U/C: Rundle Street Streetscape Upgrade

[Howie]

The Advertiser 30/03/2006

Rundle St welcomes city stalls
By XANTHE KLEINIG
30mar06

RUNDLE St traders have welcomed the Adelaide City Council's endorsement of street markets returning to the East End.

From May, the East End of the street will be closed every Saturday to make way for stalls, with the approval of existing shop owners.

Shoe store owner, Rosemarie Farrugia said the market would be good for business.

"I think it's a great thing for the city," she said.

The 27 year-old businesswoman said it would "liven up" Rundle St and would help to make Adelaide more attractive to young people.


The Adelaide City council this week agreed to go ahead with the concept, after consultation with traders and residents.

Two thirds of the people surveyed supported the market, with some qualifications.

Some traders would have preferred a Sunday market when the street was quieter and Ms Farrugia said some were worried about a lack of car parking.

"Everything new is going to have teething problems," she said.

Lord Mayor Michael Harbison, who promised to establish a market in his election campaign, said markets would attract people interested in a different way to shop. "I think they will draw a lot of people to the city on the weekends," he said.

"Everyone young and old is looking for a market experience these days . . . we want our shopping to be interesting and different, not simply a retail experience."

The market is estimated to cost the council up to $750,000 to run.

Secretary of the East End Coordination Group Ian Bromell, who lives and works in the area, said the type of stalls were important to the market's success. "If it's a flea market and down-market that's undesirable," he said. "Some residents are nervous about that."

Strict controls over the stall holders and their products have been suggested by council staff to ensure the market's success.

Mr Bromell said most people "want to see vibrancy and life and activity in the east end".

"The majority of traders, once they understand the concept, realise it will make their cash registers ring," he said.

[AtD]

What a great idea. How about Saturday and Sunday?

As for lack of parking, on the weekend, that shouldn't be an issue.

[Howie]

I can't wait My only experience with stalls on rundle street was during the fringe street party a few years ago, and i must say i was taken by it. Love the idea... good to see it'll be a regular gig now.

[Algernon]

Does anyone remember the old East End market? That thing ruled. Especially the old car park where the Alpha Apartments + parking garage now sit. It used to be chockas come Fringe time.

Stalls in Rundle Mall is just a token gesture. How about the ACC get rid of (bankrupt) Imax and give us back what we already had

[Howie]

Stalls in Rundle Mall is just a token gesture. How about the ACC get rid of (bankrupt) Imax and give us back what we already had

Amen to that. Did you guys hear the statement Imax directors made when they left? "I guess adelaide's not ready for Imax yet"... yeah right, if they had marketed it and not charge an arm and a leg for a half hour crappy documentary then maybe we would've all gone and seen a flick there.

[Will]

Stalls in Rundle Mall is just a token gesture. How about the ACC get rid of (bankrupt) Imax and give us back what we already had

Amen to that. Did you guys hear the statement Imax directors made when they left? "I guess adelaide's not ready for Imax yet"... yeah right, if they had marketed it and not charge an arm and a leg for a half hour crappy documentary then maybe we would've all gone and seen a flick there.

I completely agree, no-body in their right mind would pay such an exhorbitant amount of money to see a documentary about ice or polar bears.

However back to topic.

Street markets in Rundle Street are a fantastic idea! Having recently gone to the Salamance Market in Hobart, I was surprised by the amount of people they attract. I don't want to sound ignorant or anything, but I never expected to see so many people In Hobart. The range and variety as well as the mix of buskers, street entertainemtn and international food outlets makes the Salamanca Markets world class. Hopefully someone from the ACC can visit that market and re-create it in our special Adelaide enthusiasm. I will definately be going, and I am certain that it will be a success.

[AtD]

Spot the difference!

Before:

Boring concrete pavers, uneaven, large gaps between pavers, cracked in many places

After:

Boring concrete made to look like pavers, large gaps where actual pavers used, uneaven in many places.

Surely Rundle St deserves better? Pave the streets with gold!


(Saw a derro attacking a $2 coin with a screwdriver, without luck)

[Pants]

Fucking ridiculous, isn't it?

Having been to Melbourne recently, they really put us to shame when it comes to beautifying their streets and putting in a bit of cutting edge design and art for the sake of it.

The thing is that not too much extra expense needs to be incurred when it comes to paving to make that bit of difference and show some pride in the city rather than something that has just been thrown together.

The Victoria square paving is another example. It couldn't possibly be more boring. Contrast this with Fed. Square in Melbourne.

Rundle street especially, deserved a bit of colour and a bit more class than what we've been given.

[Algernon]

Rundle street especially, deserved a bit of colour and a bit more class than what we've been given.

I agree with all your points Pants, but I found this comment interesting. People still cling to the notion that Rundle Street is Adelaide's premier cultural boulevard, but it has been in a long period of decline since the mid 90s. The replacement of the East End Market with car parks and apartment buildings has well and truly sealed the street's fate. It's dead, and in its current form can not recover.

Gouger street has well and truly replaced Rundle Street as the premier restaurant and atmospheric scene of Adelaide.

What can be done with Rundle Street? Some of my ideas:

* Remove all street side parking and widen the footpaths. This is a major psychological hurdle for many, as people relate cars to economic prosperity. Shop owners would no doubt raise concerns about the viability of their business, due to the loss of 1 car park outside their frontage. Well, i'm not going to tell them if they're right or wrong, but i'll point out that shop owners opposed the conversion of Rundle Street west to a pedestrian mall on those same grounds.

* Demolish the two car parks at the intersection with Pultney Street, and replace with small scale commercial properties. People don't walk down rundle street for the Target (Tarzhay) experience. They want choice. They want boutique, specialty stores. They want something unique. If it's not unique, then my choice of visiting the area isn't a choice between what shop I want to go to, but which Target is closest to my house in West Lakes.

* Increase public seating. Truly public seating requires no transaction to use it. Basically any part of the street worth visiting has had all its public space privatised by restaurant seating. Now, i'm not entirely opposed to this, as a vibrant street side restaurant scene does wonders for an area. However there's a critical shortage of truly public areas to sit in, so this has to be addressed.

* Raise the street to the same level as the footpath. This is actually an interesting technique implemented in some European countries. Having cars and pedestrians on the same level has been observed to create safer environments for pedestrians. Drivers are more conscious of the pedestrians, and vice versa. I could crap on about it all day if I could be bothered.

[Al]

* Raise the street to the same level as the footpath. This is actually an interesting technique implemented in some European countries. Having cars and pedestrians on the same level has been observed to create safer environments for pedestrians. Drivers are more conscious of the pedestrians, and vice versa. I could crap on about it all day if I could be bothered.

WTF? How does that work? Those crazy Europeans.

Seriously, I think the real safety issue is the number of parked cars that Mr or Mrs Lemming can hide behind before pouncing on an unsuspecting driver. That and the slow speed. If they increased the speed limit to 60 minimum then the pedestrians will look out for cars as opposed to the other way around. Just kidding.

I heard that the ACC was actually thinking about introducing cars down Rundle Mall at night to encourage people into the Mall. How this is going to work is beyond me. I mean I have always wanted to hang around the front of Harris Scarfe or DJs window shopping at 9pm followed by dinner at the big M.

I'd have to agree. Rundle Street doesn't do it for me very much and I can't figure out why. It just feels cold.

[AtD]

Algernon for Premier.

[UrbanSG]

Well yeah this 'upgrade' looks terrible for such an important street in Adelaide. Nothing compares to North Terrace though. After all the years of talking we have a little bit done between the Library and Pultney. This upgrade is excellent and shows what can happen when a decent job is done. So many more people now use that area and sit there for lunch etc. I can't believe the stalling over the next stage though. Vistors must think what the f**k as you go from gold paved street to the roughest crappiest paving that makes you trip ar** over tit This occurs at both ends. Down near UniSA is terrible and up past the library infront of Government House is embarrassing, so many tourists walk there. Who knows maybe in about 10 years the street will be done!

[AtD]

Having a think about it, if the Rundle St traders really want something done to improve Rundle St, then why don’t they get together and do it themselves? Not being an expert in the area, I’m not sure how much crap anyone would have to go through to do this, but consider:

Rundle Street traders all have a common goal, increasing the number of customers in the precinct. Since the vast majority of customers walk to the businesses (as opposed to parking in them), the goal of the traders must be to increase the number of pedestrians in the street.

The ACC collects funds from all residents and business in Adelaide and North Adelaide, and distributes them according to the preferences of the constituents. The ACC are concerned not only about Rundle Street, but also Rundle Mall, Hindley Street, Goudger Street, O’Connell Street, Melbourne Street, etc. Anything the ACC does must take in the considerations of traders in these areas, as well as residents around Rundle Street who would be apposed to increases in pedestrians.

It seems logical to me that the Rundle St traders form a business group and get things done themselves rather than rely on the ACC to do it for them. I’m not sure of the legality or feasibility of this, but the traders could pool resources and get the street upgraded themselves, providing all the services and facilities they’ve been lobbying for privately. Since the benefits are almost exclusively distributed amongst traders (as opposed to all ACC residents), then it seems fair that they pay for the services.

For example, rather than complaining about the lack of car parks driving customers away, an organisation could be established to build car parks. These car parks could be financed by traders, and left exclusively for the traders who contribute. For example, spend $x at participating businesses and receive y hours free parking. Stay longer, and you’ll have to pay for it. This would help stop the car park being used by people who aren’t paying for it.

Take it another step, and the organisation could help fund (or fully fund) an upgrade of the street itself. The traders (assuming they can agree) could submit the design such that they get what they want out of it, space for tables, public facilities, ease of pedestrian access to businesses, ease of access to the PT services on North Terrace and Grenfell Street, taxi ranks and so on. I can’t see a reason why the ACC would flatly reject this idea because they have everything to gain (rates are based on property value, correct?) and nothing to lose. One problem I can see is traders arguing that more vehicle traffic past their shop means more business in their shop, as if it’s a giant drive-thru.

Not sure if it’ll work, and it needs someone with the guts and the backing to get it started, but it’s food for thought at least.

[Algernon]

Having a think about it, if the Rundle St traders really want something done to improve Rundle St, then why don’t they get together and do it themselves? Not being an expert in the area, I’m not sure how much crap anyone would have to go through to do this, but consider:

Rundle Street traders all have a common goal, increasing the number of customers in the precinct. Since the vast majority of customers walk to the businesses (as opposed to parking in them), the goal of the traders must be to increase the number of pedestrians in the street.

The ACC collects funds from all residents and business in Adelaide and North Adelaide, and distributes them according to the preferences of the constituents. The ACC are concerned not only about Rundle Street, but also Rundle Mall, Hindley Street, Goudger Street, O’Connell Street, Melbourne Street, etc. Anything the ACC does must take in the considerations of traders in these areas, as well as residents around Rundle Street who would be apposed to increases in pedestrians.

I'd expect this to change a little when the council returns to the wards system.

It seems logical to me that the Rundle St traders form a business group and get things done themselves rather than rely on the ACC to do it for them. I’m not sure of the legality or feasibility of this, but the traders could pool resources and get the street upgraded themselves, providing all the services and facilities they’ve been lobbying for privately. Since the benefits are almost exclusively distributed amongst traders (as opposed to all ACC residents), then it seems fair that they pay for the services.

I like the neo-liberal in you!

For example, rather than complaining about the lack of car parks driving customers away, an organisation could be established to build car parks. These car parks could be financed by traders, and left exclusively for the traders who contribute. For example, spend $x at participating businesses and receive y hours free parking. Stay longer, and you’ll have to pay for it. This would help stop the car park being used by people who aren’t paying for it.

Probably not the best example - the ACC absolutely loves its car parks. Loves them.

Take it another step, and the organisation could help fund (or fully fund) an upgrade of the street itself. The traders (assuming they can agree) could submit the design such that they get what they want out of it, space for tables, public facilities, ease of pedestrian access to businesses, ease of access to the PT services on North Terrace and Grenfell Street, taxi ranks and so on. I can’t see a reason why the ACC would flatly reject this idea because they have everything to gain (rates are based on property value, correct?) and nothing to lose. One problem I can see is traders arguing that more vehicle traffic past their shop means more business in their shop, as if it’s a giant drive-thru.

Not sure if it’ll work, and it needs someone with the guts and the backing to get it started, but it’s food for thought at least.

I see a good deal of potential in this idea, however there's a few obstacles.

1/ the general Adelaide psyche that if you need to invest a significant sum of money in something, it's "the Guvment's" responsibility.

2/ political obstacle in the form of the ACC. Now, i'm not naming names, but any development you can imagine will get held up by one particular individual and her damned roll-over curbs...

3/ you can't make a DA on land you don't own, or have no reasonable prospect of owning in future. This would have to be a PPP arrangement - a PPP with Adelaide City Council. Do you really want to be involved with ACC on anything you have your own money riding on? I wouldn't in a million years.

[Mants]

well i work at a cafe on rundle street, and all i can say is that it does need a bit of a makeover.

the footpaths are grotty, lots of rubbish around and nowhere near wide enough.
i constantly get bumped by passers by while im trying to wait on tables. it would be more convenient if all the cafe tables were placed directly in front of the cafes, and pedestrians would walk down the street directly next to the road...doubt this would ever happen though

imo they should pave the footpathes AND the road, just to add to its character (like king william road in hyde park). i dont know why, but the paved road just adds so much to kw road! lol