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- Goodbye buckled bitumen ... hello multi-coloured asphalt.
- Goodbye to chewing-gum spotted grey footpaths.. hello fancy new paving.
- Goodbye to rusty metal seats ... hello futuristic shelters and funky furniture.
Eden’s Imlay Street is at the front of the makeover queue, and is about to receive a $1.5 million facelift that will make it the envy of every town around.
Known as ‘Action on Imlay’, the proposed demolition, civil and landscape upgrade has been developed over the past two years, spearheaded by a community group including Bega Valley Shire Council councillor Sharon Tapscott and Eden designer Brent Dunne.
The ‘Action for Imlay’ project is included in this week’s BVSC agenda, and as the Eden Magnet went to press BVSC councillors were deciding on the successful tenderer for the construction phase.
“Two conforming tenderers submitted applications before the tender closed in mid June,” BVSC project manager, Andrew Stewart, said.
“Councillors will consider recommendations at the meeting on Wednesday, and we hope to publically announce the successful tenderer by the end of the week,” Mr Stewart told the Magnet on Tuesday.
Mr Stewart said the council is committed to beginning works promptly, but the exact timing is up to the contractors.
“The strategic aim is to do work during the commercially quietest time of the year, and get all works done before action increases again in summer,” Mr Stewart said.
“One of the things we included in the tender is the requirement of the contractor to proactively communicate with the Eden community.
"We anticipate there will be a weekly meeting, and the ‘Action on Imlay’ group will help decide the best way to keep the community up-to-date on the works.”
Like any major cosmetic surgery, the road to beatification has been well thought through, with every wrinkle closely assessed and every beauty spot considered.
The process began in August 2013, when Spiire Australia Landscape Architects and Engineers were engaged by the BVSC to prepare CBD landscape ‘master plans’ for the four major towns in the Bega Valley Shire; Bega, Bermagui, Merimbula and Eden.
After a period of consultation with the ‘Action on Imlay’ community group, Spiire finalised its CBD master plan for Eden, which was adopted by council in July 2014.
“We then worked closely with the council’s engineering department, with our streetscapes finalised according to those engineering specifications,” Spiire Associate Landscape Architect, Simon Eakin, said.
“Some of the key features of the landscape design are new paving, modern outdoor furniture including seating and shelters, garden beds, tree planting, and extended paving areas where people can sit down and enjoy the space.”
Mr Stewart confirmed that BVSC has allocated $1.5 million to the project.
“The major cost is replacing the pavement," he said.
"Between Bass and Chandos Streets we’re taking up every inch of pavement and replacing it.
"That’s a total of 5000 square metres of road pavement and over 1500 metres of footpath pavement.”
Mr Eakin believes the design - of wider footpaths and gathering spots to socialise - will benefit the community on a social level, and enhance the unique feel of the town.
“We’ve done numerous street scape upgrades throughout NSW and Victoria, and what we’ve come up with for Eden is appropriate just for Eden,” Mr Eakin said.
“It picks up on the coastal environment and character, and the port character too.”
All going well, construction could start as early as next week.