Joslin St, Kotara Local Centre

• Under the Joslin Street Kotara Local Centre Public Domain Plan (PDP) approved by Council in October 2019, the green triangle space will be made accessible to the public through removal of an unnecessary slip road and installation of a median refuge, making it safer to cross Joslin Street. 
• Through submissions to the exhibition of the draft PDP in May 2019, the community expressed excitement about the potential of the improved green triangle space and made suggestions for its future use. 
• When the PDP was finalised and adopted in October 2019 CN committed to engaging further with the community on the design of the green triangle through a community Placemaking approach. 
• In January 2020 CN staff commenced a Placemaking approach by meeting face to face with local business owners to discuss the PDP. Through these discussions a desire for the green triangle to be a community meeting space with playable features was expressed. 
• CN planned to hold an on-site community place-warming and ideas generating event, unfortunately, due to COVID-19 this can no longer be held. 
• Instead CN has developed two concept designs for the green triangle based on community submissions to the Draft PDP exhibition (undertaken in May 2019) and face to face discussions with local business owners (undertaken in January 2020).  
• Online voting will be open for three weeks from Thursday 9 April until Thursday 30 April please have your say by voting for your favourite option and leaving a comment. 

The community’s favourite option for the green triangle will be finalised based on comments received during the online voting period and will be integrated into the detail design for the whole of Joslin Street Kotara Local Centre.  

Joslin Street Kotara Local Centre is a priority under City of Newcastle’s Local Centres Public Domain Infrastructure Renewal Program. 

The purpose of the PDP is to identify and resolve public domain issues within Joslin Street Kotara Local Centre. 

The plan includes public land including streets and public open spaces within and neighbouring Joslin Street Kotara Local Centre, which is zoned B1 in the Newcastle LEP 2012. 

The public domain issues dealt with include: 

• Transport safety, access and parking (vehicle, cycle, pedestrian, buses and taxis), 
• Infrastructure (roads, drainage, trees, street furniture, lighting and public utilities),  
• Legibility, way finding and useability (connectivity, signage, landmarks, design cues, opportunities for place making and outdoor dining)  
• Aesthetics and environment (trees, landscaping, public art, heritage interpretation, quality of design) 
• Crime (graffiti, vandalism, theft etc) 

Measures include: 

• Locating a pedestrian refuge close to the shops on Joslin Street to facilitate safer crossing between the shops, eastbound bus stop and adjoining streets. 
• Relocating the eastbound bus stop and providing an indented bus pull in bay to provide adequate sight lines for the proposed pedestrian refuge. 
• Relocating the westbound bus stop to provide adequate sight lines for the proposed pedestrian refuge. 
• Making existing temporary speed control cushions (installed as part of the Kotara and Adamstown Heights Traffic and Parking Study) permanent outside 24 and 35 Joslin Street. 
• Realigning the intersection of Rae Crescent and Joslin Street to make the crossing distance shorter for pedestrians and to force vehicles to slow down at the intersection, particularly vehicles making left turns into Joslin Street. 
• Extension of the no stopping zone opposite 32 Joslin Street will improve sightlines for vehicles exiting the one-way shopping centre access lane. 
• Removing the existing slip lane between Joslin Street and Rae Crescent to simply traffic movements near to the shops. 
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• What impact do design changes to the green triangle, including angle parking and the creation of an indented bus pull in bay have on existing trees? 
• An indented bus bay is necessary to provide appropriate sightlines for oncoming traffic and people crossing the road at the proposed pedestrian refuge. Existing trees at the proposed indented bus bay have been assessed by CN’s arborist as retainable. 
• Angle parking off Rae Crescent is proposed to offset minor parking losses in other parts of the centre due to measures for increased traffic and pedestrian safety. 
• Indenting the angle parking will cut into space currently occupied by the root system of one existing tree. Cutting into this root system will compromise the health and stability of the tree requiring its removal. The tree to be

• An indented bus bay is necessary to provide appropriate sightlines for oncoming traffic and people crossing the road at the proposed pedestrian refuge. Existing trees at the proposed indented bus bay have been assessed by CN’s arborist as retainable. 
• Angle parking off Rae Crescent is proposed to offset minor parking losses in other parts of the centre due to measures for increased traffic and pedestrian safety. 
• Indenting the angle parking will cut into space currently occupied by the root system of one existing tree. Cutting into this root system will compromise the health and stability of the tree requiring its removal. The tree to be removed is shown on the final PDP. 

 Yes, only 1 tree will be removed and there is ample space for lots of new trees to be planted within the local centre, including the green triangle space. 

The post box and mail zone will be relocated to outside 43 Joslin Street to provide accessibility to the post box from the footpath. 

• New trees, landscaping and communal design elements, including playable landscape features and seating will be provided in the green triangle space as part of a community consultation process.  
• Overgrown shrubs which block sightlines at the entry to Rae Crescent will be replaced with trees and groundcovers that keep sightlines open. 
• Infrastructure including roads, lighting, drainage and street furniture will be renewed with footpaths reconstructed in plain concrete with an ashlar pattern.  

• The bus stops will be designed to meet current accessibility standards. 
• The proposed pedestrian refuge on Joslin Street will make crossing the road safer and will improve access between parking, bus stops and the shops. 
• A proposed future pedestrian refuge on Rae Crescent will make crossing the road safer. 
• Lighting will be provided to an appropriate standard, including lighting for the proposed pedestrian refuge and bus stops. 
• Relocation of the post box will make it safer to access and accessible to more people. 
• A disabled parking space will be provided close to the shops. 
• There will be additional angle parking in the green triangle area with safer access to the shops via the proposed pedestrian refuge. 
• The green triangle space will be redesigned and upgraded as part of a community Placemaking project. 

• Additional angle parking off Rae Crescent is proposed to offset minor parking losses in other parts of the centre due to measures for increased traffic and pedestrian safety. 
• A disabled parking space will be provided close to the shops. 

• Crime prevention through environmental design (CPTED) principles will be applied throughout the design process. 
• Overgrown shrubs which block sightlines at the entry to Rae Crescent will be replaced with trees and groundcovers that keep sightlines open. 
• Lighting will be provided to an appropriate standard. 

• Improvements to Joslin Street Kotara Local Centre will be broken up into stages and integrated into City of Newcastle's infrastructure renewal program. 
• Community consultation for the green triangle space is being undertaken in April 2020.  
• Construction is programmed to commence in 2020 subject to funding. 
• The community will be kept informed of progress, including timing of construction.