Published on 10 March 2023
Have your say on Beach Road upgrades
City of Onkaparinga wants your feedback on a range of proposed streetscape improvements to help Beach Road, Christies Beach, emerge as a tourism destination.
The proposed improvements—including murals and public art, seating, landscaping such as native garden beds and pocket parks, paving, street trees and lighting—are being funded through $500,000 from the state government’s Community Infrastructure Grant Program. Council is also contributing additional funds for decorative lighting.
The works would target five key focus areas between Overland Terrace and the Esplanade, rather than a full streetscape redevelopment, with this section identified as a tourism hub that would benefit most from streetscape improvements.
The plan is designed to provide increased outdoor dining areas; increased opportunities to pause, sit and rest along the street; improved visual amenity; increased urban greening; and public art to surprise and delight.
The draft Beach Road Western Precinct Streetscape Plan is a priority in the wider Beach Road Christies Beach Tourism Action Plan 2022–24, which was developed by council in consultation with local businesses, landlords and visitors.
You can have your say on the proposed streetscape improvements on the Your Say Onkaparinga page until Wednesday 22 March, with council to collate and review all feedback received, and then finalise the plan.
Feedback received will also be shared with potential artists to help them develop designs with the community in mind.
Following consultation and final design, construction is expected to commence in August 2023 and take approximately four months to complete.
Council has identified Christies Beach as being at the exploration stage of the tourism destination life cycle (i.e., it has low visitation, minimal tourism infrastructure, and is more locally oriented).
By undertaking a tourism-focused place-building approach, council aims to identify and realise the suburb’s untapped potential, and build strong foundations for Beach Road to emerge as a tourism destination.
Council undertook extensive engagement in 2021 with visitors, businesses and landlords to understand their expectations and the types of experiences and services for a coastal destination.
The engagement revealed a strong desire for streetscape improvements along Beach Road for it to become a more attractive destination.