Katoomba Charrette Outcomes Report - Blue Mountains City Council

Katoomba Charrette Report & Town Centre Strategy
Street Trees and Old-Style Light Standards
There is also room in these intermittent median strips for recommended street trees and light
standards, which are proposed to have a historic character to match the street, as shown in
the sketch below. The plan below shows where trees are proposed, which are located to
correspond with existing or new trees to be planted in the existing triangular kerbside
planters in the parking lanes, so that they form a band of three trees in a row across the
street.
This arrangement should substantially improve the streetscape and lighting of the street, while
slowing the traffic and making it easier and safer for pedestrians to cross.
Rear Access vs. Double-Parking for Truck Deliveries
Of course, truck deliveries to businesses along Katoomba Street are also essential. However,
double parking along Katoomba Street is only one means of delivery. Most successful main
streets enforce delivery from the rear of premises whenever possible, and/or they limit doubleparked
deliveries to off-peak times such as early in the morning.
The Charrette Team analysed the buildings along Katoomba Street to determine which ones
could presently accommodate rear-deliveries. Also, a shared parking design, with improved
rear delivery access and manoeuvrability, is proposed for several business premises east of
Katoomba Street at the Top End of Town (Section 8.8.5). By using rear delivery instead of
trucks double-parking out front, the overall urban amenity, retail appeal and pedestrian safety
of Katoomba Street will benefit.
The Charrette analysis of existing shops’ capacity for rear deliveries was necessarily brief. The
breaks in the median may need to be adjusted or expanded with further review and
consultation with shop owners. However, the amount of median presently shown should stay
not be substantially reduced, or else the other benefits of slowing the traffic and pedestrian
safety would be too compromised.
8.5.3 Proposed Design for Waratah Street Improvements
As shown on the plan above, Waratah Street is to receive similar improvements to those of
Katoomba Street, particularly the intermittent median strips, to provide pedestrian refuges, on
which street trees and old-style lighting standards can be installed (see sketch above which
also illustrates how Waratah Street might appear).
Action 8.5 A - Consult with Katoomba Street businesses to verify and possibly fine-tune
locations of median breaks to enable double-parked truck deliveries where there is no other
choice, such as rear access deliveries.
Action 8.5 B - Implement the Charrette street improvements for Katoomba and Waratah
Streets, after being modified if necessary, as per Action Plan 8.5A
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