Vibrant Villages

The Circle, Altona North, has been selected for a minor upgrade as a part of the annual Council program, Vibrant Villages. The aim is to improve the visual appearance and amenity through new landscaping and additional street furniture with this funding.

Smaller shopping centres or ‘villages’ provide a range of social, economic and health and wellbeing benefits to local communities. Enhancing the physical environment and functionality of shopping centres can strengthen economic viability, and improve the access and presentation.

Program objectives

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To:

• improve functionality of public spaces and streets

• support local businesses and patrons with identifiable markers and signage

• provide a comfortable and attractive environment with adequate infrastructure and maximised tree canopy cover

• enhance community perceptions and awareness of these smaller commercial precincts

• ensure an equitable distribution of Council resources for improvements through the Vibrant Villages Program

Features of the upgrade work

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New low planting in the median strips, including flowering feature trees. The new planting at the Circle has been designed to enhance the strip with colourful and distinctive greenery. The gravel median strips will be planted out with a range of flowering ground covers and succulents. Each will also feature a new purple flowering jacaranda street tree.

A custom-made steel sign in the roundabout. The sign is to add a unique and sculptural element to the Circle and will be installed in the roundabout. It will be constructed from folded bands of steel curved to the shape of each letter. It is see-through so it does not obstruct visibility for traffic.

Removal of the bay trees along the shopping strip to allow space for more seats. These five bay trees are in poor condition and are not thriving in their current locations. They are not currently contributing to shading the footpaths. Council’s arborist has recommended their removal. The space gained by the removal of these trees will be used to provide more public seating as the space for new trees is very limited without requiring the removal of car park spaces. There will be six new seats and three new bicycle hoops installed.

Timing

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The planting season starts at the end of summer each year. For this reason the landscape upgrade work has been scheduled for March to June 2019.

How

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The removal of trees, installation of the street furniture and the new planting will require traffic management. This may require the use of adjacent car park spaces for a limited amount of time. Council will endeavour to minimise the impact to traders. Once completed, The Circle will see a refreshing improvement to its overall appearance.

Location

McIntosh Road, Altona North 3025

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