Last Chance to comment on CBD Masterplans

AlburyCity is encouraging local residents to see the latest Draft CBD Masterplans for Albury and Lavington and to contribute their views at the final round of community workshops.

Local residents have their first chance to see the latest draft plans from Monday, when they go on public exhibition at Lavington Library and in the foyer of Council's Kiewa Street headquarters.

AlburyCity Director of Planning and Economic Development, Michael Keys, says the draft plans, which have been endorsed by Council, capture feedback received over three rounds of community workshops.

Albury's draft plans aim to preserve Dean Street's character. They propose a four-storey height limit for buildings along Dean Street and a seven-storey limit for most of the Albury CBD.

Albury's plans also integrate the railway precinct into the CBD, include a new loop of safe bike lanes around the city and suggest distinctive landscape treatments to highlight city entrances.

Feedback on Lavington's CBD highlighted the community's desire to simplify traffic movement at the five-ways.

"We hired specialist traffic consultants to explore five different options, but each configuration caused serious traffic congestion and pushed traffic into residential streets," Mr Keys says.

While there will be no dramatic changes to the five-ways, Griffith Rd will be made one-way, from north to south, in order to streamline traffic. The plans also widen kerbs and median strips at the five-ways, which will make roads easier for pedestrians to cross.

The plans create a town square, include extensive landscaping to improve the suburb's aesthetics, and allow for increased building heights at specific five-ways sites to make Lavington CBD more of a landmark.

"The community has been very enthusiastic about contributing to these draft masterplans so far," Mr Keys says.

"I encourage people who've come to past community workshops to come again, and welcome anyone who would like to come for the first time."

Two workshops on the Albury CBD Masterplan will be held on Tuesday 30 June at Council's offices in Kiewa Street (10.00am-12.00pm and 4.00pm-6.00pm). Two workshops on the Lavington CBD Masterplan will be held at Mirambeena Community Centre on Wednesday 1 July (10.00am-12.00pm and 4.00pm-6.00pm). To attend the workshops please call Amy Hathaway at AlburyCity on 6023 8766.

Submissions on the draft masterplans close on Friday 24 July. The plans will then be updated to reflect the last round of feedback before being presented to Council in August.