BROAD visions of a major facelift for Warrnambool’s central business district will come closer to reality this month when residents get the chance to submit ideas on redesigning part of Liebig Street.
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“It’s getting down to the nitty-gritty stage,” council communications manager Nick Higgins said yesterday.
On May 12 a shopfront will be set up in the old ANZ Bank premises where people can lodge their ideas and register for two discussion workshops on May 20 focusing on the Liebig Street section.
On May 21 a consultant design company will collate the ideas into conceptual drawings to present to another public forum before a draft blueprint is compiled, taken back to the community and then to the council for approval.
This month’s discussions will shape preparation of a Liebig Street plan for which the council received $90,000 in state government funding.
CBD revitalisation discussions began six years ago with various broad concepts which were summarised in an official structure plan adopted by the council in 2012.
City centre renewal manager Tanya Egan, who has been working on the vision since its inception, said yesterday design principles adopted for the street section would probably be rolled out across the city centre.
“We encourage all interested people to register to attend one of two workshops on May 20 where there will be opportunity to share ideas in the presence of the design firm which will draw up concepts for the street,” she said.
“After presentation of the concept plans on May 21 we will seek further community feedback before a draft plan, including technical specifications, is delivered later in the year.”
Meanwhile, work will start at 6am Monday at the southern end of the main street between Timor and Koroit streets to renew worn-out bitumen at a cost of about $140,000.
It will entail patching the rough road surface, then finishing with a smooth hotmix which is expected to last at least five years before a major reconstruction is undertaken.
One side of the street will be closed alternately during the works, which will finish on May 15, but vehicle access will be maintained on single lanes.
Most construction activity will cease at noon and no work will be done on Mother’s Day.
“In recent years the pavement has deteriorated and no longer provides the smooth road surface one would expect along a key section of the city’s retail heart,” Ms Egan said.
Bitumen sealing work has also started in the Fairy Street off-street car park.