By Tate Papworth
Work on the long promised civic plaza for St Albans town centre will begin this month.
Brimbank council hopes the $1.4 million project will transform a former bus interchange in Alfrieda Street into the centrepiece of the town centre.
Mayor Georgina Papafotiou said the civic plaza will be a space for the whole community.
“Following the success of the pop-up park set up in mid-2017, and calls from traders and residents for a civic plaza in Alfrieda Street, St Albans, council is thrilled to now offer a permanent solution,” she said.
“The result will be a multi-use civic space in the centre of St Albans – providing an area for larger cultural events and a safer space for social gatherings.”
The project will include new road surfacing, feature paving on footpaths, large shade trees and garden landscaping.
It will also feature seating, picnic tables, better lighting, a safer pedestrian crossing, signage and traffic signals.
“The project is a win for residents and ensures that St Albans continues to be a place where people want to live, work and socialise,” Cr Papafotiou said.
While traders have been calling for a permanent plaza in Alfrieda Street since 1982, the movement gathered momentum after the bus interchange was relocated to the St Albans railway station as part of the Level Crossing Removal Project in 2015.
The council has previously sought government support for the project, but will almost fully fund it through its capital works budget, with $125,000 from the Level Crossing Removal Authority.
Work is expected to finish by June.
