General News
20 October, 2022
Rupanyup's big project comes to life
The master plan for revitalising Rupanyup’s Cromie Street is set to completely modify the town's split road greenery to attract more tourism, beautify spaces and enhance Rupanyup’s key features.
The master plan for revitalising Rupanyup’s Cromie Street is set to completely modify the town's split road greenery to attract more tourism, beautify spaces and enhance Rupanyup’s key features.
The master plan, currently available on the Yarriambiack Shire Council website for feedback, outlines six strategies - parking, roads, trees, horticulture, gateways and pedestrians - to fully update and bolster the street.
Rupanyup, landscape architect EnLocus and Yarriambiack Shire have been working towards the master plan since the first community conference in May.
Yarriambiack Shire residents are encouraged to provide feedback on the master plan on council’s website, www.yarriambiack.vic.gov.au
Traffic and parking
The most significant change to Cromie Street comes as a cut of the current parking availability from 409 spaces to 355 spaces.
The street currently boasts near full blocks of parking along the four-block street, which provides working residents, tourists and trucks a wide space to stop and enjoy the surroundings.
These blocks have been proposed to be cut in favour of green space, with parallel parking to be utilised on the inner street and angled parking on the outer edge.
Nutrien Ag manager and Rupanyup resident Adrian Tyler said that although he understands the desire for green space, he doesn’t believe it should come at the cost of Rupanyup’s massive parking opportunities.
“I think we’ve got enough areas that we can develop into green space; I’m totally against removing any of our parking,” he said.
“What we’ve got is great. Don’t touch it. Leave our car parks alone.
“If they’re trying to attract people, we need more parking, not less parking. There are days where those blocks are (full) of cars like if you’ve got a busy day at the supermarket or during harvest when there are trucks everywhere.”
The master plan also proposes a roundabout at the north end of Rupanyup to give more opportunities for passing traffic and force vehicles to slow down.
A 40 kilometres per hour speed limit has also been proposed for the section of Cromie Street between Walter Street and Wood Street.
“I totally agree with the roundabout. It’s just an absolute no-brainer to put it there,” Mr Tyler said.
“There’s five road entries into that corner and one exit. It’d down the street from Wimmera Grain and when they get busy and trucks come through there, they can’t get out because they get stuck waiting for traffic and can get trapped.”
Twenty-two 22 strategic parking spaces have also been proposed and will surround the Silo Art and old train station as an opportunity for revitalization as a tourist hotspot.
Signage and Wayfinding
The current opening gateway signs at the north and south ends of Rupanyup have been deemed too small and easy to miss by the master plan and instead look at the opportunity for a massive landmark concept, similar to the rainbow in Rainbow and the Big Banana along the NSW northern coast.
The two gateways are proposed to be closer to the median strip of Cromie Street with the possibility of a giant chickpea on display to boast Rupanyup’s pulse farming community further.
Yarriambiack Shire mayor Kylie Zanker said that though during community consultations, people “chuckled” at the thought of a giant chickpea, stationed at the southern gateway, she believes a massive landmark would have a positive impact on the community.
“There’s been a lot of community feedback ad there’s still room for improvement and more ideas,” she said.
“The plan will evolve with the community and what they feel is needed and wanted.”
Rupanyup’s unique wooden chainsaw art will remain along the strip and is incorporated into the street’s design.
“I see people stopping and posing next to the chainsaw art and I think the plan creates another opportunity for people to have a meet and greet place and that’s what you want,” Ms Zanker said.
“We want people stopping in the community and for it to be something that really speaks to the people that currently live there and enjoy and use it as well.”
Lighting has been deemed “particularly important” to the development of Rupanyup’s streetscape and will mainly include two forms of wayfinder lighting along the median strip, as well as uplit trees at the Civic Centre and northern town gateway.
More stages equal more funding
The timeline of the streetscape master plan has been set into five stages to provide the Yarriambiack Shire with the best chance of gaining funding for the project.
“We have the opportunity to build on the project with these stages,” Cr Zanker said.
“It’s great in the fact that when funding comes, it’s not just one huge bucket. Now we’ve got the master plan, we can start accessing and looking for funds that fit each individual stage.”
The first stage of works will focus on site works and tree removal, rectification and planting across the median strip and surrounds. Kerb and trip alignment will also take place in this stage.
The second stage will focus on beautifying the gateways and will include the installation of the gateway features and signage, installing lighting, planting native shrubbery and redesigning carparks.
The silo art works will take place in stage three with tree planting, seating, car park creation and the repainting of the silo, which has diminished due to sunlight exposure and being on a metal surface.
Stage four will see the Civic Centre come to life as irrigated grass is installed, existing grass situations are rectified and pedestrian safety zones and road markings are put in place.
The final stage will see the bush walk come to fruition as art pieces are relocated, granite footpaths and pave ways are installed and seating is established.
Trees and green space
Cromie Street currently has 70 various species of gum trees spread across the strip that will be removed over the course of 20 years, in four intervals of fie year removals accompanied by replacement mass sapling planting.
The replacement trees are proposed to be a mixture of Summer Red, Lemon-scented and spotted gum trees, native Australian evergreens (Lophostemon confertus) and dropping sheoaks (Allocasuarina verticillata), eucalyptus trees and flame bottletrees.
Mr Tyler said that removal of the gumtrees has been something the Rupanyup community has been wanting for a long time and is happy to see it come to fruition within the plan.
“Some people love the old sugar gums and I agree that they’re great cover and look impressive when you’re driving down the street but some of them are well past their age,” he said.
The majority of Cromie Street’s median strip is planned to be devoted to native plantings and devoted footpaths to develop a nature walk leading to what is being dubbed the Civic Centre of the street, between Walter Street and Wood Street.
The Civic Centre, adjacent to many busy Rupanyup businesses, will provide a space for tourists and residents to enjoy meals at installed custom timber seating, relax under the existing pergola and bask in new native plant-filled garden beds.
Rupanyup Home and Living owner Claire Morgan said that as her business sits in the median strip of Cromie Street, she knows how an appealing streetscape can impact the town.
“When it comes to marketing small towns, the main street is the first impression and an important opportunity not to be missed when wanting people to stop,” she said.
“Once people stop and enjoy our town community then they get to know the real Rupanyup, and what a treat and experience it is, but we need to attract people to stop and kick around our town first.”
A crop demonstration has also been proposed, set to be featured at the northern gateway and south end of the median strip.
The wheat plantings, as determined by the community as the best crop, are set to enhance the agricultural identity of the town and provide a seasonal change, allowing for greater tourist attraction year-round.
Mr Tyler said that he doesn’t believe the crop demonstration is necessary as it will be a high-maintenance task, whether cared for by locals or the shire.
“It’s a full-time job for farmers to look after their crops as is, who is going to take the time to care for these demonstration crops too?” He said.
“The enthusiasm will wear off very quickly if someone takes it on, one year they’ll be keen and the next they might not have the time.
“Maybe it would be good for a working museum but in the main street, it just won’t work.”
