St John Street shop owners have called on the council to justify relocating a bus stop outside their businesses – 20 metres from its existing location.
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Here is the full response from Launceston mayor Albert van Zetten:
The City of Launceston has been consulting on various elements of the Launceston City Heart Project since 2014.
In fact, the council's efforts on public consultation for the Launceston City Heart Project resulted in a Planning Institute of Australia Award.
While various proposals have been canvassed for the location of CBD bus stops, the council's policy position since 2015 has been that the St John Street southbound bus stops between York St and Brisbane Streets be redesigned, upgraded and moved closer to York Street.
This policy position arose from the Launceston Transport Futures public consultation undertaken in 2014, which examined seven different options for bus stop locations in the CBD.
Consultation included online surveys, hard copy surveys, and a pop-up shop in St John Street.
However, not all businesses have been individually consulted, and Aldermen will no doubt consider this matter further.
It's clearly complex to develop a solution that encourages people to utilise public transport and continues to make our CBD more user friendly.
Suggestions of removing the bus stops from the CBD have not been supported by retailers or public transport users in the past, so this only adds another level of complexity to the balance we are trying to strike; this is why there are no easy solutions.
Since 2015, the detailed design work has been undertaken and the redesigned St John Street proposal was endorsed by Aldermen in April.
The council has recently opened a new pop-up shop in St John Street to take feedback from retailers and the general public, as we're aware there are new businesses and stakeholders in the area that may not have been involved in the original consultations.
The City of Launceston's intention has been to invest some $2.5m in this area of St John Street to revitalise it, encourage business growth, and attract new investment.
The proposed upgrade would include new paved and widened footpaths, new trees and street furniture, upgraded lighting, new road surfacing, new bus shelters, and a substantial raised pedestrian crossing at the intersection of the Quadrant Mall and St John Street.
The proposed bus shelter facilities are designed to accommodate more patrons and allow for enhanced CCTV security. They will also provide a physical separation from passing pedestrians by use of a transparent, physical backing to the shelters.
The council is aware that a number of tenant businesses at 92 St John Street have concerns about the proposal and we have offered to meet with them and others to discuss those concerns.
We're also aware that the bus stops have created ongoing issues in this area, and while we cannot solve this problem alone, we are attempting to address some of these issues through a major upgrade of the street.
The council will take all feedback on board, and we will continue to work cooperatively with stakeholders to realise this significant investment in the heart of our city, one which is ultimately aimed at supporting our retailers and residents.
At the end of the day, our goal is to work with people to make Launceston a better place, and I'd be hopeful we can take people's concerns on board, while also realising our vision for a rejuvenated St John Street.
