City of Whittlesea is upgrading the streetscape and parking along Gorge Road to make your visit to the strip shops safer and more convenient.

We’ve already consulted with business owners and local residents and are now sharing with the community the concept plan of the Gorge Rd Shops Streetscape Upgrade. Feedback received in phase 1 has been considered in the development of the concept design.

We invite the community to view the concept plan and let us know if we’ve missed anything before, we finalise the plan and present it for Council endorsement in 2023.

The concept plan includes upgrades to the streetscape and car parking in front of the shops, the laneway at the end of the shops, the footpath on the shop side of Reid St, and the gravel car park behind the shops.

There are no permanent tables and chairs to allow for flexibility in how the traders want to use the space in front of their store, as the types of business are different, we don’t want to limit the space with permanent fixtures. There will be some seats integrated into the design for public use or for traders to adapt into their seating arrangements.

We will be integrating elements of the design to improve safety and visibility of the laneway; lighting will be investigated.

We have a confirmed construction budget for the 2023 – 2024 financial year for Reid Street Park and Playground, the full car park would be upgraded when these works are underway.

Changing the parking at the front of the shops from angled to parallel will stop people doing illegal turns into the parking bays and increase road user safety. The decrease in parking at the front is balanced by the increase when upgrading the gravel car park at the back.

Yes, this meets the requirements for parking at the front.

No, we will not be reducing the time limit on parking. However, we will monitor how the spaces are being used and will adjust if required.

We have a confirmed construction budget for the 2023 – 2024 financial year for Reid Street Park and Playground, the full car park would be upgraded when these works are underway.

The laundromat is a privately owned property, and it is to their discretion on access through their property.

We can’t stop people from using the laundromat, however, we can design to encourage use of the laneway and Reid St.

We are aiming for construction to begin in the August/September 2023, the works will include the streetscape and gravel carpark.