Two of the three sites activated in Manly CBD as part of the Streets as Shared Spaces initiative in March will remain following a successful trial.

The three locations included Darley Road, The Corso, and Market Place adjoining the Whistler Street carpark creating shared outdoor spaces for dining opportunities to support local venues and help bring communities together in a safe, relaxing way, as well as car-free areas for walking and cycling.

Other changes that were made to these locations including parking restrictions and additional road markings were installed to highlight the changed road environment and generally slow traffic through the Manly Town Centre.

The installation was designed to assist business in managing the impact of COVID social distancing rules providing additional outdoor dining opportunities allowing alternative seating for takeaway meals.

During the trial Council checked in with the community and businesses receiving feedback about the project and this feedback was presented to Council this week.

As a result, both Market Place and The Corso installations will remain for a further 12 months while the site on Darley Street will be reinstated to parking spaces, but the road markings will remain to reinforce the 30km/h zone due to high pedestrian traffic.

This project has been made possible from funding through the NSW Government’s Streets as Shared Space program. The program awards grants to NSW councils to install temporary activation projects that support communities during the pandemic and tests ideas for future installations.