While most of our city has been rejuvenated and is flourishing, the Geelong Mall in Little Malop is one piece of our city that is holding our city back from being the great city it should be. The mall is narrow, south facing damp, cold, made of grey drab materials and full of shadow. The mall is surrounded by businesses that struggle to survive due to the lack of foot traffic leaving the area to be used for anti social activities that make the general public feel unsafe and unwilling to use this part of the city.
We believe many of the city’s old shopping strips are not suitable for today’s tenants. As many of the big brands have moved to the shopping centres the foot print size and number of existing shop fronts do not suit the type of types of businesses or city needs to attract.
Traffic flow is another challenge confronting our city centre, we will propose a method of eliminating the number of cars in a later story, this proposal addresses bus movements helping traffic flow.
Our Plan
With some Government assistance buy and remove the current Geelong city Mall and use it for a bus terminal. Re-route Northern and Western bus services from Geelong Station, along Brougham Street and up Yarra, into the city bus port in Market Square along Little Malop Street. Busses from the East and southern side of the city would also enter through Yarra Street. Busses would depart turning left into Moorabool Street and splitting left right using Myers Street leaving Ryrie Street free of busses helping aid traffic flow.
Market Square’s southern area could contain Police PSA services, Myki and tourist information along with other services for waiting bus passengers. The western Moorabool Street strip could then be converted into more relaxing and appealing dining and shopping facilities. We believe the added foot traffic would also assist the Southern side of Little Malop Street.
The New Geelong Mall.
Purchase the old Coles and Woolworth Store buildings in Moorabool Street. Demolish them to open up Moorabool Street to Shorts Place and Little Malop Street to create a new public space for our city. This large expanse would open up the revitalised laneways around Little Malop Street and show off some of the city’s rejuvenated heritage architecture. Grass, planting, seating would be themed to the nearby Malop Street garden strip making for a family friendly and vibrant square. Charles Rose Jeweller’s southern wall would be the focal point of the parkland with a video wall and stage area for public events and entertainment. Additional dining and cafes could open up in the laneways and unused stores around the square. With opportunities of a new Malop Street laneway leading into the park with the removal of a shop to the west of the old Thomas’s building and from Ryrie Street with the redevelopment of the Hitchcock site. Relocation of existing tenants in the former Coles and Woolworths buildings would also assist in filling vacant premises.
This would then remove several difficult to rent retail places out of our city centre and gives opportunity for the remainder of the shops heading south between Little Malop Street and Ryrie Street to cut their floorspace in half and take advantage of the laneways frontage.
This new mall would be open, receive good daily sunshine and become a perfect link between the city’s main retail precinct and the laneways and cultural precinct to the west end of the city and like Melbourne’s Federation Square would become one of our city’s favourite places for meeting and enjoying the city.