Big plans for small street

Rowe St in Bondi Junction is the target of the latest Waverley Council report seeking to create a new walkway to the Junction Interchange and form an Oxford St arcade for local residents.

Tabled at last Tuesday’s Council meeting, the report will investigate ways in which Council can establish a direct passageway between Oxford St Mall and the Bus Rail Interchange. It is aimed at improving pedestrian accessibility and safety for those travelling to Bondi Beach or around Bondi Junction.

Mayor John Wakefield said it was essential for Council to ensure a reliable route of access could be in place for the community. He said: “It’s an important step for the community. What I’ve done over the last three months is get the State to help us provide direct access to the concourse.

“Council has a stated objective of improving pedestrian connections between the Oxford St Mall and the Bus Rail Interchange, thereby strengthening the north-south pedestrian route and providing safer pedestrian access into the Interchange.”

Located within Lawson Ward, the Rowe St re-developments are a concern for both Liberal and Labor in the upcoming election, with both sides engaged with pedestrian safety and its need to improve. For Liberal candidates, Angela Burrill and Andrew Cusack, the questions of fiscal sustainability and accommodating for an ageing population are both crucial to the issue. Ms Burrill said:

“We are very keen on seeing [improved] accessibility, but we are also concerned with our overheads and costs.

“We have a very high overhead and our services and infrastructure have been neglected. We need to get the basics right, have our streets and footpaths improved … and also look at the important issues like pedestrian safety, traffic safety and accessibility.”

In the proposed model, Labor has brought forward allocations to unfunded projects to ensure the $100,000 initiative can go ahead, with Council to pay half of the re-development costs and the other half covered by the NSW RMS authority.

Mr Wakefield said Labor’s agenda was to ensure traffic calming was successful and to consolidate existing urban infrastructure. The forty kilometre zone from Glenayr Ave to Campbell Parade on Bondi Beach was a calming technique earlier introduced by Council to improve pedestrian safety and create a friendlier environment.

“Under my tenure, Council created a traffic calm area on Glenayre [Ave], which has enlivened the street and made people more comfortable in the area [leading up to the beach],” Mr Wakefield said. “It helps tourism and helps retailers … and footpath dining as people feel much more secure on the streets.”

By Daniel Paperny