Projects

• Client

  Colac Otway Shire Council

• Council

  Colac Otway Shire Council

• Location

  Apollo Bay

• Contact

  Ben Krastins

  Email

Ratio’s transport, planning and urban design teams have been assisting a number of Council’s to develop strategies and plans to deliver safe and equitable outdoor dining solutions for local hospitality businesses.

The combined offering of Ratio’s services provides a significant value add for Council’s embarking on ‘Movement and Place’ type investigations, including the planning, design and implementation of streetscape and transport network changes.

We are excited to be able to share one of our recent projects in Apollo Bay, where we collaborated with Colac Otway Shire to deliver outdoor dining solutions for hospitality businesses along the Great Ocean Road and a pop-up dining precinct study within the foreshore reserve.

With the uncertainty around Covid-19 restrictions, the project had a tight turnaround to ensure parklets could be implemented and businesses could be supported to thrive during the busy summer holiday period. In addition, timing was critical from a business perspective, given cut-off’s associated with State Government funding for outdoor dining furniture and other infrastructure.

The project had a number of key challenges and opportunities. Ratio worked closely with Council and other authorities to achieve the best possible outcome for the community, including:

• Considering cost feasibility and constructability from the early stages, including adopting an effective value and risk management-based approach.
• Ensuring trader and stakeholders were heard, and feedback was considered to ensure a solution which was equitable, safe, and functional.
• Developing concepts which conformed with Department of Transport On-Street Dining Guidelines, including undertaking an independent Road Safety Audit for the proposal.
• Assisting with obtaining event and traffic management approvals from Department of Transport and Regional Roads Victoria for the implementation of ‘parklet’ structures on an arterial road.
• Balancing ‘Movement & Place’ considerations and aspirations for the Great Ocean Road through Apollo Bay.
• Considering car parking implications and making recommendation for strategies to ensure continued accessibility to businesses
• Bringing it all together into a detailed feasibility study package including concept plans, placemaking and urban design guidelines, and a traffic management strategy.

The parklets, which are being implemented across the course of this week before Christmas Day, are a great outcome for local businesses, visitors and the community alike.

We look forward to sharing more examples of continue work in this space in the coming months. If you're a local business owner or Council and would like to find out more about our combined transport and urban design offering, please reach out to Ben Krastins or your usual Ratio contact.