Hervey Bay City Centre Public Spaces & Streetscapes

Greener streets, more outdoor dining, pop-up events and prioritising pedestrians are among the key elements of a strategy to revitalise the Hervey Bay City Centre.

At its meeting this week, Fraser Coast Regional Council agreed to adopt the ‘Public Realm and Placemaking Strategy’ to guide the themes and standards for developing public places and infrastructure in the Hervey Bay City Centre. The Council endorsed the Vision document for Public Realm and Placemaking for the Hervey Bay City Centre at its meeting on 28 June 2023.

Mayor George Seymour said the strategy detailed a range of ways to reshape the Hervey Bay City Centre streetscape to meet the needs of our changing community.

“Our aspiration is to create a series of beautiful, green, lively streets and places that reflect the city’s distinct identity and enable all users to feel welcome and comfortable in Hervey Bay’s new city centre,” he said.

“The design concepts prioritise walkability and slow vehicle speeds to create a safer, more pedestrian-friendly environment, revitalise street life, and support access to shops and businesses.”

Cr Seymour said the strategy will assist Council to prioritise projects as funding becomes available.

“Raised zebra crossings have been proposed in the short term near the Main Street/Torquay Road roundabout with the ultimate long-term design solution to be traffic lights at this intersection to slow down cars and prioritise pedestrians,” he said.

“Another key proposal is adding a lane and covering the section of the mobility corridor that will link the new Hervey Bay Civic Centre with a new car park near the Hervey Bay PCYC. This would provide all users better, safer, well-lit, all-weather access.

“Activating Freedom Park, new paving and landscape treatments, footpath dining and pop-up events with food vans are all part of the vision to create a lively, inner-city hub with places to stop and sit, get a bite to eat and catch up with family and friends.

“The new Hervey Bay Civic Centre incorporating a new library and Council administration centre will bring hundreds of workers together in one location to provide centralised community services when it opens in mid-2026.

“The proposed public realm upgrades in conjunction with this new development will help transform the city centre into a vibrant and thriving place.”

A copy of the Hervey Bay Public Realm and Placemaking Strategy is available on Council’s website at https://www.frasercoast.qld.gov.au/publications or on this project page here.

At its ordinary Council meeting (No 6/23) on 28 June 2023, Council endorsed the Vision document for the Public Realm and Placemaking and broad Implementation Plan for the Hervey Bay City Centre.

This doument will inform the Public Realm and Placemaking Strategy, which will be presented to Council for consderation in the third quarter of 2023.

Thank you to everyone who participated in our consultation process, which provided us with valuable feedback on the Vision document.

Thank you to everyone who participated in the community feedback survey for the Public Realm Vision document designers in March 2023.

We appreciate the time you took out of your busy schedules to provide us with your feedback, and have taken careful note of your comments.

We are pleased to advise that the Community Engagement report has been delivered to Council and the Vision document is currently being revised to take into account the feedback we received.

This will be presented to Council at the June Council meeting for consideration and endorsement.

The Vision document will then form the basis of a detailed Public Realm and Placemaking Strategy, including an implementation plan.

When the Vision document and Community Engagement report have been endorsed by Council, it will be published on the Fraser Coast Engagement Hub on the this page (https://frasercoast.engagementhub.com.au/hbcc-streetscaping) in the Document Library.

To be advised of all updates to this project, please click the “Follow Project” button on the top right of the page, under the banner.

We look forward to seeing this project develop and to keep you updated as we continue the journey to create a city centre that is Vibrant, Green and Inclusive.

Thank you to everyone to provided feedback!

This feedback will be collated and provided to the Public Ream and Placemaking consultants Place Design Group to include in their Community Engagement report, and to inform their detailed Public Realm and Placemaking Strategy.

To stay informed about this project, please click the box entitled "Follow Project" and you wil receive notifications of any project updates.

Fraser Coast Regional Council engaged engineering consultants GHD to do traffic modelling as part of the delivery of the 20-year Hervey Bay City Centre Master Plan and ahead of the development of a new Hervey Bay Library and Council Administration Building.

The modelling examined four scenarios to reduce traffic speed and volume through the city centre to make it more pedestrian friendly.

“The scenarios covered a range of options from reducing speed limits to 10km/hr on Main Street and lowering speeds to 20, 30 or 40km/hr along Main Street and Torquay Road,” Cr Denis Chapman said.

“The modelling, using 2021 traffic figures, also looked at how changes to city centre speed limits would redistribute traffic across other roads and intersections.

“The modelling determined where the traffic would reroute through the network and looked at how the changes to traffic volumes under each scenario would impact other roads and intersections.

“It found that reducing the speed to 30km/hr along Main Street and Torquay Road would be the best outcome to support the Hervey Bay City Centre Master Plan 2021-2041.

“This scenario balanced diverting some traffic from Main Street and Torquay Road while maintaining key access routes through the Hervey Bay City Centre.

“Additionally, it would make it safer for pedestrians and provide opportunities to ensure the city centre is a pedestrian-friendly destination rather than a thoroughfare.”

Council will now start further investigations into what would be needed to upgrade intersections to ensure smooth traffic flow and minimise traffic congestion across the Hervey Bay network as the city centre is revitalised.

The investigation will focus on intersections at:

• Beach Road/Old Maryborough Road,
• Main Street/Old Maryborough Road,
• Torquay Road/Taylor Street,
• Taylor Street/Esplanade and,
• Main Street/Torquay Road,

as well as improvements to Tooth Street and Torquay Road.

“The investigation will also examine ways to divert traffic from Beach Road to Tooth Street as an alternative north-south route, including reducing speeds on the Esplanade,” Cr Chapman said.

“Options include reprioritising the traffic signals at the Main Street-Old Maryborough Road intersection to favour vehicles on Old Maryborough Road and changing the Taylor Street-Esplanade T-intersection to provide priority for cars in and out of Taylor Street.

“For the next step Council will use intersection software to develop concept options that will help us plan for intersection upgrades to ensure smooth traffic flow as the Hervey Bay City Centre is revitalised.”

Council has recently released the ‘Hervey Bay Placemaking and Public Realm Vision’ document, which builds on the 20-year master plan for the city centre and outlines how the streetscape could be reshaped.

Residents and businesses can fill in a survey and view a copy of the vision document at https://frasercoast.engagementhub.com.au/hbcc-streetscaping

The survey is open now and closes Sunday, 2 April 2023.

More trees and outdoor dining, pop-up events and prioritising pedestrians are among the key features in a vision to reshape the streetscape in the Hervey Bay City Centre.

Fraser Coast Regional Council today released the ‘Hervey Bay Public Realm and Placemaking Vision Document’, which builds on the 20-year master plan for the city centre.

Cr Jade Wellings said Fraser Coast residents were encouraged to have their say by viewing the document on Council’s Engagement Hub website and completing a short online survey.

“A revitalised Hervey Bay City Centre will have something for everyone, with more opportunities to enjoy our beautiful climate and connect with family and friends,” she said.

“The city centre revitalisation will enhance the quality of local life for generations. It will mean more diverse food, dining, social and shopping experiences while preserving and improving connections between local destinations.

“The new Hervey Bay Library and Council Administration Centre will bring hundreds of workers together in one location to provide centralised community services.

“The proposed public realm upgrades in conjunction with this new development will help transform the city centre into a vibrant and thriving place.”

Cr David Lee said the public realm vision document emphasised making walking the natural choice and ensuring the city centre was slower and safer for everyone.

“Raised zebra crossings have been proposed in the short term near the Main Street/Torquay Road roundabout with the ultimate long-term design solution to be traffic lights at this intersection to slow down cars and prioritise pedestrians,” he said.

“Proposals also centre around making Main Street pedestrian friendly and developing a well-lit, ramped pathway or an external lift near the Main Street/Esplanade roundabout to improve wheelchair access.

“The vision document also suggests having a set of traffic lights at the intersection of the mobility corridor and Old Maryborough Road working in tandem with the current lights at the intersection of Old Maryborough Road and Main Street.

“It’s all about making the city centre a destination rather than a thoroughfare.”

Cr David Lewis said underground powerlines would allow more street trees and other plantings to provide shade, cool the environment and reduce carbon emissions.

“The vision document proposes adding a lane and covering the section of the mobility corridor that will link the new library and administration centre with a new car park near the old library,” he said.

“This would provide all users better, safer, well-lit, all-weather access.

“Activating Freedom Park, new paving and landscape treatments, footpath dining, and pop-up events with food vans in the Torquay Road car park are all part of the vision to create a lively, inner-city hub with places to stop and sit, get a bite to eat and catch up with family and friends.

“These proposals go hand in hand with creating a new outdoor public plaza on the corner of Main Street and Torquay Road where there could be events, markets, live music, a pop-up cinema, and reading lounges.

“Hervey Bay has come of age and grown from the days of being a series of small, seaside villages.

“The new Library and Council administration centre will be a community hub providing a focal point that defines the new Hervey Bay City Centre, with the public realm upgrades helping to transform the area and attract both residents and visitors.”

Residents and businesses can fill in a survey and view a copy of the Hervey Bay Public Realm and Placemaking Vision Document at https://frasercoast.engagementhub.com.au/hbcc-streetscaping

The survey is open now and closes Sunday, 2 April 2023.

The feedback gathered about the vision document will be used to develop a detailed Hervey Bay Public Realm and Placemaking Strategy.

More details about the new Hervey Bay Library and Council Administration Centre (incorporating a Disaster Resilience Centre) is available at https://frasercoast.engagementhub.com.au/hervey-bay-library-administration-centre-inc-disaster-resilience-centre.

As part of the implementation of the Hervey Bay City Centre Master Plan, a public realm and placemaking strategy is to be developed to provide a vision for public spaces and to establish areas to enhance and activate the new city centre.

Place Design Group (PDG) has been selected to develop the strategy and to undertake the stakeholder engagement to inform the strategy, with the assistance of the Council’s community engagement team.

Aspects of the project include establishing areas defined as public realm, streetscape improvements, network planning for active travel and public transport, connectivity, programs for temporary pop-up interventions to challenge and change driver behaviour, embedded cultural and learning functions, crime prevention, and an implementation plan.

The final public realm and placemaking strategy is anticipated to be delivered in the first half of 2023.