NOARLUNGA centre will transform into a thriving, pedestrian-friendly urban village over the next three decades, plans obtained by The Advertiser reveal.
Onkaparinga council will consider the blueprint for the first transport-oriented development in Adelaide's south at a meeting tomorrow night.
The plan, prepared by urban design consultants Parsons Brinckerhoff, predicts Noarlunga Regional Centre will be the Fleurieu Peninsula's "centrepiece" by 2028.
"The Centre will be thriving as the commercial and community heart of the city and region," the report reads.
"It will become a place where 10,000 people choose to live and work - a place that is accessible, vibrant and resilient."
A critical component of the State Government's 30-year development plan, the vision includes high-density housing around the Colonnades shopping centre, commercial precincts adjacent the train station and a new university centre. Thirteen sites have been earmarked in the 30-year plan for future high-density developments, including Gawler in the north and Bowden on the city's western fringe.
Underpinning the vision for the Noarlunga Centre is a proposal to build 3000 residential dwellings to lift the centre's resident population to 6000 and the working population to 10,000.
Other major components include:
LIGHT RAIL connecting Beach Rd at Christies Beach with the new centre.
COMMERCIAL and retail areas lining a traditional main street precinct.
APARTMENT housing up to four storeys high.
A NETWORK of public plazas linked by cycling and pedestrian pathways.
About 4000 people now work in the area, but there are no houses, meaning the area is dominated by car use and is empty after business hours. If Onkaparinga council votes to adopt the plan at tomorrow's meeting it will be released for public comment on November 20 for four weeks.
Unlike the controversial Woodville transit-oriented development (TOD), planned for the St Clair Reserve site, the Noarlunga plan does not require a land swap. The majority of the land surrounding Colonnades is owned by the state and local governments.
Southern Suburbs Minister John Hill said intensification around transport corridors created a more "integrated and pedestrian and family-friendly" place to live.
Onkaparinga Mayor Lorraine Rosenberg declined to comment until after the meeting.
"Vibrant Noarlunga will boast a broad yet compatible mix of uses that encourages live- ly activity throughout the day and into the evening, seven days a week," the plan says.
The plan aims to increase the number of people who work in the area by encouraging commercial activity and promoting the area as a "corporate address" of choice.
About 60 per cent of the City of Onkaparinga's residents are commuters and leave the area for work each day.
"The city is hoping that its revitalisation will encourage more residents to find employment within the city itself."
Parsons Brinckerhoff national director of sustainability Darren Bilsborough said the revitalised centre would have a positive impact on the community and the environment.
"The thing that is most important to this is people, not cars," he said.
"This is the future. It is about creating a physical mechanism to allow people to live and connect and enjoy their lives as they should, and not just be dominated by the car."
Mr Bilsborough said pedestrian-friendly developments also enhanced the health and well-being of the community by encouraging walking.
The population of the City of Onkaparinga is expected to grow by about 60,000 by 2050, increasing the population to about 210,000.
In the State Government's draft 30 Year Plan for Greater Adelaide, Noarlunga is identified as a key growth area and a Regional Activity Centre. The Noarlunga Centre plan also ties in with the Government's stated goal of having 70 per cent of all new development built on the existing footprint of greater Adelaide.
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