The conversation

The Scarborough Place Street Greening Proposal was developed in response to the principles and recommendations of the Urban Forest Strategy, the implementation of the Kensington Urban Forest Precinct Plan 2014–2024 and the community’s support for streets that are green and welcoming, with cooling canopy cover, street gardens, beautiful trees and safe traffic conditions.

Scarborough Place, Kensington currently does not have any street trees or greening, so this offers good opportunities for in-road street tree planting with biodiverse garden beds within tree plots.

A Street Greening Proposal was developed and presented for community feedback in March 2021. The consultation encouraged feedback on the proposal from local residents, businesses and property owners in the street and the areas surrounding Scarborough Place.

The consultation sought to understand community support for the proposed street greening project and whether there were any concerns or further improvements that could be made to help finalise the design.

Gathering insights

Consultation ran from 11 March to 1 April 2021. We gathered community insights via:

  • an online survey
  • phone conversations
  • an onsite visit.

We wrote to all residents and property owners in Scarborough Place inviting them to an information session, to complete our online survey, or to contact us directly with any queries or feedback.

Onsite signage was established at Scarborough Place to reach those who utilised Scarborough Place.

An online workshop was also offered but changed to direct community conversations due to low registrations.

Who we heard from

2

phone calls

1

email submission

7

online survey responses

1

face-to-face meeting

What we heard

We heard:

  • A green streetscape, with canopy trees and understory planting are a priority to attract birds and cool the street.
  • Residents’ ability to park vehicles close to their property remains a priority, and they do not want to lose any more parking places than necessary.
  • There is support for evergreen Australian native trees.
  • There are concerns for loss of business.

The feedback received included:

Impact

Based on the feedback received, we have updated our street greening proposal as to:

  • Introduce an Australian native evergreen tree, Allocasuarina torulosa - this species will contribute to ecological connectivity across the city.
  • Review the car parking proposition in Scarborough Place to ensure that no parking spaces are removed unnecessarily and identified additional potential car parking locations.
  • Explore whether there is community support for resident priority car parking along Scarborough Place.
  • Introduce understory and tree plantings that will slow down through-traffic.
  • Maintain the current outdoor on-street dining area as required.

Revised landscape plan

Revised landscape plan for Scarborough Place, Kensington

Next steps

Our Traffic team will explore possible proposed parking changes on Scarborough Place in response to the feedback. Further community input will be invited on the possible introduction of parking changes and a letter will be provided to gauge support for the introduction of restricted car parking on Scarborough Place.

We will continue to refine the Scarborough Place Street Greening Plan into something that can be built and implemented. Landscape architects, civil engineers, traffic engineers and horticulturalists will also begin their designs. Funding has been allocated to commence construction by the end of the year.

Improving Scarborough Place