Commenting on the story: Adelaide named one of the world’s most beautiful cities

I hope our government takes note of the architecture highlighted in Adelaide’s most beautiful city listing.

Our Art Deco and Victorian buildings are what make us special and in turn encourage more tourism and economic activity. We need stronger heritage protections for these places, as recommended by the Planning Review Expert Panel all Local Heritage listings need to be transitioned to State Heritage Listings.

No one is coming to Adelaide to see soulless 30-storey student housing towers. – Alicia Siegal

Commenting on the story: Shop-top housing incentives for CBD

Given that Adelaide has more car parks per square metre of office space, why not change some of the car parks into housing? – Roger Coats

Commenting on Your views and Unley Road bike lanes face dead end under new plan

I feel that many of the discussions around the removal of the bike lanes on Unley Rd to date miss the bigger picture that is being put into question here: what sort of place do we want Unley Road to be?

If road space was to be reallocated to allow room for a generous median that would narrow the car lanes, slow down traffic and make the road significantly safer and more convenient to walk and even cross along its length, then sure, bring it on! That would be fantastic for liveability, walkability and business.

But it’s not. Instead, this proposal is about “enabling a more consistent traffic flow” and to “prevent traffic blockages”. It’s about pushing Unley Road into being less of a street, and more of a road.

The consequences of this motive are far more significant than just the removal of some part-time bike lanes. Increasing car traffic and speed will make Unley Rd a more unpleasant place to be, more difficult and dangerous to cross on foot, and further turn the screws on businesses that are already struggling.

Unley Road deserves better. It’s in the heart of our city, hosting our civic centre, shops, cafes and businesses of every size, a school, and increasingly people’s homes. We can and should be making changes that prioritise being there rather than travelling through.

When we start to think in this way, with this goal in mind, a different path forward emerges. Let’s slow down the cars, make more space for walking, cycling, dining and just being. If we need to move people, sure, but let’s do it in a way that adds to the accessibility and amenity of the area rather than taking it away.

Like, say, instead of making room for a median, what if we made room for the return of trams along Unley Rd? Trams can, after all, carry many times more people than a lane of car traffic, if designed well.

It’s not such a crazy idea if you think about it. Not even for Unley Rd. After all, it has been done before! – Daniel Grilli