Upgrades along Brierly Street outside Cooleman Court under way to 'provide more inviting spaces' in Canberra

Member for Murrumbidgee and City Services Minister Chris Steel made the announcement on Monday outside of Lava Cafe, one of the store fronts located on Brierly Street.

"We've consulted with the community about improvements to Weston Creek's main street ... they've told us they would like to see more greenery, improved seating, outdoor dining options and also better crossings, which we are delivering through these upgrades," he said.

Elements of the upgrade include the planting of 24 trees and "over 1000 plantings in total", to improve greenery in an area which can get quite hot in summer, Mr Steel said.

"It's a bit of a concrete jungle at the moment," he said.

He said the verge will be extended also, but parking will be retained. The bus stops along Brierly Street are to be removed to make way for more street parking allowing people to duck into the shops and leave with ease.

There will also be two new crossings installed, which will be raised and provide access between the centre and restaurants along the street, as well as better lighting all around.

"This will provide more opportunities for outdoor dining, for the restaurants and cafes along the street and make it a more pleasant and nice place to meet," Mr Steel said.

"There will be opportunities for cyclists with more bike parking, as well as providing much more greenery seating opportunities for people along the strip."

Work is expected to cost $1.5 million and will be completed before the end of 2023, weather permitting.

READ MORE:

"During most of that period, we expect that there will be bidirectional access on the road for vehicles," Mr Steel said.

"However, there may be some closures while we install the new crossings.

"[The project] follows improvements under way to the Blackspot intersection of Brierly Street and Hindmarsh Drive, with the installation of new traffic lights to improve road safety traffic coming in and out of the shopping centre."

The work on the intersection will be done by the end of this month, Mr Steel said.

Chair of the Weston Creek Community Council Bill Gemmell said the consultation process for the project was one of the best he has experienced.

"There will always be compromises, and there are things in there I'm not completely pleased with," he said.

"But there are things that I am happy with, by and large. I think we are going to get a positive outcome with this."

Owner of Lava Cafe along Briefly Street, Lincoln Fairleigh, said there was a lot of excitement coming from the project, which was also a long time coming.

"With the cost-of-living pressures, we are having a little bit more of a slow period here at Lava ... [but] the addition of a few more crossings and the outdoor seating is definitely going to connect us to Weston Creek a bit more," he said.

"We've been here since 2009 and we have been happy in Weston Creek, but seeing a little bit more life breathed into it ... I think it's going to do great things for the business.

"There's been a fair bit of consultation with us and a few of the other small businesses along here and I think our questions and concerns have been largely answered."

We've made it a whole lot easier for you to have your say. Our new comment platform requires only one log-in to access articles and to join the discussion on The Canberra Times website. Find out how to register so you can enjoy civil, friendly and engaging discussions. See our moderation policy here.