Vibrant Adelaide

Make Adelaide a more vibrant city with a continued focus on cycling and walking

Continued planning reforms for the City of Adelaide have been instrumental in unlocking new investment and development, laying the groundwork for a revitalised inner city.

This is supported by the department’s Places for People and Open Space programs (supported by the Planning and Development Fund), which provide grants to Councils to develop and improve open spaces for the community. The grants included $278 000 to Adelaide City Council to complete the Park Lands Trail, a shared-use path linking individual parks and path networks in the city and surrounding suburbs and connecting destinations within the Park Lands; the grant is part of a $20m investment in the Park Lands over four years.

The Planning and Development Fund also provided $3.12m for public realm improvements and activation projects in Adelaide’s city centre under the Vibrant City and Riverbank Precinct initiatives.

The department led the master-planning process for the redevelopment of the Adelaide Festival Centre Plaza. The renewed Plaza, to become the centrepiece of the Riverbank Precinct, is the first stage in a larger redevelopment of the Adelaide Festival Centre that eventually will see an upgraded Festival Theatre alongside a pedestrian boulevard with cafes, restaurants and shops, new parking facilities and a premium office building.

The department also supported expansion of the Design Review Panel to incorporate additional expertise in public realm design.

More facilities to enhance cycling access and safety were approved for development, notably two bicycle boulevards at Beulah Road in Norwood and Braund Road in Prospect to connect local streets with off-street paths and arterial road crossings. These routes follow quieter, lower-traffic streets where cyclists of all abilities can mix safely and comfortably with vehicles. The $1.6m project includes a signalised crossing of Portrush Road at Beulah Road and adjustments to four roundabouts on Beulah Road to reduce vehicle speeds and the risk and severity of crashes.

The department also undertook works to complete the four-year, $12m Greenways and Cycle Paths Program. Highlights include:

• a bicycle/pedestrian actuated crossing at Kilkenny Road / David Terrace to enable a safe crossing of the arterial road and better access to Kilkenny Station
• a shared-use path adjacent Woodville Station linking the crossing of Woodville Road to a path through St Clair that provides a more direct connection to the station and open space for local residents
• a widened and illuminated shared-use path adjacent Alberton Station between Fussell Place and Station Place to improve access to the station and provide a more attractive greenway link
• on the Gawler Greenway, an upgraded underpass of Park Terrace to better connect North Adelaide and Bowden, a shared-use crossing at Hawker Street in Bowden, and a bicycle/pedestrian actuated crossing at Torrens Road in Ovingham to enable a safe crossing of the arterial road and better access to Ovingham Station
• a shared-use underpass at Anzac Highway and Greenhill Road to link the Marino Rocks Greenway with the West Terrace path into the city.

After a successful operation in North Adelaide, the TravelSMART Households program was extended to Adelaide CBD residents in partnership with Adelaide City Council. The program engages with householders about their means of personal travel and values, and works collaboratively with them to identify ways to reduce their car use and increase travel by walking, cycling and public transport.

The department was nominated to develop the Anzac Centenary Memorial Garden Walk, a new pathway linking the South Australian National War Memorial on North Terrace to the Pathway of Honour behind Government House and the Torrens Parade Ground; the $10 million project is jointly funded by the Anzac Centenary Public Fund, the State Government and Adelaide City Council.