Concept designs have been prepared for stages five and six of the Welsford St upgrade in Shepparton.
Greater Shepparton City Council said stages five and six are the final two stages of the Welsford St upgrade and the concept designs are being made available for public feedback.
It said the upgrade is a key outcome of the Shepparton CBD Strategy 2008, which seeks to improve access to and the amenity of the central business district by reducing through traffic and redirecting freight and non-local traffic onto alternative routes, including Welsford St.
“This draft design is for stages five and six of the project, which is talking about the area from the KFC corner (Sobraon St/Wyndham St intersection) around the Aquamoves corner (Tom Collins Dve) behind the Aldi car park and through to the police station and the causeway/High St (Midland Hwy, High St/Welsford St) intersection,” Cr Sam Spinks told council’s monthly meeting on Tuesday, August 15.
“This is a main stretch that many of us, if not all of us, would use at some point in our travels and your (residents’) feedback will be key to creating safe and functional design.”
Cr Fern Summer warned that the designs, as they are, would see a loss of car parks and trees, although she was hoping more parking could be created elsewhere and potentially only two of a planned four trees would have to be removed.
“There could be a loss of 24 on-street car parks and one loading zone as a result of this,” she said.
“It will be potentially offset because we’re also investigating how we can get some off-street parking just to buffer that impact because it’s quite busy and car parks are at capacity already, and it’s great we’ve given trees the proper scrutiny that they deserve.”
Cr Anthony Brophy said the works were long overdue and he expects them to bring benefits for cyclists using the street as well as motorists.
“I did use it last week and I can say it’s in a pretty bad state at the moment because I was up and down like a yo-yo on that bike to try and stay on it because it’s pretty undulating through there so that needs to be all fixed up as well,” he told the meeting.
Cr Seema Abdullah referenced the loss of car parking spaces versus improved traffic flow as an example of how competing interests will have to be weighed up by council when it finalises its plans.
“So obviously it is going to be a hard decision,” she said.
“The perception out there that council is not listening to us (residents), really is not the case.”
Cr Geoff Dobson referred to public criticism of an earlier stage of the Welsford St upgrade at the intersection of Midland Hwy or High St and Welsford St, which caused significant traffic disruption in the central business district.
“We copped a lot of criticism, I think unfairly, about the Welsford St intersection changes,” he said.
“That had to be done and when you look at it now, and full marks to our team, they did a great job and it just improves the flow around the place dramatically and the continuation of the Welsford St flow will improve it even more.
“Certainly, I think the timing and the length of time of the renovations, when they do arrive, will be an important issue.”
Speaking after the meeting, Mayor Shane Sali said the works were an important step in Greater Shepparton’s development and urged the public to provide feedback on the concept designs.
“We’re a growing city so obviously, everything that’s been done now is to make things safer for road users, obviously pedestrians as well, cyclists, anyone that uses the road needs to have a better and safer experience moving forward,” Cr Sali said.
“We need to make sure that as the city is growing, and there’s more traffic on the roads, that we provide that safe environment and that upgrade, which is stages five and six, will play a big part in that.”
The public consultation period opens on Monday, August 21, and closes on September 18.
More information could be found at https://shaping.greatershepparton.com.au/