[COM] Victoria Square Upgrade - $24m

[Waewick]

I’m not anti this development, I just wonder if there is really the need anymore?

If the AO is going ahead and the state government is going to put the footbridge across the torrens, why would this money be put towards upgrade the torrens frontage instead? (sorry if this has been mentioned before hand)

[how_good_is_he]

Maybe if any of the major work promised for Victoria Park was actually happening it would give me some confidence on this one.....
On this proposal I think they should plan ahead and have either the roads underground so it is a true square for the people or at least consider an underground carpark - they want to hold events for 8000 people and have no extra parking? The private carpark companies would probably pay for this.
Also not one of the squares have proper playground equipment yet they want to attract families- do they expect the kids to play in the wetlands?

[Clr Yarwood]

Victoria Square is a national disgrace; It’s time for change.

Today’s announcement should be greeted with enthusiasm; it’s a critical opportunity to look forward and make sure our Local, State and Federal leaders know that we as a community want action.

As the councillor that called for the Victoria Square process to begin over 2 years ago, I am determined to deliver on a project that will redefine the heart of our great city. I will continue to do what I can, but this will only happen if the community supports the process.

In a world where everyone can buy customisable products, we expect to get exactly what we want and often nothing less is acceptable. The reality is however we can only have one Victoria Square and this is an excellent design offered by some of Australia’s finest professionals.

I'm asking the community to not get lost in the process of thinking their ideas are better than those of their next door neighbour, their local grocer or more importantly the eminent expects that have dedicated their lives to creating quality public space. What we need now more than ever is unity; a sense of opportunity and a desire to achieve an outcomes that will drive Adelaide forward and make us a more desirable place to live, work, shop, study and play.

Spread the word, no more bickering – help us get on with creating Adelaide’s future as a worlds most liveable city!

[Nathan]

however, the square itself isn't the only issue. it's the adjacent city blocks that need to draw people to the area too. the markets are fantastic and i hope that this upgrade includes improved access+signage via the square.

I absolutely agree. Gutting the hideous Market Arcade, and creating an inviting link between the Central Markets and Victoria Square would be beneficial to the success of both.

I'd like to know more about the "bicycle storage facilities". There was previous talk about a real bike centre in the square, with showers, a bike shop, and hire bikes. I hope this hasn't been scaled back to a a row of bike racks.

[Clr Yarwood]

Victoria Square / Tarndanyangga’s regeneration has begun.

The State Government has contributed $2 million to the Urban Regeneration Project to finalise a detailed design plan, and Adelaide City Council has committed $24 million, which will allow the regeneration to begin.

As with the award-winning revitalisation of North Terrace the work is likely to take place in stages, with funding sourced as each stage progresses.

Lord Mayor Michael Harbison is glad to see the project begin, and said that the urban regeneration of the Square would become one of the most important public space projects in Adelaide’s history.

“The project supports the State Government’s 30-Year Plan for Greater Adelaide, and our City’s goals for economic growth and improved quality of life for workers, residents, visitors and tourists alike,” he said.

“This is an exciting step for Adelaide, and will rejuvenate Victoria Square / Tarndanyangga as the heart of the City. The Square will become exciting and alive, a place that hosts events and attracts visitors: an inspiring and iconic City destination throughout the year.

“It will build on the existing strengths of this important precinct, including local restaurants and businesses, and Adelaide Central Market, South Australia’s most-visited destination.

“Adelaide needs a vibrant, cultural, activated space and garden in the heart of the city, both for today and for future generations.”

Highlights of the Masterplan include two iconic covered walkways – ‘The Arbours’ – which will provide almost half a kilometre of dappled shade and a backdrop for daily activities.

A permanent big screen, events spaces and cafés will support a lively atmosphere year-round, while other features will include an outdoor sculpture gallery, extensive gardens, a bicycle hub and a tourist information centre.

“There is also a commitment to sustainable design,” Mr Harbison said. “The space will be environmentally friendly, a showcase of world-class green urban initiatives. It will be a Square that is a centre for connectivity and travel, with easy access to public transport, and bike use encouraged through a central bike storage and change room facilities.”

Future activities that could be held in Victoria Square/Tarndanyangga include major events, stage and street performances, arts and garden festivals, cultural celebrations, exhibitions and displays, small lunch-time concerts and other entertainment such as outdoor cinema.

To find out more about the Masterplan and submit feedback, visit the new website at www.victoriasquareadelaide.com which goes live at 10am today. Free access to the website and printed materials are available at Council’s Customer Service Centre, and all Council libraries and community centres. Public consultation closes 7 June.

[monotonehell]

I spoke too soon, they only nicked half my idea. I'm a little concerned that the roads still isolate the square from its edges for pedestrians. As I've highlighted before, there's two reasons why the current square sees little use; there's not much out there to go to, and KWS isolates the centre of the square from the edges creating a psychological barrier.

Due to this reason this design, while fab, will fail to attract much patronage except during events.

[Ben]

I don't wish to appear negative but to be honest, it is nothign special it's a garden with a tv screen and nice landscaping. Shouldn;t we be going for something more then gardens and parks, shouldn't we be going for something bold and to bring us into the 21st century. I am a little disapponted that it's a $100m landscaping upgrade. You could do somethign really special with that kind of funding.

[AtD]

I don't wish to appear negative but to be honest, it is nothign special it's a garden with a tv screen and nice landscaping. Shouldn;t we be going for something more then gardens and parks, shouldn't we be going for something bold and to bring us into the 21st century. I am a little disapponted that it's a $100m landscaping upgrade. You could do somethign really special with that kind of funding.

A lot of people keep saying that. They want Vic Sq to be "iconic" - but when pushed to describe what they think "iconic" should be, most of the ideas are either bad, not iconic, wouldn't work politically/economically, and/or just motherhood statements.

The fact is, as long as Vic Sq is a giant intersection there isn't huge scope to do much. I think the proposal is decent enough.

[omada]

On the whole the square looks great, and I know i'll probably get bagged, called a "typical whinging Adelaideian", but WHAT IS WITH THE ROADS. The square is still ringed and cut through the middle by roads. Vic Sq will have the same problems in the future as it does now. It is essentially an "island" in the middle of a sea of cars, buses etc. "Victoria Island" - perhaps a nautical theme would be more appropriate, maybe we could have "pedestrian ferrys" that cart people over the roads??

[Aidan]

Victoria Square is fairly high ground - does it really get enough stormwater to sustain a wetland ecosystem? If not it will become a mosquito breeding ground, leaving us all worse off.

[mgb]

Not sure if anyone has tried to download the "masterplan" pdf, but when I do so I get a pdf with one page that say's "This page is intentionally blank." Sounds good for $100m!

http://www.adelaidecitycouncil.com/ADCC ... erplan.pdf

But being serious, I like the look of the design but would like to see some more detail. The existing roads appear to have been made to appear like they don't exist, but as we know that is far from the case. In the fly over Wakefield/Grote street doesn't get used, and King William Street is totally hidden by trees on each side. I like the idea, but really wonder if reality is going to match?


mgb.

[Briggzy_03]

I don't wish to appear negative but to be honest, it is nothign special it's a garden with a tv screen and nice landscaping. Shouldn;t we be going for something more then gardens and parks, shouldn't we be going for something bold and to bring us into the 21st century. I am a little disapponted that it's a $100m landscaping upgrade. You could do somethign really special with that kind of funding.

My initial thoughts were that to.

Thank you for the link to the official website Clr Yarwood http://www.victoriasquareadelaide.com, for people's interest, there are a lot more photos on the site and it explains the design a lot more clearly then the powertiser does. I like the design, the mosaic garden, and the arbours. The website advertises the square in a more grandeur sense, which is what I was hoping the design would be like. I'm also hoping the gardens are quite big and not a few different types of flora here and there.

However I also share the issues:

- Of actually getting people to the square and not turning it into a modern festival theatre square
- Think about this in a future sense and sink the roads to give the square a complete open feel that isn't cut off half the time.
- I'd be happy with keeping the tram line above ground although an underground station for the tram would be cool.
- Underground carparking should be considered, but I guess there isn't a lot you can do with $100m nowadays.

[Will]

This is by far the best proposal ever put forward for Victoria Square.

Despite this like typical Adelaideans we whinge because there is no action on VSQ, and now that there is action we whinge again.

I don't think people understand what the term 'iconic' means. This proposal reminds me a lot of Brisbane's Southbank. Everyone calls that iconic, yet when inspected clsoely there is nothing there that individually is iconic, but rather it is the mixture of all they have there which makes it iconic. Likewise, the same can be said for this proposal for VSQ. As a whole it is iconic.

The only thing, I would hope they add, is a better interaction with the Central Market. The current entry to the Central Market from VSQ has literally not changed since the 1960s. Not to mention it looks dirty and sad.

[Mants]

the design is really nothing special. it could be any old suburban park.

FFS. Your typical Adelaidean right there. No, actually it couldn't be any old suburban park. Simply because it's Victoria Square. Back to the loch with you Nessie.

This is way better than I thought it would be and is a good practical compromise between the myriad vested interests that Vic Sq seems to have. Good work. Adelaide seems to be on a bit of a roll. I hope it continues.

first of all get off you're high horse.
and then tell me what is special about these plans? what stands out? on any given day, why would a tourist, or indeed a local, want to come here?

the fact is, they wont.
i can see two issues here.
the first is connectivity. the reason hindmarsh square is always so busy is because it is easy to get to... a quiet corner of the city which isn't surrounded by cars on all sides. these plans do nothing to join the square directly to the surrounding areas. so it will remain, in essence, a big round about which people will bypass.
the second is creating a world class, 21s century city square. a bit of landscaping with a few flowers and trees wont cut it. what we need is new and innovative architecture, public artwork and something which people will immediately associate with Adelaide.

the reason it could be any other suburban park is because it could be! there is nothing that stands out about it. nothing to draw people in 365 days a year. i'm surprised people are prepared to settle for something which is really, just a band-aid fix, albeit an expensive one.

[Prince George]

Not sure if anyone has tried to download the "masterplan" pdf, but when I do so I get a pdf with one page that say's "This page is intentionally blank." Sounds good for $100m!

http://www.adelaidecitycouncil.com/ADCC ... erplan.pdf

The PDF is up now. Not a great deal more details than we've already got -- the images that we've already seen were all from the plan -- but there is some interesting discussion in the early sections on considerations about the square:

Pedestrian Activity
An analysis of pedestrian activity using Jan Gehl’s methodology reveals very few people engaged in social activities, especially in the central space of the Square. There are 35,000 - 45,000 pedestrians in the Square each day. Approximately 75% of pedestrians are passing through the Square for necessary use (i.e. as a thoroughfare to a destination). These observations support the market research results in which a high percentage of respondents expressed frustration at the difficulty in accessing the central spaces of the Square.

Edges (at ground level)
A detailed analysis of the Square’s edges and their activity reveals long lengths of blank walls with few full height windows and fewer openings; and rare opportunities to connect internal and public realm activities. The above condition represents a significant challenge to the regeneration of the Square and the achievement of high daily activity levels. It is clear that the Square itself will be required to attract large numbers of users rather than relying on spill out from surrounding buildings.

Public Transport
Victoria Square / Tarndanyangga is a major public transport interchange within the city. There are eleven bus stops for bus routes totalling approximately 30% of the metropolitan bus system. These routes generate approximately 1800 movements a day. The tram has 200 movements with an average of 7000 passengers using the Victoria Square stop each weekday. This is the second most popular stop on the Glenelg - North Terrace route after Rundle Mall. The high number of public transport movements and the presence of the free city tram through the Square is a significant opportunity which will support future uses and activities. Conversely these modes of transport represent a challenge to future road configurations due to their complex movement patterns and in the case of buses, their
size and exhaust emissions.

I notice that there are also more changes to the street layout than was apparent before. The shoulders are squared-off more, the layout is more like Whitmore or Wellington squares. Some of the crossings have been narrowed, particularly at the south-west and north-east corners.