Snowy River Avenue upgrade
A facelift for Snowy River Avenue
The desire to improve the streetscape of Snowy River Avenue in Jindabyne was an outcome of the Jindabyne Action Plan 2030. The Action Plan was developed in conjunction with the local community, having over 400 residents contribute to discussions and over 28,000 comments received. The Action Plan has prompted the revitalisation of Snowy River Avenue into a Main Street.
A Concept Design for the Main Street vision has been prepared and we invite you to take a look and read about different aspects and benefits of the design detailed on this page.
You can view the full set of designs for Snowy River Avenue by clicking the below links:
Jindabyne’s shopping and business areas are central to our region’s ongoing economic viability. The public spaces that surround them are likewise critical to our community, providing residents and visitors places for formal and informal interaction. The Concept Design creates a safe, functional and attractive place that supports movements within and around town for cars and people.
The benefits of the Concept Plan are:
- Improved pedestrian linkages and crossing points
- Upgrade of stormwater and road surface
- Enhanced outdoor dining and trading opportunities
- Improved disabled parking arrangements and access for all abilities
- Safer and increased public footpath area
This project is one of Snowy River Shire Council’s key projects and is a major financial investment in the town centre.
Design Focus #1 - Parking
The reconfiguring of the public realm in Snowy River Avenue has impacts for the provision and arrangement of parking in the street. The project team was keenly aware of this during the design project, and has developed options for the Kalkite Street car park to mitigate any loss, following the works in Snowy River Avenue. You can inspect these options by following the link below.
Kalkite Street Carpark Future Options(PDF, 2MB)
The design involves the removal of 15 car parking spaces – and modification of a non-compliant universally accessible car space – from Snowy River Avenue. The initial options provided at the link allow for the addition of up to 6 extra car parking spaces within Kalkite Street car park as a compensating measure, with as many as 5 of these to be newly installed and much-needed universally accessible parking spaces. This leaves a shortfall of 9 car parking spaces across the overall Snowy River Avenue precinct, and Council is investigating options to recover these spaces in other nearby locations.
Design Focus #2 - Pedestrian Focused Design
The Snowy River Avenue upgrade project is the implementation of the ‘main street’ vision contained within the Jindabyne Action Plan of 2009. The purpose is to reinforce the central area of Jindabyne as a focus for community and commerce.
To encourage these outcomes, the design seeks to change the streetscape to encourage pedestrians to spend more time within the space, setting the balance more towards pedestrian needs and safety and containing the influence of motor traffic. Encouraging an in-person rather than in-car interaction with the public domain multiplies opportunities and exposure for trading, interaction and leisurely enjoyment of the area. These are the positive things to enjoy about town life, that are emphasised and strengthened by a pedestrian-centred design.
There are several design features which seek to promote this outcome. The roadway will be narrower, featuring paving treatments at the entries to the area. These are a subtle indicator to slow car traffic in Snowy River Avenue, using textural and acoustic feedback to drivers. These paving treatments also serve as indicative crossing points, with two formalised pedestrian crossings also provided at critical locations. These crossing points can be adjusted so share your views on the proposed locations.
The street will remain open to two-way traffic, as a lack of opposing traffic would promote higher speeds. On-street parking is shifted further away from the frontages of shops, allowing straighter, direct sidewalks, with a wider angle of visibility to the shopfronts for pedestrians and removing the inclination to walk behind of parked vehicles. New street lighting enhances the safety of the area after nightfall. New footpath finishes eliminate slip and trip hazards, improve frost resistance and make the maximum possible improvement to gradient allowing enhanced access for persons of all abilities.
Design Focus #3 - Accessibility
The design for the upgrade of Snowy River Avenue includes an emphasis on improving access for people of all abilities.
Snowy River Avenue is located in an area with challenging topography for streetscape design. Considerable slope creates difficulty for those with impaired mobility. In creating the design, Council is obligated and committed to seeking the maximum possible improvement to this situation. Three particularly challenging locations include:
- footpath outside the Westpac bank
- the area either side of the Central Park driveway which has multiple obstacles and steep grades
- absence of continual and accessible pedestrian access across the frontage of Central Park.
All of these locations are subject to redesign and re-engineering works in the proposal, to achieve acceptable footpath crossfall, lessening of gradient and clear and widened access along footpaths.
Provision is made for accessible parking within the design. The existing space on the north side of Snowy River Avenue will be improved upon. The new space will be oriented parallel to the kerb, with space provided at the rear for much safer entry and exit of the vehicle out of the line of traffic. Several additional accessible parking spaces are to be provided within the renewed Kalkite Street car park to be implemented in the next phase of the project. Accessible parking is to be retained and improved in locations on Gippsland St, and the eastern end of Snowy River Avenue.
New marked pedestrian crossings at two locations allow right-of-way to pedestrians. This offers increased safety and mobility to those who may otherwise struggle to cross the roadway between the flow of traffic.
Finishing treatments and features applied in the design will complete the enhancement to the accessibility of the precinct. The redesign will firstly allow the removal and remediation of trip hazards currently existing on the public footpath. New kerb ramps will feature at several locations to allow wheeled access to and from the footpath. The ‘bipave’ finish proposed has a shot blasted finish, providing slight coarseness of surface to allow good traction underfoot and frost resistance to cope with Jindabyne’s harsh winter conditions.