Making Bondi beautiful

Waverley Council will release two demonstration projects in Bondi Junction later this month.

As part of Council’s Complete Streets initiative, the two short-term pop-ups will re-activate Spring St and bring more commuters to Bondi Junction.

Mayor Sally Betts said the initiative is the first step in making Bondi Junction a more vibrant place.

“We want to give residents an idea of what it could be like … see how they feel, and then [if the community] like it we will move forward to do other things,” she said.

The Urban Lounge pop-up on Spring St will introduce new timber seating, colourful bike racks and an LED lighting installation.

The second pop-up, ‘Jigsaw’, will be an interactive public art and lighting installation on the corner of Bronte Rd and Gray St, with the artwork highlighting the pedestrian link to Hollywood Ave.

“We want to make the walkway more accessible [and] lighting-friendly, so that people can use that and feel safe. A [key] part of Complete Streets is for people to feel safe when they are walking around at night,” Ms Betts said.

Bondi Ward Councillor Dominic Wy Kanak said Council should use public art to promote conversation.

“The name, ‘Bondi’ itself comes from ‘Boondi Boondi’, an Aboriginal expression for waves crashing on rocks,” he said.

“When we’re doing municipal planning these days, [there needs to be] greater discussion … on Aboriginal reconciliation and the history and importance of Aboriginal heritage.”

Mr Wy Kanak said the pop-ups were an effective way for Council to test the community’s reaction to ideas and infrastructure but they should also reflect Bondi’s Aboriginal heritage.

“It’s utterly vital that we try and plan those sorts of acknowledgements in what we are doing these days to celebrate our streets and our communities so that we are built on the strong foundation of recognising our prior heritage,” he said.

Ms Betts said Bondi has a “wonderful heritage” and it was important to make environmental provisions to ensure the local area was sustainable long-term.

“There is [also] a plan to plant many more trees, especially in Oxford St – some of those areas really don’t have any trees, they are pretty barren,” she said.

According to a Complete Streets draft report released last month, Council will consider ways to address the issue of traffic management and high pedestrian flows on Oxford St.

The aim is to encourage vehicles to use peripheral routes to access the major parking stations rather than traversing through the centre.

“With lower traffic volume and speed, the street is intended to be safe for cyclists to use without the need for separated paths,” the report states.

The two pop-ups will go on public exhibition next Tuesday and are set to be fully installed by September 23.