Albury Council urged to maintain parklet in Dean Street after trial

The structure was installed in front of Zen X and Hapi restaurants near the David Street intersection in a trial to help stimulate spending in the wake of COVID shutdowns.

Councillors will be asked at their Monday March 13 meeting to support the parklet remaining for up to two more years.

It attracted 24,000 users from its opening last July to January, with a council survey finding 72 per cent of 252 respondents supporting an extension or expansion of the trial.

The council has explored erecting other parklets on the eastern side of North Albury's Mate Street shopping strip, south of the Five Ways, and in Sanders Road, Lavington, near the Urana Road retail precinct.

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But it has opted not to pursue either of them because of concerns over parking removal and vandalism.

The Dean Street site has suffered $1200 in damage from troublemakers.

Extending the parklet in the CBD will cost $28,000 with reinforcing planter boxes ($15,500), timber maintenance ($6500) and the installation of an irrigation system ($2000) part of that sum.

It's estimated it would cost $97,500 to move the structure to another location with $91,000 involving engineering modifications and $6500 needed to restore parking bays.

If the parklet was dismantled, the annual storage cost for the pieces is put at $3000.

The report for Monday's meeting states Zen X and Hapi "are supportive of the parklet installation and have expressed a positive outlook surrounding community participation".

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