Responses To Local Interest Groups

• InDaily 31/07/2025
• Adelaide Business Collective
• Adelaide Park Lands Association
• Adelaide West End Association
• InDaily/CityMag 'Patrick Maher is more than just the Save The Cranker guy' 26/06/2025

1. If you were elected, would you support a series of roundtable discussions with Govt, Council, property owners and small businesses to explore how a partnership city-wide business improvement district could benefit the city business sector? What would your first step be?

Absolutely in favour of better consultation, but you have missed an essential stakeholder in that list: residents. A business cannot thrive without customers, and local residents are our key geographically captive first customer base.

Given we are not competitive with suburban shopping centres, and the public perception of issues travelling into the city (improved public transport is required but so is a culture shift which will take longer) – parking still needs to be viable given the public perception remains “I need to take the car so I can load up the loot”. With what we know about the city plan and resident population increases, a key target market must be postcode 5000 residents and workers for whom these are truly ‘local shops for local people’. Residents already walk, cycle and use free public transport where it operates, thus reducing the parking and congestion issues.

Don’t underestimate the impact of the closure of the 23-hour Coles on Grote Street. Without that Coles, for the 9-5 working resident, the weekly shopping patterns have already been altered. It’s not the 60s anymore. The family economics have changed, so now Mum and Dad both work and Tiny Timmy and/or Tammy goes to day-care. The days of stay-at-home mums to do the shop during the day are long gone. The working city resident is not serviced by the city trade when most they need it. If your shop is only open 9-5 during the times when I am at work, I am never going to go to your shop, no matter how funky you make it. I now have to drive and shop at Woolworths at Brickworks, which closes later. Even if I did have the time during the opening hours, the remaining shopping centres in the Mall are far too far away for us in the West End to easily walk with a full shop.

City shoppers are being ‘driven’ out of the city because the required service is not available here at an accessible time – and once they are out, they’re out. Old habits, once broken, are hard to shift again. I am now familiar with Brickworks Woolies. I know where the stuff is. I know the aisles. I am going to keep going there because it’s easy - unless a city-centre point of difference with physical and temporal accessibility is made available.

Bringing people into the city to do business and shop is important, but it shouldn’t be the only focus. Keeping people already in the city, spending for longer should be a major focus. Back in Lord Mayor Lomax-Smith’s time as both Minister for Tourism and Minister for Adelaide, there was a ‘linger-longer’ campaign for inbound visitors to SA that could be revived and refocused toward a CBD focus. Likewise, working with the state government, through the Capital City Committee toward seasonal extended opening hours for our North Terrace collecting institutions, beyond Festival/Fringe time, that are well marketed would be a unique point of difference for the City of Adelaide.

2. What would you propose to harness the collective strength of businesses and property owners in partnership with Council. How would you build support from the retail, hospitality and professional services sectors in unique areas and mainstreets in the city?

Residents and city workers are an under-leveraged captive strength, and residents are being driven out of the city because the required service is not always available at an accessible time etc etc etc. Offer the services at the appropriate time. Fix the trading hours. Develop the appropriate commercial service in a walkable distance at the appropriate time. Align the complementary business hours, align the precincts, and go from there. As a councillor I support broader and more appropriate opening hours which is the first step in this process.

The Adelaide City Council is the legal aggregator of critical information that can assist consumer-driven business planning and inform more effective marketing strategies. Between its two authorities - AEDA and ACMA - it could step up its locality-specific sub-ward data analysis. The software analytics tools for high-resolution consumer analysis exist but are beyond the purchase power of most individual city businesses. As a Central Ward candidate with an eye to the greater whole of postcodes 5000 and 5006, my first priority goes to sustaining the dynamic cultural and consumer fabric. Live music and entertainment is but one important driver of activation.

Each Central Ward precinct and Mainstreet area are discreet micro-economies - and bespoke strategies should be developed for the likes of: City West, Hindley Central, Waymouth, East End, Pirie, Light and Hindmarsh Squares, and Gouger/Grote/Central Market. For decades, council’s core funding to local precinct associations has largely flatlined. Bringing ABC-AEDA more closely into the progress dialogue and performance oversight of these long-standing local associations should be explored.

Central Ward is owned by a plethora of minor property owners but very few who ‘invest, enhance and develop’. A great many are passive holders of inter-generational property assets. Expanding the nature and scope of existing heritage incentive schemes and co-investment models could be considered.

3. How do you envision a city-wide business improvement district could complement existing council initiatives in the business/economic development space?

If the City of Adelaide and SA Government, through the agency of the Capital City Committee were to commit to a partnership for the revitalisation of the capital city economy, a greater public good could be achieved.

What would work to the benefit of the people of South Australia would be for the city council to get the balance right between its ‘local place for local people’ and its responsibilities as a Capital City. A Business Improvement District investment program could be a flashpoint that reignites business hope and greater prosperity.

1. The West End broadly is a hub for education, health, arts, and culture. What specific policies will you advocate for to foster stronger collaboration between these sectors and ensure the West End continues to attract and retain creative talent, students, and professionals?

The elephant in the room here is student accommodation.

It requires a shift in design ideology away from the current developer preferences in Purpose Built Student Accommodation (PBSA). The recently announced development at 188 North Terrace is a prime example of PBSA not being done well. It is a case of right location, wrong building. Students do not come to Adelaide to live in a self-contained building. They come to Adelaide to live in Adelaide. We should be constructing neighbourhoods instead of all-inclusive boxes that encourage the isolation of the population from the surrounding business and culture. It is anti-community and anti-business.

I was the Strategy Director with the Save The Crankercampaign in 2024. I successfully built a coalition of historically unlikely bedfellows – Liberals, Greens, Independents, patrons, local residents, adjacent local businesses, and finally the government – and advocated for an integrated design philosophy of a student accommodation which enhances the existing cultural and economic ecosystem of the Crown and Anchor and East End, rather than killing the vibe.

It is possible.

When done well, a vibrant education arts, culture, entertainment, and professional services precinct should be immediately benefitted by a nearby long-term rotating population of 18-24 year olds.

2. The Hindley Street upgrade project aims to revitalize a key main street in the West End that is half of the city’s main commercial artery in length. Beyond its completion, what are your ongoing strategies to ensure the upgraded Hindley Street truly becomes a safer, more vibrant, and economically beneficial space for businesses, residents, and visitors, particularly concerning its nighttime economy?

When accessibility is increased (ingress and egress) a place becomes more attractive and more people will frequent the area – exactly what we want for our nighttime economy.

To this end, I will be advocating an immediate review the number, timing, and placement of passenger loading zones to better reflect the increased public use of rideshare transport options such as Uber over taxis. The point-to-point transport industry has changed significantly since this was last reviewed. Nearly twice as many Australians take Uber trips than those who take taxi trips. Uber use has increased by about 40% since 2019, while taxi use has decreased by about 13% (Roy Morgan, 2025).

When most of the public transport options end around midnight, the only remaining viable mode of transport home over a distance (besides private vehicle) is a rideshare or a taxi. A taxi can pick up or drop off in a taxi zone or a passenger loading zone, but an Uber et al. can only pick up or drop off in a passenger loading zone.

While this will benefit the whole city, it will specifically benefit Hindley Street. At present, there are just three passenger loading zones locations, and about 30 taxi zones.

The Hindley Street Revitalisation project’s Concept Design does not include any taxi or passenger loading zones. It does mention “Hotel Parking: Space to facilitate coach bus parking, taxi & ride share pick-up & drop-off points for hotel guests” amounting to a total of six spots, all on the southern side of the street. Depending on how that is signposted, that is a reduction of 80-100% of total point-to-point transport loading options.

It also needs to reflect our cultural needs. To further support our city's entertainment economy I will advocate for expanding the Live Music Loading Zone pilot project. It currently services just fourteen venues, four of which are on Hindley Street. In December 2024, I co-authored a report to the state Minister for Planning regarding the Designated Live Music Venue (DLMV) list which identified 32 existing and 85 potential live music venues in the city. You can read that report on my website patrickforadelaide.com.au. Delivering Live Music Loading Zones to all venues on the DLMV list supports our credibility as Australia's only UNESCO City of Music. My recommendation to the Minister includes the addition of at least one more Hindley Street venue to this list.

The Hindley Street Revitalisation Project’s Concept Design does not include anyLive Music Loading Zones: a reduction of 100%.

These are terminal oversights and are completely incompatible with the cultural usage and human behaviour in the space. This design philosophy is clearly not serving the public. There is no viable alternative offered either. For example, relocating Hindley Street passenger and taxi loading to Currie Street is incompatible with the need for the Currie Street bus lane.

Our infrastructure needs to better reflect the needs and the behaviour of the public and business.

In the same vein, I will also be advocating for increased public transport options. Targeted mass-public transport during known peak times outside the typical 9-5 commute (for example, the Footy Express) is known to work. I have also previously proposed a night-bus loop service as part of the Save The Cranker campaign, connecting the East and West Ends. While the allocation of public transport services sits with the state government, it is the council’s role to advocate for the needs of the city.

3. The Light Square Master Plan outlines significant improvements for this important public space. How will you prioritize and ensure the effective and timely implementation of this master plan to create a more inviting, functional, and well-utilized community asset for West End residents and the broader city?
 

Light Square is already used for several single-day events and festivals, I even worked on one called the Festival of Now. Increasing the amenity of the square to support this kind of activation by including power and water access will be a boon for its use as a community asset.
 

In my opinion, Master Plan Option 1 offers the better outcome of the two.
 

However, the block currently occupied by the KPark business on the west side appears to be ‘land-locked’ by this design. The car park operation is incompatible with the design but even if this were to be later developed into residential building, or anything else, some form of vehicle access needs to exist. As a bare minimum you need to get a rubbish truck in there once a week, and you’ll need passenger loading access as a matter of disability inclusion. Whether this means an alteration of Ann Street to the rear, or the addition of access off Currie Street to a smaller service road/paved access with load bearing capacity, the plan requires a small amendment to address that.

In terms of timeliness, this project is already in the final Master Plan design phase. Progressing from here depends on costing and funding availability. It would be irresponsible to promise delivery of an uncosted project, and I don’t think there’s an appetite for another rate increase so soon after the last one to ensure near-term funding availability. I support the project, but it’s responsible to wait for the economic viability results.

2&3a. The instructions for this Q&A indicated that a 200-word response would be appropriate, and I am already well over that count. However, there is a further imperative question that you didn’task – How can we integrate the Hindley Street Upgrade Project and Light Square Master Plans?

[Editor's note: to be absolutely clear, this is my own self-posed question]

Hodge podge planning in isolation never helped anything. We should be planning for the whole. Our city is an ecosystem, not a series of insulated precincts and projects.

Consider that despite the pavement space reduction, the reprofiling of Morphett Street results in a significantly simpler intersection with Currie Street which will make the flow of traffic more efficient. It also notes that the project team is considering whether it is feasible to introduce west-east through traffic along Waymouth Street at the southern intersection, which will further simplify the design. The typical nighttime queued traffic capacity of Morphett Street through Light Square will now be significantly decreased by Master Plan option 1 due to the 22% pavement reduction, particularly if the final plan includes a reduction in lanes.

However, the demand for this queue will not be decreased by the current Hindley Street upgrade. With no included passenger loading options, it will simply increase the frequency of unsafe road use behaviours and increase the traffic issues as every rideshare and taxi fights for just six point-to-point passenger loading zones. This is already known transport issue for the UniSA Campus, West Oak, Rockford, and Jive in the western side of Hindley Street where this design ideology has already been applied.

We need an integrated solution that considers the needs of the spaces. The Light Square Master Plan option 1 could instead be paired with an alternative Hindley Street Revitalisation concept: a west-to-east one-way Hindley Street.

This will eliminate all south-bound traffic off Hindley Street onto Morphett and through Light Square. There is both north and south access when exiting the east end of Hindley Street. Hindley Street can’t run one-way east-to-west because there isn’t access to turn west when heading south on King William, and nor should there be due to the proximity to the tram stop. A night/weekend right turn from King William Street onto Currie Street, with a traffic arrow, should be considered to further compliment the change to Hindley Street, otherwise all traffic exiting Hindley that wants to head west will be funnelled down North Terrace. A right turn at King William/Currie creates a second way for vehicles to head west. Synchronised wave traffic light sequences for the North, Hindley, Currie, King William, and Morphett Streets block will further assist with traffic flow. One-way travel eliminates the dangerous occurrences of U-turns by rideshares and taxis, making the street safer, and eliminating this traffic flow impedance. Building access and commercial loading access along Hindley Street by car and small truck during the day is maintained. Being a nighttime entertainment economy, the general need for a customer to park a private car right out the front of a business is significantly lower than somewhere such as Hutt Street, so there is a lower risk of negative impact. The increased and more appropriate accessibility by alternative transport options makes up for this, by reallocating the number of taxi zones and passenger loading zones, particularly when timed at night. The net result is a near elimination of private vehicles looping around in a fruitless search for a free on-street park. A design that operates as one active lane on the right (south) and one parking/loading/point-to-point passenger loading lane on the left (north) is about a 50% road pavement reduction without the need for parking bays to cut into the footpath space per the current concept design. This would mean that a further and consistent widening of footpaths is possible, for safer pedestrian traffic and increased capacity for exciting business activation such as outside dining, busking, and other things that add to the vibrancy of the space. It even adds capacity for the mundane but integral components of the night ecosystem such as queuing for entertainment venues.

This is just one alternative design possibility for Hindley Street. What is important is that this design was created with the entire ecosystem in mind. The point of this exercise is a demonstration of an integrated design philosophy.

[Editor's note: there are many ways to skin this cat. Is this alternative idea the best way? Almost certainly not, not because it is a bad idea, but because it is only informed by my own experiences of the space and not a genuine analysis and consultation of the the needs, current usage, and desired future usage of the space by the businesses, residents, transport and logistics, and visitors. This is what's needed for a truly integrated design philosophy - a consideration of the entire space and the adjacent spaces. I hope that this example shows the thought process, showing how a single street is inextricably linked to the adjacent streets. Adelaide's planned grid layout ceases to function effectively when it is incorrectly viewed as a series of linear precincts. We must consider the grid as a whole.]

We need less ideologically informed design practices. An integrated design philosophy to better meets the needs of the residents, visitors, and businesses is what we need more of in Town Hall. This is what I offer as your elected member.

4. The West End boasts a unique laneway culture and vibrant nightlife. How do you plan to support existing small businesses, encourage new and diverse ventures, and enhance the safety and appeal of these spaces for both residents and visitors, especially during evening hours?

These laneways have already been successful because you, the business operators, know what you’re doing. If something is working, and it’s safe, the only thing the council should be doing is getting out of the way.

I am going to steal some word count back here: I plan to support them when things need improvement by applying the same principles discussed in my responses to Qs 2 and 3: Integrated design philosophy, accessible transport options, and accommodation of human behaviour.

5. The West End's skyline is evolving. How will you balance the need for new development with the preservation of the area's distinct character and ensure that growth benefits existing communities including businesses?

Developers are attracted to the West End to leverage existing vibrancy and cultural value to help sell their development. Poorly balanced planning policy and regulation means the practical effect of this is to undermine that value. The living cultural vibrancy is subsumed by characterless high-rise buildings.

This specific development approach is erroneously called 'borrowed value'.

When something is borrowed, it is normally returned. In these cases, the value and vibrancy are never returned. The value is stolen.

Many developers seek to use the adaptive reuse principle in the first instance. Continuing use should be a priority, so place purpose is respected and maintained where possible. The Cranker development is a recent case in point.

High density high-rise development does have a place in Adelaide's future, but without integrated design excellence it is incompatible with the cultural purposes of our heritage and entertainment areas. The West End holds the greatest potential, instead, for medium-high density terrace and apartment living to sustain the hospitality economy and the jobs that help families realise their aspirations for a good life. These developments are of a complementary value to the existing vibrancy of our city in these areas, rather than borrowing or stealing it.