Coffee shop owner Lincoln Fairleigh, Weston Creek Community Council Chair Bill Gemmell and Transport and City Services Minister Chris Steel discuss the Brierly Street upgrades in Weston. Photo: Ian Bushnell.
By the end of the year, a barren and disconnected dining precinct in Weston will be greener and more hospitable, and better connected with the adjacent Cooleman Court shops.
Work is about to start on a $1.5 million upgrade to Brierly Street that will provide more opportunities for outdoor dining, plant 24 new trees and landscaping, create more parking spaces, and install two new raised pedestrian crossings between Cooleman Court and the restaurants and cafes opposite.
It’s been a long time coming, but Lava Cafe owner Lincoln Fairleigh said the business owners on that side of Brierly Street were excited about what it meant for the Weston group centre.
“The addition of outdoor seating is going to make a huge difference,” he said.
“It’s going to breathe a whole lot of new life into what’s happening in Weston. It’ll be more dynamic and a bit more fun.”
Mr Fairleigh said attracting foot traffic was a challenge when the access from Cooleman Court was limited but the new crossings should help with that.
Transport and City Services Minister Chris Steel said the Brierly Street upgrade design was the result of asking Weston group centre customers and businesses what they wanted to see in the precinct.
He said as well as the trees there would be more than 1000 plantings in raised beds to boost the level of greenery along the street, which he acknowledged was a bit of concrete jungle and could be quite hot in summer.
Extending the verge out would also provide more room for seating and outdoor dining.
The bus stop outside Cooleman Court would make way for more on-street parking, while two-hour time limits would be introduced in more areas to create more availability, although there would still be long-stay parking on the edges of the centre for staff and business owners.
An artist’s impression of what Brierly Street in Weston will look like by the end of the year. Image: ACT Government.
The car parks changing to two hours will be those off Parkinson Street and Mahony Court, the Commons Court and Macleod Court all-day parking areas, and Watling Place.
Mr Steel said the street upgrade was part of a major suite of works in Weston that includes new traffic lights installed at the intersection of Brierly Street and Hindmarsh Drive, an acknowledged black spot; the intersection of Streeton Drive and Namitjira Drive at the other end of the centre; and at the intersection of Heysen Street and Streeton Drive, where a new residential development is to be built.
Weston Creek Community Council Chair Bill Gemmell said although there had been compromises, the upgrade consultation was one of the best he had seen.
“By and large we’re going to get a good outcome,” he said.
“We’ve got some great little coffee shops down here, they need to be connected to the rest of the shopping centre.”
Mr Gemmell said parking was a constant issue due to the overflow from Molonglo, where shops were still being developed, and he welcomed the time limits.
“Throughput should be improved, the better, clearer time limits marked will be good, as long as it’s followed up with enforcement to make sure people do the right thing,” he said.
The new traffic lights were also welcome.
“They have to be done,” he said. “There has been a number of accidents, injuries and fatalities on those intersections.
“We understand there will also be some moderation of speed limits on Hindmarsh Drive to reduce the risk of high speed collisions.”
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