YRBA

The City of Melbourne’s draft lighting strategy really throws the spotlight on our river precinct as the ‘shop front’ for Melbourne.

It says ….

“Melbourne’s waterways are finally being fully integrated with the rest of the city’s public open spaces. Effective public lighting can assist this transformation. It can support pedestrian access to the water, and enhance the views that make these places memorable …

“Extend safe, legible pathways along the full length of each waterway. Enhance visual links and pedestrian connectedness among riverside amenities. Use light to bridge gaps between activity nodes ….

“Treat bridges as sculptural objects. Illuminate buildings, infrastructure and landscape features that can serve as beacons along dark sections of the rivers. Ensure that major paths and destinations are visible to observers on the opposite banks ...

“Exploit the dynamic combination of water and light. Use reflections to amplify and enliven the effects of illumination. Direct attention to boats, to adjacent roads and rail lines, and to the movement of the water itself. Give priority to temporary illumination or changing lighting effects, especially installations that are associated with events along the river. Lighting should aim to assist and not impede safe navigation”.

The Yarra River Business Association has lobbied for years regarding safety and security for pedestrians along Southbank and Northbank, including presentations to a high level of Victoria Police. The importance of lighting is not only central to our visitors’ sense of wellbeing and safety at night, but it is also a relatively cost-effective way to visually integrate the highly linear precinct. Artistic and uniform lighting along the river spine would not only be a delight to behold at ground level, but it would make an impressive landmark for those flying into Melbourne at night.   

Congratulations to Red Rock Leisure Group for their stunning King Kong promotional stunt last month on Eureka Tower. It attracted international media attention to our precinct and was a feat of logistical and engineering precision. To watch it on You Tube, just Google “Eureka Kong YouTube”.

We were pleased to host the Minister for Tourism, Louise Asher, on an evening river cruise last month. Ms Asher mixed freely with Yarra River Business Association members and was able to hear first-hand about the problems in doing business on the waterway, especially the restrictions and red tape for our river tour operators.

It is well known that there are 15 government organisations with some degree of control over the river, which can make it a nightmare when trying to stage an event or even propose new ideas for river activation.

The Yarra River Business Association is actively working through organisations such as the Waterfront Connections Committee to get governance of the waterway thoroughly examined by State Government. The current arrangements are not doing justice to the status and importance of the river to our city, its people and tourism.

Last month our executive officer spent three days working with the Waterfront Auckland organisation, which is an excellent model of a “one-stop” shop that embraces infrastructure, strategic planning, place activation and marketing all under the one roof. Imagine how dynamic our waterfront could become if we enjoyed such an integrated approach.