BY ARIANA GATTI
Not all Newcastle City Councillors are impressed by the approved changes set for the Hunter Street Mall redevelopment, costing a rather sizeable amount of $700 million to employ.
Proposed changes to traffic conditions, including the increase of speed zones in the area to rise from 10km/h to 40km/h is being considered as a consequence, rather than an improvement.
Other planned changes set for the mall include updated kerb and guttering, wider footpaths to accommodate for more outdoor dining and street furniture, as well as a two-way cycle path.
The mall will, however, maintain a single motorist lane for westbound traffic to move through and parallel parking along the street.
Concerns hang in the air of the future success for businesses, cafes and other stores along the pedestrian-filled street if the speed of cars travelling through is too fast.
Newcastle Greens Councillor, John McKenzie, says the mall is one of the most popular areas in the Newcastle CBD and should be looked after appropriately.
"It's providing a vibrant business culture and it's actually bringing life to the city, which we know how precious that is at the moment with all the work happening around us", he says.
"I am very much in favour of all the fantastic changes going on in our city right now, but that doesn't mean we have to open the flood-gates to just any development. We really need to be careful when looking at what should be re-developed".
Image Sourced: http://www.colliers.com.au/28157/
