After months of disruptive construction, the Hibberson Street shared zone opened on Saturday with the Gungahlin Community Festival held in conjunction to celebrate.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
The weather gods clearly weren't in the mood for a party with severe thunderstorms bringing rain and even some hail to put a dampener on the day.
However the mood of businesses along Hibberson Street was high, despite the weather, now that the construction stage was in the past.
The project to revitalise Hibberson Street and the broader Gungahlin town centre was a long-held goal for Yerrabi MLA Meegan Fitzharris who began canvassing community ideas about the town centre in 2012.
She said she had spoken to many businesses about what they wanted the area to look like and said she was thrilled to see the area open.
"It was the vision of Gungahlin town centre right from the start to be a little different to some of the other town centres," Ms Fitzharris said.
"There’s a much more village feel.
"There’s lots of seating along the street, lots of landscaping, a lot more trees and already I’ve seen people just hanging out on the street. Either having a cup of coffee or just having a seat with friends and so it really has livened up the street enormously."
The new shared zone has opened up greater opportunities for outdoor dining along the street, something which Atlas on Hibberson co-owner Tim Knights said he was excited to introduce to the cafe.
"Customers will be stoked to bring the dogs down," Mr Knights said.
"Pedestrians can meander around and have a good time, give the trees a few years to mature and it'll look really nice.
"[Construction] was a bit of a pain in the arse, but we got through it and it'll be worth it in the end."
However, owner of Hibberson Street supplement store Prodigy Nutrition Cam McAlister said while he was happy construction had been completed, he held concerns over his business' ability to recover from the downturn of previous months.
Mr McAlister had serious concerns over dust and particularly noise during construction and said sales during the period were down as much as 40 per cent.
"We've found that carparks are our biggest asset," Mr McAlister said.
"It doesn't have the convenience factor it used to have.
"I don't think it will be worth the months before this."
He said customers had begun to shop at Casey or Amaroo to avoid the town centre during construction and while he could see the benefits for cafes and restaurants, he questioned the positives for retail stores such as his.
The project has turned Hibberson Street into a one-way shared zone between Gozzard Street and Gungahlin Place. The rules of a shared zone mean motorists and cyclists must give way to pedestrians. Shared zones have been implemented in the city, primarily on Bunda Street.
Ms Fitzharris said the government had worked hard to create the correct balance between pedestrian and vehicle access.
"Cars shouldn’t have had priority in the middle of the town centre and it should be a place for people," she said.
"Many European cities have that, whether it’s a big city or a small village, they have that sense that the heart of the town centre is about people."
The shared zone, new bus station and other improvements to the Gungahlin town centre cost the ACT government $7 million and Ms Fitzharris said it was a concept the government hoped to introduce in other parts of Canberra.
