Construction on the $2.1 million upgrade of Byron’s Railway Park is expected to begin April 29, with Council staff saying ‘it will bring the area to life so that it can become a space the community is proud of’.
Byron Shire Council’s general manager Mark Arnold said, ‘The upgrade will see Railway Park celebrated as a meeting place in Byron Bay, connecting the centre of town, the old railway station, the Visitors Centre and the bus interchange’.
‘This is exciting for Byron Bay because it is the first major project delivered from the Byron Bay Town Centre Masterplan,’ Mr Arnold said.
The toilets, which are currently located at the southern entrance to Railway Park, will be relocated as part of the upgrade. Temporary toilets will be delivered to the site for public use while the permanent toilets are being relocated and reconnected, which is expected to take approximately four weeks.
Council staff say they are working with NSW Family and Community Services, local stakeholders and specialist homelessness services caseworkers to ‘develop supportive responses for the people currently sleeping in the park or living there during the day who will be displaced during the upgrade period’.
Byron Masterplan Guidance Group chair Chris Hanley said, ‘This exciting project is the culmination of four years of hard work by all members of our community and Council.
‘It is important to recognise the work of mayor Simon Richardson, who deserves full credit for bringing the Byron Bay community together through the extensive masterplan process.
‘A huge thankyou to Council staff, the landscape architect for the project, Dan Plummer, and all members of the Byron Masterplan Guidance Group for getting the project to this point – this is a fantastic result for our community,’ Mr Hanley said.
Council staff added the Railway Park upgrade is the first of the ‘rail precinct’ projects identified in the Byron Bay Town Centre Masterplan, which is aimed at encouraging a pedestrian-prioritised town centre.
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