Henley Beach Road Visioning Project
Council has launched a visioning project for the future of Henley Beach Road, focusing on improving its major main street destination status in West Torrens.
Henley Beach Road was established in the late 1800s as a main thoroughfare from the CBD to the seaside. It was home to grocers, butchers and drapery shops.
The Henley Beach Road we now witness came into its own with waves of migration from the 1950s. Torrensville became home to many immigrants from Greece and Italy, who introduced continental café culture and Mediterranean ingredients to Australia. From the 1970s, Asian migrants brought another burst of cuisine flavours and opened speciality food stores and restaurants and, more recently, we've seen an influx of Middle Eastern, Indian and African food culture.
Over the decades the need to inject new life into, and freshen, Henley Beach Road has become an important consideration for Council. Now that there is certainty around the 2.2km of northern tunnels (Grange Road to James Congdon Drive) we can refocus on creating this precinct as an important visitor destination.
Council has enlisted the services of Jensen PLUS consultants to help lead and provide scope for this project. Jensen PLUS has helped deliver major main street projects in metropolitan and regional areas of SA.
In early December 2023, Council conducted a targeted engagement opportunity with local businesses and Henley Beach Road commercial property owners to help establish a project starting point with regards to the road in its current form. Participants were asked their views on everything from the look of the streetscape to public transport, safety, business marketing and overall accessibility.
This feedback is currently being collated and a report will be presented to Council for further scoping and more community engagement opportunities.
"Henley Beach Road is quite a long stretch of road, from the Bakewell Underpass to Airport Road and, as such, it has huge potential for growth," Mayor Michael Coxon said.
"It is quite unique in that it has a series of different precincts and villages, with a diverse mix of businesses. Over the years development has seen footpaths become quite narrow and heavy traffic flows which cause congestion, excess noise and emissions.
"We have a real opportunity to prepare a long-term strategy for this area and to improve its appeal for our local community and visitors and create a vibrant tourism destination that is close to Adelaide Airport and our city's coastline."
Mayor Coxon added that further community engagement opportunities would be provided to the wider community as the project progressed.
To view the presentation provided at the December 2023 business launch, click the link below.
Henley Beach Road business launch(PDF, 8MB)