A pedestrian thoroughfare may be carved through the historic Ayers House site as the Government tries to appease traders concerned about their post-hospital future in the East End.
Bension Siebert
@Bension1
http://indai.ly/257340
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Renewal SA boss John Hanlon told East End traders last night that the Government may carve a pedestrian thoroughfare through the Ayers House site. Photo: Tony Lewis / InDaily
Renewal SA boss John Hanlon fronted a packed meeting of East End traders and residents at the Stag Hotel last night, declaring that the Government would not let the precinct “fail” as a result of losing the state’s largest hospital to the western end of the city.
He hinted that the Government may build a pedestrian laneway – complete with lighting and “activation” – through the site of the state heritage-listed Ayers House between North Terrace and Rundle Street, in order to connect the old Royal Adelaide Hospital (oRAH) site with the East End.
Ayers House, the only surviving mansion on North Terrace, was home to five-time Premier of South Australia Sir Henry Ayers between 1855 and 1897, and now operates as a museum and function centre.
Hanlon told the meeting Renewal SA had commissioned Adelaide global architecture firm Woods Bagot to produce a “precinct plan” integrating the two areas.
“People need to be able to come off that site [the old Royal Adelaide Hospital site] … and walk over here [to the East End] very easily – that’s the aim,” he told the city council-organised meeting.
He said the Government would have to spend money outside of the oRAH site, on top of $20 million set aside to “activate it”, including to potentially “push linkages through if we need to – especially where we own government property”.
“At this stage, because it’s government-owned land, we’re very much looking at those linkages from Ayers House on North Terrace [… to the area] behind Ayers House and pushing back into Rundle Street.
“We’ve been looking at Ayers House and those sort of areas [for] how we’re going to cross through here into Rundle Street and open those linkages up.”
The Government may carve a pedestrian thoroughfare through the Ayers House site to connect the old Royal Adelaide Hospital site to the East End. This map shows the path of least resistance for a potential pedestrian thoroughfare, but Hanlon did not specify a route. Image: Leah Zahorujko / InDaily
Hanlon stopped short of confirming the Government would cut a new pedestrian link through the Ayers House site, but stressed that it would need to make it very easy for pedestrians to move between North Terrace and Rundle Street.
“I don’t want to make a statement tonight that we will definitely open up this particular area,” he said.
“But we’re pretty strong about the fact that they [pedestrian links] have to be there; you have to be able to walk there easily, it has to be safe, it has to be well-lit, it has to be activated – we understand all of that.
“We’re talking to them about those crossing points … [so that the Government is] not re-creating something over there [oRAH] that takes away from here [the East End].”
