Cairns City Centre Strategy Discussion Paper · The Best Regional City Centre in Australia 4...

Cairns City Centre Strategy Discussion Paper April 2010

The Best Regional City Centre in Australia

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Planning Far North Pty Ltd John Byrne Urban Design

The Best Regional City Centre in

Australia

Our Vision for the Cairns City Centre

The Cairns City Centre is the best Regional City Centre in Australia.

A place where people want to be for shopping, dining, entertainment and doing business.

A place where people want to live.

A tourist attraction in its own right, drawing local day visitors and visitors from around the world.

A vibrant, prosperous economic driver of our Region.

Environmentally, economically, socially and culturally sustainable.

A green, tropical, attractive cityscape that is safe, friendly, efficient, accessible and human in scale.


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CONTENTS PAGE

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY..................................................................................................... 4

1.0 INTRODUCTION .................................................................................................... 5

1.0 INTRODUCTION .................................................................................................... 6

1.1 Cairns City Centre Strategy Committee.................................................. 6 1.2 The Direction for the Strategy................................................................. 7 1.3 The Study Area.......................................................................................... 8 1.4 Purpose of Discussion Paper ................................................................. 10

2.0 FOUNDATIONS FOR THE CAIRNS CITY CENTRE STRATEGY ............................ 12

2.1 Cairns Regional Council Corporate Plan 2009-2014............................ 12 2.2 Far North Queensland Regional Plan 2009-2031................................. 13 2.3 Cairns Regional Council Cultural Plan 2009-2014 ............................... 16 2.4 CairnsPlan 2009 ...................................................................................... 17

3.0 REVIEW OF EXISTING LITERATURE.................................................................... 21

4.0 OUTCOMES OF INITIAL CONSULTATION .......................................................... 24

4.1 Focus Groups 2009 ................................................................................. 24 4.2 Survey 2008 ............................................................................................ 25

5.0 THE VISION FOR THE CAIRNS CITY CENTRE...................................................... 27

6.0 DESIRED CHARACTERISTICS OF THE CITY CENTRE.......................................... 29

6.1 Desired Characteristics .......................................................................... 29

7.0 ELEMENTS OF A CAIRNS CITY CENTRE STRATEGY........................................... 39

7.1 Initiatives for Employment and Economic Activity ............................. 39 7.2 City Centre Places ................................................................................... 41 7.3 Linkages between Places ....................................................................... 45 7.4 The City Centre as a Stage...................................................................... 48 7.5 Cultural Heritage, Indigenous Heritage and Public Art ...................... 50 7.6 Public Spaces .......................................................................................... 53 7.7 Landscape and Streetscape ................................................................... 55 7.8 Public Transport ..................................................................................... 57 7.9 Traffic and Parking ................................................................................. 59

7.9.1 Traffic ......................................................................................... 59 7.9.2 Parking....................................................................................... 63

8.0 CONCLUSION ...................................................................................................... 67


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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY In 2008, Cairns Regional Council formed a Steering Committee to oversee the development of a Strategy for the Cairns City Centre. The Steering Committee is chaired by the Mayor Cr Val Schier and includes Cr Alan Blake and Cr Linda Cooper. The committee was expanded in late 2009 to include the Member for Cairns, the Hon Desley Boyle, MLA and representatives of the Cairns Chamber of Commerce, Ports North, the Department of Transport and Main Roads and Council’s Urban Design Advisory Board. The Steering Committee is responsible for, amongst other things, establishing and recommending priority actions to be included in a Cairns City Centre Strategy. The Cairns City Centre is a vibrant and successful centre. It is the desire of the Committee and Council that the City Centre will be the best regional City Centre in Australia. This Discussion Paper provides an overview of the foundations for the City Centre Strategy. This Discussion Paper identifies elements which contribute to the functioning and vitality of the City Centre, together with issues which are relevant to each element. Initiatives and actions which may be taken to achieve the Vision for the City Centre are identified. A review of the literature applicable to the planning for and future development of, the City Centre and consultation with stakeholders have informed the process of preparation of this Discussion Paper.


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Introduction

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1.0 INTRODUCTION

1.1 Cairns City Centre Strategy Committee In September 2008, Cairns Regional Council resolved to form a Steering Committee to oversee the development and implementation of a Strategy for the Cairns City Centre. The Cairns City Centre Strategy Steering Committee is comprised of the Mayor, Councillor Schier, the Councillor for the Division which includes the Central Business District, Councillor Blake and the Chair of the Finance Committee, Councillor Cooper, together with the Chief Executive Officer and a number of Senior Council Officers. Recently, the Committee decided to invite the Member for Cairns, Desley Boyle, MLA and representatives of several key stakeholders to join the Committee. The stakeholders are the Cairns Chamber of Commerce, the Department of Transport and Main Roads, Ports North and Council’s Urban Design Advisory Board. The development and implementation of a Cairns City Centre Strategy for the revitalisation of the Cairns City Centre is specifically identified as a Key Project in Council’s Corporate Plan 2009-2014. The role of the Cairns City Centre Strategy Steering Committee is to: • oversee the development of the Cairns

City Centre Strategy; • identify opportunities for the

reinvigoration of the Cairns City Centre Strategy in an integrated and consistent manner;

• provide strategic and outcome focused direction for the project;


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• ensure that a project management approach is followed that will assist in encouraging and facilitating environmentally sustainable, economic, social and cultural development and prosperity;

• work with existing taskforces and committees to undertake a variety of roles within the Cairns City Centre Strategy including but not limited to the Cairns Chamber of Commerce CBD Taskforce.

The Committee has engaged consultants, Planning Far North and Byrne Urban Design, to assist in the preparation of the City Centre Strategy. 1.2 The Direction for the Strategy The intention of the Cairns City Centre Strategy Steering Committee is that the Strategy will provide recommendations for:- 1. The ongoing development of the Cairns

City Centre by the key stakeholders including, but not limited to, Cairns Regional Council, the Chamber of Commerce, local businesses, the State and Federal Governments.

2. A staged implementation plan that will draw specific actions that relate to precinct management and its operation, including budgetary considerations.

3. The future management of inner city facilities, maintenance and upgrading of existing facilities and infrastructure.

4. A detailed engagement plan for the ongoing involvement of all stakeholders in the reinvigoration of the Cairns City Centre.

5. A business trial that may inform the future reinvigoration of the urban centres in many areas of Cairns Regional Council.


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1.3 The Study Area

The Study Area identified by the Cairns City Centre Strategy Steering Committee is bounded by the Esplanade, Trinity Inlet, Bunda Street, extending to include Council Administration Centre, Water Street and Minnie Street.

The Study Area of Discussion Paper.

Study Area


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Study Area


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1.4 Purpose of Discussion Paper The purpose of this Discussion Paper is to identify elements which contribute to the functioning and vitality of the Cairns City Centre, together with issues which are relevant to each element and possible actions which may be taken in response to the particular issues. It is intended that a Cairns City Centre Master Plan will be prepared following the completion of the Strategy to provide detailed guidelines for future development within the City Centre. The elements which contribute to the functioning and vitality of the Cairns City Centre and the issues and actions have been identified from a review of supporting and background information and from initial Focus Group meetings with representatives of a number of stakeholder and interest groups.


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Foundations for the Cairns City Centre Strategy

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2.0 FOUNDATIONS FOR THE CAIRNS CITY CENTRE STRATEGY

2.1 Cairns Regional Council Corporate Plan 2009-2014 The Corporate Plan 2009-2014 establishes a foundation for the preparation of the Cairns City Centre Strategy. The Corporate Plan translates the identified community needs and expectations into clear goals and measurable objectives to be achieved in the next five years. It also sets priority directions and projects. The Corporate Plan identifies that Cairns Regional Council has a vision for the future where the region is thriving and is inspirational in the way it balances economic development, environmental management and social well-being. There are three areas that Council will focus on, with the second of these being: We will grow and embrace distinctive and vibrant communities: We value the individuality and character of our rural and urban communities and seek to maintain our relaxed tropical lifestyle. We will work with our diverse community groups to flourish together and plan our communities, suburbs, neighbourhoods and town centres to be attractive places for us to live, work and for tourists to visit. Key Trends and Drivers for Cairns Regional Council are identified as: • Population Growth • Climate Change • Globalisation • Sustainability • Technology • Changing Demands and Expectations

on Council.


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The Corporate Plan sets out six Goals, each with a number of Objectives and with Key Projects, Services and Actions. Goal 2 is particularly relevant to this Study and relates to Building Vibrant Communities: To build more creative, innovative and self reliant communities where participation in community life is enabled and encouraged. One of the Key Projects under this goal is to develop and begin to implement the Cairns City Centre Strategy for the revitalisation of the City Centre. Other Goals relating to Delivering Integrated Planning, Delivering Services and Infrastructure and Creating a Prosperous Region are also important. 2.2 Far North Queensland Regional Plan 2009-2031 The Far North Queensland Regional Plan 2009-2031 was released by the Queensland Government in the first half of 2009. The Regional Plan is intended to guide and manage the development of the Far North Queensland Region over the next 20 years to realise the Queensland Government’s 2020 vision for Queensland and to address key regional environmental, social, economic and urban objectives. The preparation of Council’s Corporate Plan involved a comprehensive review of key literature including the Far North Queensland Regional Plan and other State plans for the region. The Desired Regional Outcome for urban development is that the region has an interlinked network of well planned, discrete, sustainable urban centres which reflect best practice urban and tropical design and offer


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convenient and accessible residential, employment, transport and other service opportunities. The Regional Plan sets out Objectives and Land Use Policies for Regional Activity Centres. The Centres are intended to support a concentration of activity including business, employment, research, education, services and higher density living. They are to provide a range of essential urban services and facilities such as retail, commercial, government, community, cultural, entertainment, recreation, health and educational facilities. The Cairns City Centre is identified as the Principal Regional Activity Centre and is described as follows:- The Cairns central business district is the region’s principal regional activity centre. It contains the largest and most diverse concentration of urban activities. For some activities it has an international function particularly in the tourism sector, it is the key regional focus of employment, government administration, retail, commercial and specialised personal and professional services. It accommodates significant cultural, entertainment, health, education and public transport facilities. It also has the highest population density, greatest concentration of mixed use development and most diverse dwelling mix in the region, including areas of medium and high rise buildings. This centre is supported by key regional infrastructure including the Cairns Base Hospital, Cairns Seaport and Cairns International Airport. The Regional Plan also identifies several Major Regional Activity Centres within the Cairns urban area. These are at Smithfield, Earlville and Edmonton.


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Key Land Use Policies for Regional Activity Centres include:- • Development of regional activity centres results in consolidation in the central

core and surrounding frame, is of appropriate type and scale and is accommodated by efficient use of land and buildings.

• Regional activity centres provide for mixed use with a high quality pedestrian

environment and public spaces that are accessible, safe, active and encourage walking and social interaction.

• Development within regional activity centres conserves or enhances the local

character and sense of place, existing activity generators and landscape values. • Active street fronts are maintained in regional activity centres in the form of

non-residential uses on ground level and street-fronting layouts. The Regional Plan also places strong emphasis on:- • Enhancing opportunities for travel by public transport, cycling and walking

at and to major destinations; • The provision of appropriate end-of-trip facilities including bicycle parking,

showers and change rooms into developments that are likely to attract or generate significant numbers of bicycle trips;

• The establishment of transit oriented communities, with the public

transport node of the Cairns City Centre being identified as a potential transit oriented community.


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2.3 Cairns Regional Council Cultural Plan 2009-2014 Council recently released the first Cultural Plan. The intent of the Cultural Plan is to identify the cultural assets of the region, as well as its challenges and develop a direction setting document to guide Council and the community at large, to plan for the future growth and development of cultural life in Tropical North Queensland. The Plan provides a long term vision for the next 16 years, along with a five year action plan. The Plan establishes a number of Strategies and Actions which relate directly to the Cairns City Centre and have the potential to directly affect the City Centre. These include:- • Plan and construct a Regional

Performing Arts Centre and support the State Government in establishing a Regional Museum.

• Complete concept planning for a

Cairns City Centre Cultural Precinct. • Investigate opportunities for growth

of the Cairns Regional Gallery. • Master Plan the redevelopment of

the School of Arts Building. • Create a Heritage Advisory Group to

review and develop internal process for management of heritage issues.

• Develop and implement strategy for

informational signage and cultural heritage walks.


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Curate and resource a quality Cultural Programme for the Esplanade and City Place. • Create a multicultural and Indigenous

market experience in Cairns. • Include Master Plan for City Place in

the Cairns City Centre Strategy. • Create a Master Plan for the Cairns

City Centre that considers entertainment, live music, exhibition space and safety issues.

• Develop strategies through the

Public Art Advisory Group involvement in a Public Art Trail.

2.4 CairnsPlan 2009 CairnsPlan, the Planning Scheme for the City, establishes the strategic planning intent as well as providing the parameters for development assessment. CairnsPlan incorporates a Structure Plan which depicts the structure of the City and identifies, amongst other things, a hierarchy of centres, with the City Centre being the primary centre in the City. Several of the Desired Environmental Outcomes deal with the hierarchy of centres and with the pattern of urban development depicted on the Structure Plan. The Desired Environmental Outcome relating to Economic Activity and Employment Centres states that business, retail and industrial activities are located in a hierarchy of centres and in designated areas throughout Cairns to encourage continued investment and an increase in diversity and number of employment opportunities.


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The discussion on the Desired Environmental Outcome refers to the City Centre as the primary centre and recognises the importance of Cityport and major attractions such as the Convention Centre, the Cruise Liner Terminal, Reef Fleet Terminal and associated operators to economic activity. The hierarchy of centres also identifies Sub-Regional Centres, District Centres, Local Centres and Specialised Centres. The Desired Environmental Outcome relating to the Tourism Industry and the associated Map showing major tourist accommodation, attractions and facilities identifies the City Centre as a dominant location for tourist attractions and facilities, including accommodation. The Desired Environmental Outcome relating to the Pattern of Urban Development indicates that the pattern of urban development provides opportunities for growth and consolidation within the framework established by the Regional Plan and achieves the efficient use of existing and planned infrastructure. The preferred pattern of development, including the hierarchy of centres, shown on the Structure Plan is intended to be achieved. The area comprising the City Centre and Cairns North constitutes one of the Planning Districts within the City. The Description and Intent for the District incorporate a number of statements which are relevant to the preparation of a detailed Cairns City Centre Strategy. The CBD – Cairns North District is characterised by both natural and man-made features. The waters of Trinity Inlet and Trinity Bay, the mangroves fringing the eastern side of the inlet and the forested hillslopes beyond are the dominant natural features of the outlook


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from the CBD and North Cairns. The man-made features include the strong grid of wide streets; awnings over footpaths; examples of regional architecture, both historic and contemporary; and the Esplanade parkland. The CBD is intended to accommodate the widest range of higher order and specialised forms of retail, business, administrative, community and indoor entertainment and leisure facilities, as well as to provide a focus for cultural activities. It is also intended that accommodation for both residents and tourists should continue to be provided in the CBD. It is intended that identified character precincts and local heritage sites within the District should be retained. A future connection of Lake Street to Airport Avenue is identified, particularly to improve public transport access between the Airport, North Cairns and the CBD. The Esplanade parkland is intended to be a significant open space for the people of the District and of the wider City. Pedestrian and bicycle links along the Esplanade to the Cityport Precinct in the south-east and to the Flecker Botanic Gardens and Centenary Lakes in the north-west are intended to provide a major recreational facility. Similar facilities within the open space corridor along Lily Creek will enhance recreational opportunities and, when linked to the Esplanade, will provide a recreational trail around the District. The control of building heights in the District is intended to reinforce the role of the CBD; reinforce the amenity of North Cairns; and ensure that the operations of the Cairns International Airport are not affected. The detailed provisions of CairnsPlan establish the parameters for land use and development within the Cairns City Centre.


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Review of Existing Literature

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3.0 REVIEW OF EXISTING LITERATURE The Terms of Reference for the Study required that a review of documentation applicable to the historical planning and future development of the City Centre be undertaken. The following documents were identified for review:-

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY..................................................................................................... 4

1.0 INTRODUCTION .................................................................................................... 5

1.0 INTRODUCTION .................................................................................................... 6

1.1 Cairns City Centre Strategy Committee.................................................. 6 1.2 The Direction for the Strategy................................................................. 7 1.3 The Study Area.......................................................................................... 8 1.4 Purpose of Discussion Paper ................................................................. 10

2.0 FOUNDATIONS FOR THE CAIRNS CITY CENTRE STRATEGY ............................ 12

2.1 Cairns Regional Council Corporate Plan 2009-2014............................ 12 2.2 Far North Queensland Regional Plan 2009-2031................................. 13 2.3 Cairns Regional Council Cultural Plan 2009-2014 ............................... 16 2.4 CairnsPlan 2009 ...................................................................................... 17

3.0 REVIEW OF EXISTING LITERATURE.................................................................... 21

4.0 OUTCOMES OF INITIAL CONSULTATION .......................................................... 24

4.1 Focus Groups 2009 ................................................................................. 24 4.2 Survey 2008 ............................................................................................ 25

5.0 THE VISION FOR THE CAIRNS CITY CENTRE...................................................... 27

6.0 DESIRED CHARACTERISTICS OF THE CITY CENTRE.......................................... 29

6.1 Desired Characteristics .......................................................................... 29

7.0 ELEMENTS OF A CAIRNS CITY CENTRE STRATEGY........................................... 39

7.1 Initiatives for Employment and Economic Activity ............................. 39 7.2 City Centre Places ................................................................................... 41 7.3 Linkages between Places ....................................................................... 45 7.4 The City Centre as a Stage...................................................................... 48 7.5 Cultural Heritage, Indigenous Heritage and Public Art ...................... 50 7.6 Public Spaces .......................................................................................... 53 7.7 Landscape and Streetscape ................................................................... 55 7.8 Public Transport ..................................................................................... 57 7.9 Traffic and Parking ................................................................................. 59


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7.9.1 Traffic ......................................................................................... 59 7.9.2 Parking....................................................................................... 63

8.0 CONCLUSION ...................................................................................................... 67

The Report on the Review is at www.cairns.qld.gov.au.


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4

Outcomes of Initial Consultation


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4.0 OUTCOMES OF INITIAL CONSULTATION

4.1 Focus Groups 2009 A series of Focus Group meetings was held with stakeholders in September 2009 to obtain initial views and comments to inform the process of preparation of this Discussion Paper and, subsequently, of a Master Plan. Participants in the Focus Group meetings included: • Councillors • Council Officers • Representatives of:

o State Agencies o Ports North o Chamber of Commerce o CBD traders and businesses o Tourism Tropical North Queensland o Cairns Convention Centre o Reef Hotel Casino o Transport Industry o Professional organisations

• Interested residents The approach taken with the Focus Groups was to ask each member to identify: • the best attribute of the Cairns City Centre; • the worst attribute of the Cairns City Centre; • the one thing they would change in the Cairns City Centre if they were not

constrained by any factor. The Report detailing the outcomes of the Focus Group meetings is available at www.cairns.qld.gov.au.


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4.2 Survey 2008 In October 2008, the Inner City Facilities unit of Council undertook a survey of users of the City Centre and of City Centre business owners/managers with regards to future revitalisation of the City Centre. Comments were sought on the best and worst assets or characteristics of the City Centre; traffic and transportation; accessibility; safety and security; history and heritage; character, culture and identity; landscaping and gardens; retail and shopping; trading hours; public art; pedestrian malls; streetscapes; building codes; signs; public events and activities; public amenities; and public entertainment areas. The outcome of the survey is summarised as follows:- The summary of the outcomes of the Survey is available at www.cairns.qld.gov.au.


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5

Vision for the Cairns City Centre


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5.0 THE VISION FOR THE CAIRNS CITY CENTRE Council’s Vision for the Cairns City Centre is:-

The Cairns City Centre is the best Regional City Centre in Australia. A place where people want to be for shopping, dining, entertainment and doing business. A place where people want to live. A tourist attraction in its own right, drawing local day visitors and visitors from around the world. A vibrant, prosperous economic driver of our Region. Environmentally, economically, socially and culturally sustainable. A green, tropical, attractive cityscape that is safe, friendly, efficient, accessible and human in scale.


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Desired Characteristics of the City Centre


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6.0 DESIRED CHARACTERISTICS OF THE CITY CENTRE The Cairns City Centre is a vibrant and successful centre. The existing characteristics and strengths of the City Centre include: • its unique location adjacent to the waterfront and Trinity Inlet; • the strong grid of the City streets; • the outlook to the waterfront, the inlet and the surrounding mountains; • its ongoing role as the primary business centre for the Region; • its role in providing accommodation for tourists and, in recent times, the growth of

permanent residential accommodation; • the impetus provided by the Esplanade redevelopment, the Convention Centre

and the ongoing Cityport development.

6.1 Desired Characteristics In many ways, the ability of the City Centre to meet the needs of the future and to serve, in a mutually compatible and supportive way, as the focal point for many different groups, may be the key to its success. The desired characteristics of the future Cairns City Centre in no implied order of priority are: • The City Centre is highly walkable and

accessible. • Walking around the centre is safe. • Walking has a high amenity, both visually

and climatically. • Walking around the City Centre is by

means of a network of high quality public realm linkages and spaces. This is at ground level and substantially through the pedestrian edges of streets and through public open space.

Rouse Hill, NSW. Photo: Place Design Group.


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• The ability to move through the City

Centre on foot is augmented, in both permeability and cultural experience, by mid-block arcades which acknowledge the size of the historic street layout.

These arcades, by their careful design, use and private management, stay safe and available for long hours each day, without undermining the activity and hence vitality and safety of the public streets.

• The City Centre is highly accessible, by

foot, bicycle, public transport and private vehicle. To enhance the amenity of the centre, priority in its planning and management is given to the first three.

• By use of the strong city grid, access by

private vehicle is managed and maintained to all places, in support of economic vitality, safety of the public realm and disabled access.

• The relationship of the city grid of

streets and major regional roads is such as to ensure through traffic mostly stays out of the centre, especially in busy times. This is especially so for heavy service vehicles with no business in the centre.

• Vehicle speeds in the City Centre grid

are managed to slow traffic to be compatible with the pedestrian/cycle emphasis of the centre.

• Congestion in city streets, which

demonstrates the attractiveness and success of the centre, is seen as helpful in naturally managing vehicle speeds and establishing the character of the place.


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• The nature, intensity and detailed design of development reinforces the attractiveness, quality, convenience and regional efficiency of public transport services into the heart of the City Centre.

• Public transport is seen as strongly “at

the heart of the centre” and therefore the region.

• Car parking is appropriate for day-to-day

needs (without undermining other goals) and is therefore not the major driver of strategic planning.

Parking is available on street and enhances activity, convenience and pedestrian safety without impacting unreasonably on pedestrian and land use amenity.

Parking is also available in some specialist multi-storey structures that are strategically located both to support the convenience of public transport and to support the continuing renewal of fringe areas.

These structures are designed in a way that activates the public realm at the ground plane, allows them to be converted to other City Centre uses at the appropriate time in the future and encourages other non-parking uses in the airspace above.

• City Centre parking structures are

strategically supported by ‘out-of-town’ park-and-ride structures along the major linear public transport system.


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• The City Centre grid of streets and pedestrian realm is celebrated as a major urban quality of the place, giving legibility, amenity flexibility of movement, flexibility of land use and a robustness with which to tackle future issues.

• In broad and powerful terms, the City

Centre constantly celebrates its unique relationship to the water’s edge, which sets it apart from many other places in Queensland and Australia and enhances its sense of place.

• The axial views which the city grid

provides to the sea, the inlet and the mountains are celebrated as one way of connecting the City Centre to its unique natural context.

New views to the sea, inlet and mountains are constantly encouraged.

• The axial views are reinforced in their

relationship to the inlet and the sea-edge by direct pedestrian/cyclist access of appropriate civic scale.

There is continuous public access to the water’s edge.

• Land uses with the most immediate

relationship to the water’s edge are those that most enjoy continuous use, especially by the broader community and therefore help to connect and celebrate the relationship.


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• Access to the City Centre by bus and train, principally for visitors, is celebrated by the quality, amenity and civic importance of the arrival station.

This important place is well-connected to the public realm of the City Centre and with high amenity and safety.

• Development in the City Centre is

designed to enhance pedestrian amenity and safety by facing streets, activating public realm frontages, providing shelter and legibility.

Existing development that did not do so has been retrofitted to deliver these qualities, especially where they are substantial and important for the well-being of the City Centre and are significantly and strategically located.

• The City Centre has a number of

significant precincts with special character and intensity.

The distance between them allows each to develop and enhance its character and extent and its relationship to the overall City Centre.


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• A strong sense of connection between the precincts is delivered through:

o The legibility, safety and quality

of the public realm linkages in the grid between the precincts and

o The focusing of appropriate and

supportive development in the areas between them, to support movement, rather than allowing development to encourage the sense of separation.

• The City Centre should function as a

single connected major City Place, rather than remain a collection of loosely co-located separate ones.

The public transport network that passes through the City Centre serves three other urban places: the hospital precinct, the council precinct and the cathedral precinct.

At least the first two of these have been developed as Transit Oriented Development (TOD) precincts with high public realm amenity delivering safe, pleasant and busy walkability and encouraging complementary developments in the precinct that enhance the viability of both the major institutions and the transport system.


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• In principle, public investment in employment, community, civic, recreational and movement infrastructure has been conceived, located and designed to support and deliver, to the maximum extent possible, the overall urban design/planning strategies for the City Centre and hence, in the long term, its vitality, amenity and sustainability as the centre of the region and in a global context.

The strategic location and design of infrastructure is seen as a way of enhancing the sustainability of the overall City Centre and of the individual public parts. Equally, private investment has been required and/or assisted to do this.

• The City Centre has become an

economic powerhouse in the region and state.

Urban planning and design strategies have been informed by the evolving understanding of global trends and their interaction with the city’s regional context.

• The City Centre is seen as a “smart

precinct” in which:

o Compatible urban employment has been concentrated and linked by a walkable and convenient high quality public realm;

o More traditional centre employment is physically and closely inter-related with retail, entertainment, recreational, cultural and higher-order

Photo: www.packagingcovenant.org.au


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educational employment and services; and

o The centre is supported by

appropriate city housing.

The City Centre is seen as embodying smart values in a global context through its physical form and the intellectual connections this encourages.

• The City Centre has, in particular,

become an international centre of excellence for research and education in tropical urbanism, with major public and private institutions attracted to its heart and in turn reinforcing the vitality and relevance of the centre.

The City Centre embodies exemplary approaches to tropical urban environments in both the built forms and the public realm that connects them and is internationally recognised.

• The City Centre has over decades

addressed long term global challenges and especially climate change and resource-depletion, through strategic change and thoughtful innovation in its form, functioning and management.

• The City Centre respects and celebrates

its built and natural heritage and seeks to reinforce it through new work and landscaping.

Through this and many other strategies, it pursues social and cultural sustainability. In part, these strategies make the City Centre a memorable place for locals and visitors alike: the unchallenged heart of the region.

• The City Centre celebrates its historic

and evolving cultural heritage in many


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ways, including through street art, places for public/community celebration and display, cultural connections within the built form and landscape and the subsidised provision of artist space.

• The City Centre is connected with

surrounding areas by a strongly conceived and implemented network of cycleways and pedestrian routes.

• The City Centre has appropriate housing

within it for a wide variety of groups, adding to the sense of connection of the wider community to this city heart.

• The City Centre is seen as a highly

democratic place, with high levels of accessibility through the public realm, transport, the socio-economic mix, the intensity of intellectual interactions and the diversity of cultural expression.

• The management of the centre is

enhanced by cooperative public/private mechanisms.


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7

Elements of a Cairns City Centre Strategy


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7.0 ELEMENTS OF A CAIRNS CITY CENTRE STRATEGY A number of Elements which are considered to be integral to the City and to the development of a Strategy for the Cairns City Centre have been identified from the foundation planning documents, the review of the literature and the initial public consultation. These Elements are discussed below and issues and proposed initiatives and actions associated with the Elements are identified.

7.1 Initiatives for Employment and Economic Activity Both the Regional Plan and CairnsPlan establish the objective that the City Centre is to be the principal activity centre for the City and the Region. The City Centre is to accommodate the highest order and most specialised forms of retail, business, government administration, community and indoor entertainment and leisure facilities. During the initial consultation, the Study Team suggested the possibility of encouraging educational facilities, tertiary, technical or even secondary to establish in the City Centre. For many courses of study, the campus can be within a building similar to an office building. The establishment of a university or technical college in the City Centre has the potential to attract significant numbers of students, as well as staff, to a location which is highly accessible and well serviced with facilities. In turn, the students and staff create a demand for additional facilities and services and add activity and vitality to the City Centre. This form of economic activity already exists in the City Centre at a moderate scale with the privately operated English language colleges, many of which are located in close proximity to the existing Lake Street public transport facility. In similar vein, the very current discussion of a “health hub” illustrates opportunities which exist and which can be built on to increase employment, economic activity and vitality in the City Centre. The expansion of the Cairns Base Hospital and the addition of oncology services and facilities may provide further impetus for the expansion of a “health hub”. It is noted that the 2000 Cairns CBD Revitalisation Action Plan identified Cairns as having a competitive advantage in the ability to capture a larger share of the overseas student market and as having opportunities for expansion of specialist health services and tropical health facilities, as well as the opportunity to capitalise on the Asian market for specialist health facilities.


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The continued development of accommodation for both residents and tourists within the City Centre has the potential to increase activity, particularly economic activity within the City Centre. Further, the provision of accommodation for tourists has the potential to increase economic activity throughout the region. Both CairnsPlan and the Cityport Master Plan provide opportunities for the development of additional accommodation in the City Centre. Proposed Initiatives and Actions • Continue to promote the City Centre as the principal activity Centre for the

City and the Region; • Promote and encourage the establishment of educational facilities within the

City Centre. • Promote and encourage the establishment of specialist health services and

tropical health facilities within the City Centre as an adjunct to the expansion of the Cairns Base Hospital.

• Continue to support the establishment of accommodation for both residents

and tourists within the City Centre.

• In partnership with Ports North, support the establishment of accommodation for both residents and tourists within the Cityport Precinct.

The Hospital Precinct.


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7.2 City Centre Places The identified Study Area is extensive. By way of example, the Core of the Brisbane CBD, bounded by George, Adelaide, Edward and Elizabeth Streets and with the Queen Street Mall as its spine consists of four city blocks. Four city blocks is quite a small proportion of the Cairns City Centre Study Area. There is no consistent definition of the Cairns City Centre for those who are involved in working in, managing or maintaining the City Centre or planning for the City Centre. The proposed further development of Cityport and the proposal to establish the Cultural Precinct with the Regional Performing Arts Centre and Regional Museum adjacent to Trinity Inlet and opposite the Convention Centre, together with development of the former railway lands in the area bounded generally by the railway line, Sheridan Street and Hartley Street and extending through to Spence Street opposite Cairns Central, will further expand the area of urban development. This has the potential to spread activity over a considerable area and to dilute the intensity of activity which could be expected and is desired in a City Centre. There is the potential for further development to work against the goal of revitalising the City Centre. Suggestions which emerged from initial consultation which may help to deal with these potential issues are:- • “Cairns City Centre” is a more accurate identifier for the Study Area than

Cairns CBD. • A number of emerging Places can be identified within the Cairns City

Centre:

o the Esplanade lagoon and parkland; o the Esplanade dining precinct; o an upmarket tourist shopping precinct based on the area of Abbott

Street, Spence Street, the Esplanade and Shields Street; o a tourist shopping precinct based on Abbott and Lake Streets,

generally between Spence and Shields Streets; o Shields Street restaurant precinct including “Market Square”; o Grafton Street precinct between Spence and Shields Streets; o tourist accommodation precincts at both the southern and northern

ends of the Esplanade within the City Centre; o an office, legal, government precinct based on the area between Lake

and Sheridan Streets to the south of Spence Street; o the Cityport south precinct;


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o the proposed cultural precinct at the southern end of Grafton and Sheridan Streets including the Convention Centre.

• Efforts should be concentrated on

consolidating and promoting these Places to enhance activity and vitality within the Places rather than attempt to do this across the whole of the Cairns City Centre.

• Strong linkages should be established

between Places to encourage and facilitate safe pedestrian movement between precincts.

Proposed Initiatives and Actions • Promote and encourage the ongoing

growth and development of the Places. • Develop and promote names for the

Places as part of the marketing of the City Centre.

• Support the identity of the Places

through detailed streetscaping, public art and signage.


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Cityport Masterplan (Source: Ports North, 2010).


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Artist impressions of the proposed Regional Performing Arts Centre.


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7.3 Linkages between Places As discussed above, strong linkages between the Places will encourage and facilitate safe pedestrian movement between the Places. Shields Street between the major attractors of Cairns Central and the Esplanade, particularly in its enhanced form and with the lagoon, has proven to be a strong linkage since it was upgraded between McLeod Street and Grafton Street in association with the development of Cairns Central and then between Grafton Street and the Esplanade as one of the identified Cairns CBD Revitalisation Action Plan 2000 projects. If strong linkages between Places can be established, the activity on the linkages will help to re-invigorate the areas between the linkages. Current comments indicate that the Shields Street linkage would benefit from further improvement and even higher maintenance and that the section between McLeod Street and Sheridan Street would be improved with more active frontages and with awnings for weather protection. The major linkages required to connect the emerging and proposed Places are considered to be: • Shields Street from McLeod Street to the Esplanade. • Spence Street from McLeod Street to the waterfront to provide a connection

to the Reef Fleet Terminal and other waterfront facilities and to enhance the views to the waterfront, the boats and the hillsides on the opposite side of the inlet.

• Abbott Street from Shields Street to Wharf Street and the inlet to provide a

connection to Cityport, the Cruise Liner Terminal and the waterfront and to enhance the views to the waterfront, cruise liners and the hillsides on the opposite side of the inlet.

• Lake Street from Shields Street to Wharf Street to provide a connection

between the possible Public Transit facility and Cityport and a connection to the Cruise Liner Terminal and the waterfront and to enhance views.

• Grafton Street from Shields Street to Wharf Street to provide a connection

from the restaurant area and emerging Grafton Street Place to the Cultural Precinct, the Convention Centre and the waterfront and, again; to enhance views.


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The closed section of Grafton Street between Hartley Street and Wharf Street is considered to be particularly important and to offer significant potential in this regard. This is discussed in more detail in the section relating to Public Spaces below. The view corridors along the City streets are distinctive features of the Cairns City Centre. They allow views of the forested hillsides on the opposite side of the inlet and views of large vessels, such as cruise liners and navy ships, when they are berthed. There are few cities in which such views are available to people walking along the footpath or crossing the street in the heart of the City Centre. A further linkage or loop which is, in part, peripheral to the City Centre and, in part, external to the City Centre is the linkage identified in the Description and Intent for the CBD – Cairns North District in CairnsPlan and which was also identified in the initial consultation. This is a linkage: • along the full length of the Esplanade

to the Cityport Precinct; • around the inlet utilising the

boardwalk being developed in association with Cityport development to the proposed Cultural Precinct;

• through the links within the City

Centre to Lily Creek at Florence Street; • along Lily Creek to the Botanic

Gardens Precinct at Edge Hill and connecting back to the Esplanade in Cairns North.

This linkage is considered to have considerable potential for recreational use and to showcase a range of attributes of the City to visitors.


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Proposed Initiatives and Actions • Enhance the major linkages within the City Centre. • Ensure that strong linkages are established to Trinity Inlet, particularly to the

Cruise Liner Terminal and the proposed Cultural Precinct.

• In partnership with Ports North support the continuation of the linkage along Trinity Inlet to the proposed Cultural Precinct.

• Establish a linkage between the proposed Cultural Precinct/Convention

Centre and Lily Creek at Florence Street.

• Promote the development of the linkage along Lily Creek from Florence Street to the Botanic Gardens.

• Promote the linkages through detailed streetscaping, public art and signage.


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7.4 The City Centre as a Stage

Festivals, by definition, are to provide transformative and inspirational experiences for a community to come together and to celebrate the cultural identity of the community. Other, smaller events held throughout the year serve a similar purpose, weaving together the diversity of our region and enriching the cultural tapestry of our lives. From a tourism industry perspective, the provision of a cohesive and appealing year-long festival and events programme will provide a cultural attraction to augment the promotion of the region, already so adept at promoting and marketing its natural attractions. Proposed Initiatives and Actions • Establish the City Centre as a major

focal point for Festival Cairns. • Develop and implement a year-long

festival and events programme with Places within the City Centre as focal points.

• Develop cultural areas in the public

realm immediately surrounding major cultural facilities.

• Develop tools to attract and retain

cultural assets and to develop their commercial potential.

• Promote cultural engagement

through the development of community cultural hubs.


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• Partner with business and the arts community to establish production and exhibition spaces in empty shopfronts in the City Centre.

• Establish a multi-agency partnership seeking to accelerate the development

of vibrant physical places that become major innovation hubs and economic engines for the creative industries cluster.

• Engage young people through the development of a Youth Passport to

provide reduced rate or free tickets for young people to theatre, dance, museums, film festivals and other ticketed cultural events.

• Establish WIFI capabilities throughout the City Centre.

Existing Wi-fi Hotspots at April 2010.

Existing Wi‐fi Hotspots


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7.5 Cultural Heritage, Indigenous Heritage and Public Art A number of buildings of significant heritage value in the City Centre are included on the Queensland Heritage Register. Buildings and locations with more localised heritage value are identified by Council as Local Heritage Sites and/or are included in Character Precincts under CairnsPlan. There is little, if any, identification of Indigenous heritage features within or adjacent to the City Centre. Council has produced brochures on a City Heritage Walk and an Esplanade Heritage Walk. However, these brochures do not seem to be widely accessible. The brochures provide an informative guide to the Cultural Heritage of the City Centre. They should remain in production and be updated, as necessary, on an occasional basis. The brochures should be available in every tourist information centre, booking office and hotel to encourage visitors (and residents) to learn something of the heritage of Cairns and to experience this heritage. There may be an opportunity to produce a similar guide to Indigenous Cultural Heritage. This should be investigated with Council’s Indigenous Advisory Group and other Indigenous groups. There is an opportunity for the brochures to be supported by high quality interpretive facilities, in the street or adjacent to the particular building or site, so that people who are interested can find the building or site and learn more about it and so that casual passers-by can be attracted.


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Stainless steel, brass, photographic images and photo montage could be utilised to construct high quality interpretive facilities. The facilities themselves could be works of art and contribute to the installation of public art consistent with Council’s Public Art Policy and the State Government’s Art Built-In Policy. On similar lines, there is an opportunity to provide interpretive facilities on the names of the streets in the City Centre for the benefit of both visitors and residents. Council Planning Officers have completed a project which researched the origin of street names in the Council area. Interpretive facilities would need to be designed to utilise the research information. The interpretive facilities could be combined with directional signage providing directions to locations/facilities such as: • the library • bus stops • car parking • taxi ranks • airport transfers • railway station • Long-haul bus station • key anchor points.

There are very limited examples of public art in the City Centre. There is the impetus for the introduction of more public art with the Cultural Plan proposing the development of strategies for a large scale Public Art Trail through the Public Art Advisory Group and with the inclusion of a contribution for public art within Council’s infrastructure charging mechanisms.

Directional Signage Rouse Hill, NSW. Photo: Place Design Group.

Town Centre Map Rouse Hill, NSW. Photo: Place Design Group.


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Examples of public art in Cairns and in other cities illustrate that it can be surprising, humorous, informative and challenging and that it can add interest and vitality to the public realm. The ongoing introduction of public art offers the opportunity to encompass Indigenous art. Proposed Initiatives and Actions • Incorporate public art in the streets and open space throughout the City

Centre, consistent with the Cultural Plan and the proposed Public Art Trail. • Include Indigenous art in appropriate locations as part of the overall public art

initiative.

• Incorporate interpretive facilities on features, names and the history of the City Centre throughout the City Centre.

• Maintain the existing Heritage Guides and promote their distribution

throughout the City Centre.

• Investigate the possibility of producing a similar guide to Indigenous Cultural Heritage.


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7.6 Public Spaces The Element of open space was identified in the initial consultation, with varying views being expressed. • There is a limited amount of open space within the City Centre. • There is no town square as a focus for larger community gatherings or

celebrations. • The Esplanade, particularly in its enhanced form, constitutes the open space

for the City Centre. • Munro Martin Park does fulfill a role as the venue for some community

events and gatherings.

There were some mixed views as to whether the park should be retained and upgraded or whether part of the park, at least, could be utilised for development of cultural facilities or educational facilities.

The section of Grafton Street between Hartley Street and Wharf Street was closed by the Queensland Government as part of the arrangements for the development of the Convention Centre. Part of the former road reserve was included in the Convention Centre site to accommodate the building. Part of the road reserve on the south-eastern side was included in the Port Authority site to provide for the development of a Convention Centre Hotel on the balance of the Port Authority site. The remainder of the former road reserve is a Reserve for Park and was zoned Open Space under the 1997 Planning Scheme and remains zoned Open Space under CairnsPlan. It is noted that this area is included within the Cityport Master Plan on some documents. When Stage 1 of the Convention Centre opened in 1996, this area was made available for car parking on a temporary basis. It has been available as free, all day parking ever since. The area is now being considered as a Bus Layover in association with the proposed development of a new City Centre Bus Station. The use of this area of Park Reserve is not considered to be appropriate as a Bus Layover, just as it is not considered to be appropriate as a parking area. The area should be developed as a public space.


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The park should showcase the asset of the Convention Centre and should enliven this side of the Convention Centre which provides a major access point to the Convention Centre for both delegates and residents attending sporting fixtures, concerts and functions at the Convention Centre. The value of this area as a public space is increased with the proposal for the Regional Performing Arts Centre and Regional Museum adjacent to the inlet opposite the Convention Centre because of its potential to provide a view corridor and pedestrian linkage to the Cultural Precinct. A major park is proposed in association with the development of a modern Cruise Liner Terminal Trinity Wharf. This park will be located between the Cruise Liner Terminal and Wharf Street and has the potential to enhance the connection between the existing City Centre and the inlet. Proposed Initiatives and Actions • Maintain and enhance the existing open

space within the City Centre. • Investigate the longer term intentions for

the role of Munro Martin Park as an element of the open space within the City Centre.

• Develop the former area of Grafton Street

between Hartley Street and Wharf Street as a public space to showcase the Convention Centre and to provide an open space linkage to the proposed Cultural Precinct.

• In partnership with Ports North, ensure

that the proposed park adjacent to the Cruise Liner Terminal enhances the connection between the City Centre and Cityport.


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7.7 Landscape and Streetscape The landscape and streetscape of the City Centre has been largely influenced by the evolution of two major documents, being the CBD Streetscape Master Plan and the City in a Garden Strategy. The CBD Streetscape Master Plan was first developed in 1989 following the receipt of a grant from the Arts Council of Australia, with the original document adopted by Council in 1990. A subsequent and updated document was prepared by Siteplan Landscape Architects in 2000 and this document has influenced the assessment of Development Applications in the CBD for a number of years. The streetscape improvements on Shields Street in 1999-2000 were informed by the CBD Landscape Master Plan, with other developments in the city being conditioned to follow the footpath requirements of the landscape master plan. The City in a Garden Strategy, finalised by Council in 2006, provides the actions to be undertaken to specifically address tree and associated plantings in streetscapes including species choice, layout, gateway statements, neighbourhood themes, water use efficiency and ongoing maintenance of planted trees. The documents identify Key Landscape Objectives, which include: • Identify suitable themes within precincts of the City Centre and provide

guidelines for design principles that apply to each of the precincts; • Provide design guidelines for footpath pavement treatments and street

tree/ground cover plantings;

• Provide selection menus for streetscape elements including shade structures and awnings, bicycle racks, tree protection and street signage.


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• To integrate public art into the City Centre;

• To reinforce heritage elements into the City Centre;

• To guide the implementation of the desired Road Hierarchy for the City Centre; and

• Provide a connection between the City Centre and the Esplanade. Work is currently underway to combine the Master Plan and the City in a Garden Strategy and to provide contemporary and practical guidelines for the City Centre. Proposed Initiatives and Actions • Promote landscaping and planting within the City Centre to showcase the

tropical environment of the region and to promote Cairns as a premier tropical city.

• Finalise the review the current Landscape Master Plan to ensure that:

o it is consistent with the City Centre Strategy; o species selection does showcase the tropical environment of the

region and the tropical attributes of the City; o footpath and surface treatments are attractive and appropriate while

being practical and minimising maintenance requirements. Desired layout of Cairns City Centre ‘Parking Streets’ New street tree planting in Hartley St East


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7.8 Public Transport The Queensland Department of Transport and Main Roads is currently working on the Cairns Transit Network project which is an initiative to improve public transport in Cairns. Community consultation on the project was conducted in late 2009. The Department proposes a City Centre Bus Station in Lake Street between Spence Street and Aplin Street as the potential first stage of the Cairns Transit Network. Whatever the final form of the Bus Station, it will result in significant changes to Lake Street which should achieve significant upgrading to the existing streetscape. Further, there will be a significant change to City Place which will provide the impetus for a thorough assessment of the future role and configuration of City Place. A Bus Layover is proposed during the notification of the Cairns Transit Network in 2009 in the closed section of Grafton Street between Hartley Street and Wharf Street. This is discussed in some detail below in the section relating to Open Space. An initial reaction is that this aspect is not supported because of the importance of this area to the Convention Centre; to the proposed Cultural Precinct; and as a pedestrian link. Proposed Initiatives and Actions • Support the Department of Transport and Main Roads in the planned

significant improvements to the public transport network through the City Centre.

• Support the Department of Transport and Main Roads in the planned

development of the City Centre Bus Station on Lake Street.

• Ensure that the design of the City Centre Bus Station is to the highest possible standard; minimises adverse impacts on the functionality of the City Centre; and is consistent with the other objectives of the City Centre Strategy.

• Ensure that the development adjacent to the major public transport stops

within and on the periphery of the City Centre is appropriate and is oriented to the public transport.


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The Proposed Cairns City Station (Source: Department of Transport and Main Roads, 2010).


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7.9 Traffic and Parking

7.9.1 Traffic The Cairns Road Hierarchy 2001 establishes a road system for the City Centre. This is based on work undertaken by Council and the Department of Main Roads over an extended period. The road system is considered to be well-founded. The road system is supported and reinforced by other documents and strategies, including CairnsPlan and the CBD Landscape Master Plan. The system establishes a simple grid of Sub Arterial Roads or Major Streets formed by Florence Street, Sheridan Street, Spence Street, Wharf Street and Abbott Street. The other streets within the City Centre are Collector Roads or Streets, apart from the very lower order streets of Lake Street on either side of City Place, Shields Street, Water Street and Pier Point Road. The Major Streets connect to the State-controlled Roads (Main Roads) of: • Sheridan Street/Captain Cook Highway north of Florence Street • Florence Street/Mulgrave Road west of Sheridan Street • Kenny Street/Draper Street/Comport Street to the south-west of the

City Centre • Bunda Street between Kenny Street and Florence Street. The Major Streets are intended to cater for traffic entering the City Centre for a purpose and to facilitate the movement of traffic around the City Centre. The Minor Streets are intended to provide access to premises within these streets. In many respects, this system is not readily apparent from the motorist’s point of view. It is considered that there are two reasons for this. Firstly, the historic grid establishes streets all with a width of 2 chains or 40 metres. The grid was established long before the road system was introduced, thus there is no distinction from one street to another from the motorist’s point of view.


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Secondly, there has been a limited amount of work done within the streets to achieve the configurations and treatments which are intended to create the distinctions between the higher order and lower order streets. A major factor which is considered to affect the City Centre is that Sheridan Street functions as a through route between the southern and northern sectors of the City and beyond, for both conventional traffic and heavy vehicles (with the exception of B-Double vehicles). This is almost inevitable, given the grid system of streets and the significant improvements to the Kenny Street/Sheridan Street intersection and to Kenny Street in recent times. However, it is not consistent with the overall Road Hierarchy which includes the State-controlled Roads of Florence Street/Mulgrave Road, Bunda Street and Kenny Street/Draper Street/Southern Access Road. A range of actions is suggested to discourage traffic with no destination in the City Centre from using Sheridan Street through the City Centre:- • Clearly establish Bunda Street and Aumuller Street, via Florence

Street and Mulgrave Road, as alternative routes between Sheridan Street/Captain cook Highway and Ray Jones Drive/Southern Access Road.

• Initially, require heavy vehicles to use the alternative routes by

imposing load and limits on Sheridan Street through the City Centre (as has recently been introduced by Council).

• Ultimately, encourage the use of these routes by all through traffic.

Actions required to achieve this may include:-

- Significant changes/upgrading to Bunda Street south of Spence Street and to intersections along the full length of the Bunda Street route;

- Reinforcement of a 50kph speed limit along Sheridan Street; - Provision of some “psychological” barriers to the entrance to

the CBD southbound on Sheridan at Florence and eastbound on Kenny at Bunda. This is linked to the original CBD Landscape Master Plan concept of “gateways to the City Centre”.


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Elements could include channelisation, planting and signage to achieve an apparent “choke” although there are still two through lanes. A typical element could be like the sign/sculpture on Sheridan Street near Airport Avenue. Similar gateways could be provided, in whole or in part, on Spence Street, Wharf Street, McLeod Street, Grafton Street and Abbott Street although these could probably be scaled down and simply identify an entrance to the CBD rather than operate as psychological barriers because traffic on these streets is more than likely to have a destination in the CBD, rather than be travelling through the CBD, with the possible exception of inbound on Spence and then north bound on Sheridan.

Proposed Initiatives and Actions • In partnership with the Department of Transport and Main Roads,

establish the heavy vehicle and through traffic bypass of the City Centre utilising Florence Street, Bunda Street and Kenny Street, as well as Mulgrave Road and Aumuller Street.

• Continue to implement the adopted Road System for the City Centre.

• Reinforce the elements of the Road Hierarchy through detailed

streetscaping consistent with the Landscape Master Plan.

• Introduce speed limits for the City Centre streets commensurate with the role of the streets in the Road System.

• Establish landscaped gateways on the State Controlled Road/Arterial

Road entrances to the City Centre.


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Major Road System of the Cairns City Centre.

Major Road System


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7.9.2 Parking Issues relating to parking in the City Centre present a perennial problem which is difficult to solve. This is illustrated by the number of parking studies and reviews identified in the existing literature which was reviewed as part of this work. Dominant parking issues are the availability of parking, particularly on-street parking and the cost of parking. The community view, to a large extent, is that: • Parking should be available immediately adjacent to the particular

premises being visited; • Charges for parking should be nominal if they are to be charged, at

all. Problems and community dissatisfaction with parking in the City Centre are likely to have been exacerbated with recent changes to parking in Cairns Central to charge for parking after an initial free period. This effectively precludes all day parking in the facility by workers in the City Centre. A review of the CBD Car Parking Strategy is currently being undertaken for Council. Consequently, it is premature to make any detailed comment on future parking strategies at this point in time. Some initial comments are:- • The design of any works in the City streets should always consider

parking and seek to minimise the loss of on-street parking, subject to the overall objectives of the project.

• While any loss of parking should be minimised, it is inevitable that

there will be changes to and loss of, on-street parking, if the goals and objectives of a final City Centre Strategy are to be achieved.

• There is likely to be justification for an off-street parking facility in

the south-western sector of the City Centre to cater for parking demand in the business, legal, government precinct and in the Cultural Precinct.

• The current information campaign on parking in the City Centre

should be maintained on a regular basis.


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• In the medium term, a concept similar to that utilised for Southbank in Brisbane could be introduced. “Smart Parking Signs” work like a fuel gauge and show the amount of available parking in each of the parking areas included on the signage.

Southbank ‘Smart P Signs’ explained. An example of the use of the signage is also shown below.

The Southbank example also uses diagrammatic signage to direct people to car parking areas:


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Proposed Initiatives and Actions • Implement the

recommendations of the current review of the Parking Strategy for the City Centre when it is finalised in 2010.

• Commensurate with other

Initiatives and Actions of the Cairns City Centre Strategy, ensure that the availability of on-street parking is considered and that the loss of any on-street parking is minimised.

• Maintain the current information

campaign on parking in the City Centre on a regular basis.

Council’s Guide to Parking in the City Centre is available from www.cairns.qld.gov.au.


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8

Conclusion


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8.0 CONCLUSION This Discussion Paper identifies elements which contribute to the functioning and vitality of the Cairns City Centre, together with issues which are relevant to each element and possible actions which could be taken in response to the particular issues. The elements which contribute to the functioning and vitality of the Cairns City Centre and the issues and actions have been identified from a review of supporting and background information and from initial Focus Group meetings with representatives of a number of stakeholder and interest groups.


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Phone: 4044 3044 (Cairns), 4099 9444 (Mossman) or 1800 040 444 (for STD Callers) | www.cairns.qld.gov.au

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