{"id":183427,"date":"2026-03-31T04:00:00","date_gmt":"2026-03-30T17:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/surfcoasttimes\/?p=183427"},"modified":"2026-03-25T18:54:01","modified_gmt":"2026-03-25T07:54:01","slug":"top-shops-plan-trades-parks-for-safety","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/surfcoasttimes\/news\/top-shops-plan-trades-parks-for-safety\/","title":{"rendered":"Top shops plan trades parks for safety"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>A redesign of the Aireys Inlet top shops precinct proposes improved pedestrian safety and access but would reduce the number of car parks in the area.<\/p>\n<p>The Surf Coast Shire released a draft design for the precinct this month.<\/p>\n<p>It follows an earlier round of consultation that found pedestrian safety and accessibility were priorities for more than 70 per cent of respondents, while parking and traffic flow were priorities for 69 per cent.<\/p>\n<p>The proposed design includes a continuous 2m-wide path in front of the retail strip, which the shire said would bring the path up to &#8220;current-day safety standards&#8221; and meet accessibility requirements.<\/p>\n<p>To accommodate the wider footpath, angle parking would be reduced from 45 degrees to 30 degrees, resulting in the loss of five car spaces.<\/p>\n<p>This would reduce the total number of car parks to 24, down from 29.<\/p>\n<p>The shire said &#8220;all feasible options&#8221; to retain the existing number of car parks had been explored, but each option required &#8220;major compromises to safety&#8221;.<\/p>\n<p>The draft plan also proposes a new public space at the northern end of the precinct, relocation of the bus stop, a redesigned intersection at Albert Avenue and clearer separation between vehicles and pedestrians.<\/p>\n<p>Cr Mike Bodsworth said the council had worked with landscape design specialists, engineers and access experts to understand what&#8217;s working and what isn&#8217;t at the precinct.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;Now it&#8217;s time to check in with the community again in a second round of consultation,&#8221; he said.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;The current design is still a draft. Whether you like or dislike something, big or small, please let us know.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>The council has not allocated funding for construction and would need to secure external funding if the project proceeds.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;For this project to proceed, it relies on community support and we&#8217;re likely to need a federal or state government grant or private funding to help deliver the improvements,&#8221; Cr Bodsworth said.<\/p>\n<p>Community feedback on the plan is open until Friday 10 April. Visit <a href=\"http:\/\/yoursay.surfcoast.vic.gov.au\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">yoursay.surfcoast.vic.gov.au<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>A redesign of the Aireys Inlet top shops precinct proposes improved pedestrian safety and access but would reduce the number of car parks in the area. The Surf Coast Shire released a draft design for the precinct this month. It follows an earlier round of consultation that found pedestrian safety and accessibility were priorities for [&#8230;]<\/p>\n<p><a class=\"btn btn-secondary understrap-read-more-link\" href=\"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/surfcoasttimes\/news\/top-shops-plan-trades-parks-for-safety\/\">Read More&#8230;<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":216,"featured_media":183429,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[],"post_folder":[],"class_list":["post-183427","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.7 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Top shops plan trades parks for safety - Surf Coast Times<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Explore the Aireys Inlet top shops redesign. Proposed plans improve pedestrian safety and accessibility. Provide your feedback by April 10.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/timesnewsgroup.com.au\/surfcoasttimes\/news\/top-shops-plan-trades-parks-for-safety\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Top shops plan trades parks for safety - Surf Coast Times\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Explore the Aireys Inlet top shops redesign. Proposed plans improve pedestrian safety and accessibility. 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