Modest changes proposed on Tailem Bend’s main street
Railway Terrace may be made a little more accessible, neat and tidy in years to come, but don’t expect any major upheaval from the Coorong council.
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Modest improvements may be made to Tailem Bend’s main street in the next few years after Coorong councillors rejected a more outlandish vision of the future.
Consultants City Collective had originally proposed drastic changes on Railway Terrace, which could have included grassing over the station car park and moving the old steam locomotive.
No thanks, said locals – and councillors agreed.
Instead, the council embraced a new vision for Railway Terrace last month, featuring:
- An “entry statement” of some kind at each end of the main street
- New pedestrian crossings near Foodland and the bakery
- Better drainage, and disabled parks, in the car park across from the supermarket
- Replacement of old picnic shelters and barbecues
- Potential demolition of the old CFS station
More trees would also be planted, and better footpaths built, along the streets connecting Railway Terrace to the highway: Granites Road, Mallee, Willow and Cypress Streets and South Terrace.
The one mildly outlandish idea which survived in the final master plan was that a small plaza could be created beside the railway station, perhaps by rearranging the car park to make better use of the space.
Streetscape projects for Coorong District Council23.2MB ∙ PDF fileDownloadDownload
At any rate, this was all just spitballing – the council has no immediate plans to go ahead with any of the works for now.
Rather, it will seek funding from the state and federal governments, or wait until the right bag of money becomes available.
With luck, having a plan ready to go will help the council secure funding for Tailem Bend, and for the other two communities included in the streetscape master plan: Coonalpyn and Tintinara.
“This plan, in itself, will be used for leveraging grants and things like that,” CEO Bridget Mather said at the council’s meeting last month.
“It will just guide you … so that you have a consistent product in each town.”
Any future work will be subject to more community consultation.
