Ideas sought for Road Safety Centre

Published on 30 April 2021

Northern Tasmanian families are being asked for input and ideas to make one of Launceston's most popular community facilities even better.

The City of Launceston is undertaking a major redevelopment of the Launceston Transport and Road Safety Centre in Lawrence Vale Rd, which is expected to be complete next year.

The centre first opened to the public in 1980, built inside an old water tank originally known as the Lawrence Vale Reservoir. In the intervening four decades, it and has become a staple of children's birthday parties and family events.

The redevelopment works are being undertaken in three stages and are designed to ensure the popular community facility remains fit for purpose into the future, while also repairing cracking in the reservoir structure caused by ground movement. The project involves:

● Retaining wall works

● A new external ramp to access the centre

● New fencing, gates and lighting

● New accessible toilets with baby change facilities

● Reconfiguration of the carpark

Launceston Mayor Albert van Zetten said the works were aimed at improving the functionality of the site.

"The current stage of works consists of earthworks, while the second stage will see the floor of the reservoir lifted and the height of the walls reduced," Mayor van Zetten said.

"This will improve access, visibility, amenity and safety.

"The third stage of the project, which is the fit-out of the facility, is where we're keen to get some community input and ideas.

"We want to ensure this facility continues to serve its purpose and remains a popular, cost-friendly venue for Launceston families. While the facility will remain focused on education around transport and safety, is there anything new or different that children and families would like us to consider?

"Should we fit out the facility largely as it was? Should we be adding new things? "We're looking forward to hearing ideas from the community in coming weeks as we finalise plans for the third stage of works."

Consultation is open on the Council's Your Voice Your Launceston online engagement platform and will close on Friday, June 4, 2021.