Fletcher Street in the Byron CBD would undergo significant changes to make it more pedestrian-friendly under a draft plan produced by Byron Shire Council.
According to a report going before Council’s Local Transport Forum next month, Council intends to upgrade the drainage under Fletcher Street under stage 2 of the Byron Bay drainage upgrade.
Pedestrians prioritised
It is taking the opportunity while these major works are happening to create a ‘pedestrian prioritised’ town centre that ‘supports and integrates alternate modes of transport’.
Draft plans for the redesign have now been completed and will go to Council’s Local Transport Forum meeting on 3 February.
Under the proposed redesign, Fletcher Street will have seven ‘pedestrian prioritised’ crossing points and a planted central median strip.
The approach to the Lawson Street roundabout will be reduced from two lanes to one and there will be a shared turning median through the central intersection.
Speed reductions
‘The reconstruction of this road is intended to coincide with a 30km/hr low speed zone through the whole town centre, so these treatments will provide visual cues that remind drivers they are travelling through a pedestrian prioritised zone,’ Council staff said in the report.
They will seek feedback from the transport forum in relation to whether the proposed design achieves a sufficient increase in pedestrian amenity and prioritisation, and whether it can facilitate safe vehicle movements through the central intersection.
Among other key CBD upgrades proposed to coincide with the drainage project are narrowed intersections to encourage drivers to slow down, and increased public space for impromptu socialising through the reclaiming of carparks for gardens, seating and bike racks.
There will also be several raised pedestrian safety crossings and shared zones, including on Jonson Street, Byron Lane, and Lateen Lane.
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