Re-energising our city centre during the COVID-19 pandemic
Jurisdiction: New South Wales
In the midst of, and following, the COVID-19 pandemic, how can Liverpool City Council and the community use data to access the right information and tools to create a vibrant Liverpool city centre where people feel safe and the local economy can grow and prosper?
Liverpool Local Government Area is the home of Western Sydney Airport and the city centre has positioned itself as Sydney’s third CBD.
The COVID-19 pandemic has had a serious impact on the economy with around 9500 businesses applying for JobKeeper. There is a deep concern about the impact the pandemic will have on the local economy over the short and medium term. Council has implemented a support package including grants to build business capacity and resilience to recover and withstand future shocks. More than 190 businesses applied for Council’s Business Resilience Grants program.
At the same time Council has developed a Liverpool City Centre Public Domain masterplan - a 10-year vision to guide the development of public space and pave the way to a greener, more vibrant and active city centre while fostering an 18-hour economy.
Some of the questions Council is considering include:
• How do we integrate active transport (ie walking, cycling) and safe activation (events/activities) into the CBD?
• How can we create a better CBD that is inclusive (ie parents with prams, people with disabilities) and feels safe from crime and safe from COVID19 (there is a perception about crime in Liverpool that is not the reality).
• Are there emerging industries (ie urban agriculture, co-working spaces) that we can incorporate into the CBD? How do we create jobs and grow the Liverpool CBD economy at this time?
• How do we make a 30km speed limit attractive and tackle congestion?
• How do we make residents and businesses want slower traffic, to use public transport?
• How do we convince businesses on Bigge Street to give up roadside parking for their medical services when the customers may be frail or have disabilities. Bigge Street is a bottleneck congestion point because one of two lanes is used for parking outside business.
Additional Information:
Useful Links:
Liverpool City Council website: https://www.liverpool.nsw.gov.au/
Liverpool City Council Covid-19 business support package information: https://www.liverpool.nsw.gov.au/business/support-for-businesses-impacted-by-covid-19
Liverpool City Council major projects: https://www.liverpool.nsw.gov.au/development/major-projects
Public Domain masterplan: https://www.liverpool.nsw.gov.au/development/major-projects/public-domain-master-plan
JobKeeper postcode data: https://treasury.gov.au/coronavirus/jobkeeper/data
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