News in brief
PEDESTRIAN UPGRADES FOR CBD
The first stage of a $10 million footpath upgrade has been completed as part of a program to make Sydney’s CBD more pedestrian-friendly. “There are more than 1.7 million square metres of footpaths across the inner city and we’re upgrading them to create better connected, safer and more interesting pedestrian links,” said Lord Mayor Clover Moore. The upgrades have used 513 cubic metres of sustainable concrete, 3,370 square metres of granite tiles and 36,000 new shrubs in the past two years.
TRAM TENDERS SIGNAL HOPE
In the first sign that the O’Farrell Government may be serious about light rail in central Sydney, light rail experts are being sought to investigate trams running down CBD streets and to Randwick, The Daily Telegraph has reported. A Transport for NSW spokeswoman confirmed it had invited tenders for planning advice to support plans for future light rail development. “It is a minimum requirement that those tendering have carried out planning work for a project valued at greater than $100 million,” said the spokesperson.
COMMUNITY PROJECTS SCORE FUNDS
Programs for teenagers in the Redfern/Waterloo area, the Wayside Chapel’s annual Christmas street party, a swimming carnival for disabled people and 115 other projects will share over $1 million in community grants, the City of Sydney Council has announced. “These grants will support boxing and healthy breakfast classes in Redfern, mobile captioning at Belvoir St Theatre, a program supporting first time fathers, as well as more than 100 other projects,” said Lord Mayor Clover Moore. “The process of applying, delivering and then acquitting even small grants can help build the experience and organisational nous to develop larger projects,” she said.
