Yass Valley Business Chamber, local businesses and students from the University of Canberra hosted a successful community workshop and action plan related to the development of main street.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
About 30 people attended the workshop on May 25 to discuss strategies related to three main working groups: NBN connectivity, memorial hall access and pedestrian connectivity.
Business chamber member Harvey Walsh said each group progressed significantly.
The internet connectivity group developed and agreed on its objective.
“That might not sound like much, but I facilitated that group last time and, I tell you, that is a major achievement. It’s absolutely critical it was achieved before any action is taken,” Mr Walsh said.
Memorial Hall group gained considerable momentum, securing a grant writer, agreement to meet in two weeks and balancing the work of the group with the the work of the Council Memorial Hall Committee.
The pedestrian connectivity group is now fine tuning a more integrated street-action strategy and attracting additional people interested in the solutions being developed.
Andrew Curlewis, who leads the pedestrian group, said the workshop was productive, which included architecture students from the University of Canberra who presented their designs and concepts.
“One student had a brilliant presentation, which ticked a lot of boxes based on community and council feedback,” he said.
A major component is the linkage between parking and parks to main street.
While there is access from Banjo Paterson park, the library and Memorial Hall onto Comur Street, Mr Curlewis said improvements can be made.
He also said other topics were discussed, including signage.
“We’re trying to get cars to park off main street, but there’s no signage at the moment. That’s a simple fix. We’re also talking about lowering the speed limit to make it a pedestrian-friendly area to benefit the street and businesses along it,” Mr Curlewis said.
Mr Walsh said the students were marvellous.
“They walked into a town they didn't know and used developing professional skills to give insight and constructive ideas that appeared to be well received. Such daring to pull that off with aplomb,” he said.
The students’ PowerPoint presentation is currently exhibited at the library in a looped format for residents to view.
The workshop ended with the groups set to host a public meeting later in the year.
Date and location will be confirmed.
