We are providing an update on a number of improvements planned for the Bowden Urban Village, informed by community consultation undertaken in late 2024.

Yes, it’s been a little while, but good things take time to plan. These works reflect what we heard during consultation and what can be delivered now, with further planning underway for future improvements.

Community engagement was undertaken in November and December 2024 to better understand how residents, businesses and visitors use the Precinct, what is working well, and where improvements could be made.

Overall, feedback indicated that while the Precinct is working well in many areas, the community identified some targeted areas for improvements.

What we’re changing now:

Improved accessibility – blue and orange public art
The blue and orange public art adjacent to Bowden Brewing has been relocated to:

• Provide additional footpath space
• Ensure compliance with Disability Discrimination Act (DDA) requirements

This will improve accessibility and pedestrian movement through the area.

Bowden Village Reserve – Open space improvements

Minor improvements will be made to the playground at Bowden Village Reserve to improve accessibility and better align with the age group of children currently using the space.

New parking controls – Second and Fourth streets

To improve accessibility in Bowden, Council will install:

• One new accessible car park on Second Street
• One new accessible car park on Fourth Street

These changes respond directly to community feedback, including requests for:

• Improved accessible parking near the Nightingale Building on Second Street
• Additional accessible parking near Bowden Park on Fourth Street, where demand is high

In addition, a new public car park is currently under construction on Third Street. The completed development will provide:

• 221 total car parks
• A minimum of 170 publicly available car parks (5 of these will be accessible car parks)

New loading zone – Fourth Street

A new loading zone will also be installed on Fourth Street to support short-term deliveries. This responds to ongoing issues with delivery vehicles stopping inappropriately in the area and is intended to help keep the street operating safely and efficiently.

Overall, these changes will improve accessibility while having minimal impact on parking availability in the wider area.

Our City Operations team will undertake these works progressively over the coming months.