We should have known it was too good to last. Riding high after another successful AFL Gather Round, with city and surrounding businesses aglow from a week of booming trade, it only took the reminder of another logic-defying Adelaide City Council idea to bring us back down to earth with a thud.
The latest prosperity killer for business is the convoluted plan to shrink O’Connell St down to single lanes outside of peak hour, removing street parking and adding in protected bike thoroughfares.
I drive down this street every day and often frequent the local businesses. It’s not an exaggeration to say what should be a thriving boulevard has been on life-support for years.
That’s why traders have been eagerly awaiting the completion of 88 O’Connell, the luxury residential development with its injection of humans and new retail offerings.
For those of a certain age, we can finally stop referring to it as the “old Le Cornu site”, and hope it sparks a North Adelaide village revival.
Why then, on the cusp of its completion, would the ACC penalise the developers, the tenants and the traders who have all made a financial commitment, by removing access to parking and giving everyone, other than cyclists, good reason to avoid it like the plague?
Of course they have form here. The Central Market is undergoing a world-class transformation that will take an SA icon to the next level. When investors were stumping up their hard-earned on this development, it seems the ACC neglected to share that they want to close off the western side of Light Square to traffic, making the east side two-way, thereby reducing north-south access on one of the most popular routes serving the Market and Chinatown precinct.
The idea is that it will create more green space. Sorry ACC, that’s not what our city is missing right now. In fact, Colonel Light did that job for you nearly 190 years ago. Maybe investment in clever ways to activate and replenish our heritage-listed parklands could be a better focus?
Then there’s the Frome Road bike lane insertion, strangling traffic around our tertiary education district just as we finalise the merger of the two adjacent learning institutions to create a “super-uni” which we hope will drive enrolments and one would envisage, traffic of all kinds.
Slip across East Terrace to nearby Hutt Street which has spent the past couple of years trying to rebuild its reputation as a food and wine destination and you will learn of further plans to remove street parking. This call has merchants shaking their heads in disbelief and asking if the
ACC is anti-car, anti-business, anti-development or just doesn’t care.
Did I mention they are also considering a 30km/h speed limit right across the city including O’Connell and Hutt Streets?
Aside from bewilderment, there is another critical component that connects all of this. The transport lanes that are the subject of this piece either bring people into our city or move them through it. I’m sure the ACC wants a vibrant CBD, and I know business wants people back working in the city rather than their lounge room, so why give them another reason to stay home?
Our small businesses are facing enough challenges managing the IR regulations and red tape foisted upon them by government, without our own council adding to their woes. They are tired of bearing the brunt of bureaucratic decisions fixing problems that don’t exist.
The Premier has done well to spruik our state’s credentials. Imagine how that message could be amplified by a booming business district, if the ACC were in lockstep and elevating their rate paying businesses rather than pinning them to the canvas.
There is a place for better bike lanes and improved access for cyclists heading into our CBD.
Surely a city surrounded by parklands can accommodate this and create a safer and more enjoyable cycling experience? Likewise, Main Street rejuvenation projects can be a boon to local business if managed sensibly. Hopefully the ACC listens to the calls of business owners and drop plans that work to the detriment of those who are backing SA and growing our economy.
