The car park is vital to the prosperity of the Central Market as it attracts shoppers from far and wide, and most would have quite heavy bags etc of produce to carry home. Cheap parking (free for first hour) encourages a high turnover.The Adelaide Central Market hopes the restoration of a key right-hand turn into its car park will bring back hundreds of thousands of disenfranchised western suburbs shoppers and earn traders an extra $16 million each year.
According to Central Market management, the 2005 removal of the Grote Street right-hand turn into its car park had a disastrous effect on trade, discouraging around 300,000 visits each year.
Tomorrow, works will begin to demolish the median strip blocking the entrance and to install traffic lights, allowing shoppers travelling from the west along Grote Street to enter the market without having to pass it by and circumnavigate Victoria Square to enter the car park.
Grote Street is the most direct route coming from Sir Donald Bradman drive, however motorists can take a more indirect route via Gouger Street to enter the car park from the west.
The new entry is now a divided ramp with a twisty entry from the top into the car park. The removal of about 200 car parks (on the eastern side) during the redevelopment of the arcade is likely to affect business more than the 2005 removal of RH access from Grote St.
Advertising, revenue?
SurveyCentral Market general manager Aaron Brumby said the market would fund a major advertising campaign targeting Adelaide’s western suburbs in an attempt to woo customers back.
He told InDaily traders could hope to gain an extra $16.5 million in revenue each year as a result of the restoration – although the boon may take years to materialise.
“The traders are very excited to see it re-open."
“There was a significant drop in the number of vehicles in the car park [when the turn was blocked].
"..... traders immediately noticed the downturn … the western suburbs really became disenfranchised from the market.”
He says the Grote Street flagpoles provide “a beautiful entrance into the city” but it was worth removing three of them for the sake of the market.
CostThe market commissioned a major survey project last year, which revealed 86 per cent of those who entered the car park intended to shop at the market on that day.
Each customer would spend an average of $64 at the market during their visit.
The project surveyed 278 visitors to the car park in March 2016.
Assuming the market can eventually attract the 300,000 annual visitations back to the car park, and 86 per cent of those customers spend $64 each, management expects traders to earn an extra $16.5 million each year.
(Guiding principles of the redevelopment can still be viewed on the ACC YourSay site - link in this thread).The Adelaide City Council is funding the works which will cost about $300,000.
InDaily:
http://indaily.com.au/news/2017/05/22/c ... park-boon/
