IN MAY last you kindly published my letter suggesting it was time to scrap the Junction Street Mall (Junction Court) as it served only to alienate pedestrians and block traffic.
It seemed logical to extend the Junction Street shopping experience as a future east-west link to Stockland. Now it appears that there is a fear of excessive traffic if this blockage is removed. (SCR November 19 quotes advice that one-way traffic through the court would draw 6000 cars a day and that this is “not a workable proposition”.) I have to ask why this remarkable avalanche of cars, which must contain shoppers, should be prevented from crowding the CBD. This makes no sense.
Pedestrians in pedestrian malls appear mainly on coloured plans, but in the real world they do not linger. These malls kill trade – just like ours. Besides they need policing and cannot be closed at night. A mix of slow moving traffic and pedestrians can keep the lifeblood flowing during the day and at night there is easy surveillance. A coffee shop would not be attractive, particularly in inclement weather and would be dark and derelict at night, besides we have plenty already in better areas. Let’s face it, the mall is dead – nothing can save it!
I say get rid of the mall and open up the CBD.
G. Butterworth,
Kangaroo Valley.