CYGNET RESIDENTS
HAVE YOUR SAY!
Huon Valley Council has recently included the CYGNET TOWNSHIP PLAN as one of its 9 “Priority Projects” and will appoint a Project Officer to advance these projects to “shovel ready” status.

This is the biggest infrastructure project in Cygnet’s recent history and it is important for our township’s future that we get it right. Community Consultation about the design of the CYGNET NEW STREET has now started.

• see below for three possible options.
• Are there more?
• Each has advantages and disadvantages.
• Which is best for Cygnet?

HAVE YOUR SAY
Please study the plans and the relevant information and email your comments and suggestions to cygnetassociation.com.au

Your input will be posted HERE (after we remove your personal details).
All information and comments will also be displayed (for further comment) at the

Community Consultation Expo

10am to 3pm, Sunday 16th May (market day)
Cygnet Town Hall Supper Room

• In your comment please let us know if you live in the Cygnet SA2 area (From Cradoc to Verona Sands and inland towards Kingborough).
• We will not reveal or pass on any of your personal information.

OPTION 1

Option 1: The 2010 plan shows the New Street with an entrance next to the BP servo. It then runs along behind the shops, passes outside the the new car park behind the Town Hall and then joins Mary Street just opposite the hardware store (where the entrance to the new car park currently is).

The 2010 plan included a new car park on Mary Street but this is no longer included in HVC’s current planning. It would be a very expensive option as HVC would have to purchase “Village” zoned blocks of land.

The street reserve in this plan is approximately 25m wide which would allow for a street as wide (or wider) than Mary Street. This is a narrower street reserve than the 2004 plan (Option 2 below) and so the provision of off-street public parking is limited. It is, of course, less expensive to maintain.

New businesses along the New Street would be required to provide adequate private parking (or pay “cash-in-lieu” to HVC).

OPTION 2

OPTION 2: The New Street reserve on the 2004 plan was approximately 45m wide. It joined Mary Street via land that was for sale at the time (where Jacky’s Café is now). If built now it would have to join Mary Street on the other side of the BP servo (as on the 2010 plan).

In this plan there was no car park planned for the northern end but the added public land adjacent to each side of the street would allow for public parking bays as well as providing for more landscaping and off-street footpaths. The extra public open space would, of course, cost more to maintain.

OPTION 3

OPTION 3: This option shows a wider street reserve (similar to the 2004 plan) and joins Mary Street just north of the BP servo (like on the 2010 plan).
Though not shown on the drawing it would provide the same access to the rear of the shops as the other plans

This shows a one-way system creating a loop around the town centre with the southbound traffic on the New Street and the northbound traffic through the centre of Cygnet on Mary Street. Though not shown on the drawing it would provide the same access to the rear of the shops as the other plans

In this plan there is no new car park at the northern end of the New Street but there is the potential for creating off-street parking bays and a significant amount of new parking along the one-way streets.

This option allows for the New Street to be used as a two way street when required. This would allow Mary Street to be closed for special events (Markets, Festivals etc).

Currently Mary Street is a State Growth responsibility and the New Street will belong to Huon Valley Council which might complicate matters. Sensible cooperation between the State Government and Huon Valley Council should be able to resolve this.

Is Cygnet your home?
What are the current impacts of population increase?
What are the likely future impacts of population increase?
How would you like to see the township develop?
HAVE YOUR SAY
Please send in comments and suggestions about the Township Plan to
contact@cygnet.org.au

We will post your input HERE after removing your identification details.

Parking

When designing a new street it is important to consider parking on (or adjacent to) it.

In the 2004 plan the New Street reserve was fairly wide. This would allow for significant landscaping and footpaths that are not adjacent to the kerb and would also allow for additional parking bays to be created at relatively little cost if/when needed. The ongoing maintenance costs of such a wide street precinct are, of course, considerably increased.

In the 2010 plan the New Street reserve is relatively narrow which limits the provision of off-street parking This plan includes a dedicated car park adjacent to Mary Street at the northern end but Huon Valley Council has no plans to proceed with this. As this is on privately owned land that is currently zoned “village” it would be relatively expensive.

In the ‘One Way’ plan the street precinct is similar in width to the 2004 plan and so provides the potential for creating supplementary parking if needed.

With traffic only travelling in one direction along the central section of Mary Street angle-parking could potentially be created along portions of it. This would provide significantly more parking spaces thereby reducing the need for the provision extra parking elsewhere.

The population of both the township and district is increasing rapidly and is forecast to grow faster into the future. It has grown significantly since the 2010 plan was endorsed by Council and the new forecast points to even faster growth. For full details read the SGS report commissioned by HVC in 2020. The 2010 plan may no longer be appropriate given this trend.

All Cygnet residents are aware that Mary Street is becoming busier by the day. The town is also an increasingly popular day trip destination from Hobart.

Parking is ever more difficult, pedestrians find it harder to cross the street. Through traffic is increasing everyday as more and more houses are built in the surrounding area. What were previously holiday shacks are now being upgraded and lived in permanently.

Building this street is a big project for Cygnet and it is important that it be designed for the best long term outcomes for our community. Its primary purpose is to provide more parking and take traffic off Mary Street. It will also create opportunities for more commercial development on the land adjacent to it. It could perhaps do much more.

The Cygnet Association has been lobbying to progress this project for years and we are pleased that Council has identified it as a Priority Project.
We are also pleased that the Liberal Party pledged $5m of funding during the election campaign.

It is now more than a decade since the last Township Plan.
Much has changed since then and we feel it is now time to revisit the Township Plan, to update it taking this into account, and make any changes that seem most appropriate.
We look forward to working closely with HVC and the Cygnet community to help achieve the best possible outcomes.

We recognise that this will be an expensive project and may also require Federal Government funding to complete but this is unlikely to be secured until it is advanced to “shovel ready” status.

History of the “Cygnet New Street” project

In 1997 it was first informally proposed to Huon Valley Council (HVC) that a new street should be developed to the rear of the shops on the eastern side of Mary Street and that the land required should be purchased if it became available. There has always been a right of way along this stretch of land that was formerly used for the emptying of “night soil”.

In 2004 Huon Valley Council commissioned the planners Inspiring Place to prepare a Cygnet Township Development Plan (CTDP). They conducted extensive Community Consultation and the most significant features of their plan were the New Street and the car park behind the Town Hall (which was built in 2014).

The 2004 CTDP was not endorsed by Council.

In 2009 the plan was updated by Inspiring Place with relatively little community consultation. A new car park was proposed (between the BP and the new Post Office) and the New Street precinct was significantly reduced in width.

This was endorsed by HVC in 2010.

The Cygnet Association has requested that HVC & State Planning consider rezoning a strip of land between the Town Hall Car Park and the Esplanade as a future road corridor.

We feel that this should be kept free from development to allow for the eventual continuation of the New Street if/when needed in the future.

This has not yet been agreed to.