have their say after the current version of the master plan is published on the council’s website.
- Have your say: www.coorong.sa.gov.au.
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