Wagga theatre expansion plans prompt calls to fix 'dangerous' crossing

Members of the public are calling on Wagga City Council to do something about access to the Civic Theatre from the Church Street car park over Tarcutta Street, as raised in a report on the Civic Theatre master plan to be presented to the council on Tuesday night.

Council received 242 submissions to its draft Civic Theatre master plan while it was out for public feedback in autumn.

But while the overwhelming majority of people expressed support for the project, a report to be tabled at the Wagga City Council's meeting on Tuesday night has revealed there were also many concerns raised about the impact the project will have on the community, including what's been highlighted as an already dangerous crossing on Tarcutta Street.

The proposed $58.6 million Civic Theatre expansion would see the addition of two new performance spaces, including one that seats 328 or up to 774 standing, and a second more intimate venue that stands up to 150.

Deputy mayor Amelia Parkins welcomed the largely positive community response for both the Civic Theatre upgrade and also the proposed $98 million Riverside entertainment precinct - which council also received feedback for following the announcement of both projects in 2023.

"It's really pleasing to see that people are interested in what the future of that area is," Cr Parkins said.

But she also noted there were a number of concerns, including about safety for pedestrians crossing Tarcutta Street to access the theatre precinct.

Cr Parkins said it's already a safety issue and it needs addressing.

"The Tarcutta Street crossing is already dangerous," she said and argued that the council must to consider a better solution.

"We need to do something to try and make it safer - and it will clearly only get worse if we are funnelling more cars down Tarcutta Street and more pedestrians across it."

Cr Tim Koschel agreed and said safety is the "number one priority for all residents".

Cr Koschel said a master plan of the area includes the possibility of a bridge being installed across Tarcutta Street, but is not optimistic about it getting off the ground.

"That's a pipe dream at the moment with the funding that's there, but if a crossing did go in, we would need to ensure it was lit properly and is a safe option, because most of the civic theatre shows are at night," he said.

Cr Koschel said it could be "very, very dangerous" on cold and misty winter nights if it was not lit up.

He said speed zone changes were another potential solution to be considered.

Cr Koschel said the issue was brought home to him again quite recently when his daughter performed in a musical at the Civic Theatre.

"Watching the kids and parents leave... and crossing that road with no [designated] crossing is a bigger concern - I believe - than having a crossing in place," he said.

"We just need to ensure it's put in correctly and is lit safely."

The issue was certainly on the minds of those who submitted feedback with 26 submissions noting parking concerns including those around the "dangerous" Tarcutta Street crossing.

In those submissions, members of the public asked the council to consider slowing traffic by installing traffic lights, a pedestrian crossing or even an overhead walkway to the theatre from the Church Street car park.

Other parking concerns included whether there was adequate places to park or drop people off at the venue, and whether local businesses near the theatre would be impacted.

In response, council staff reassured the community that a traffic and parking impact assessment has confirmed there will be adequate parking to allow for the expanded theatre precinct.

And the report said "further analysis" is required further down the track about increasing the amount of designated parking and drop off places for disabled and older patrons.

Council staff said the master plan will also include a new bus drop-off area near the theatre entrance on Tarcutta Street. In contrast, the closest bus stop is currently about 300 metres away, equating to a four minute walk from the precinct.

In response, council staff said "road calming treatments" would "be considered in the detailed design phase" of the project.

As for adequate parking, Cr Parkins argued the council should work towards building more multi-storey car parks over council-owned CBD car parking spaces and hopes the CBD master plan currently in development will help address this.

Councillor Richard Foley agreed, and said there are "plenty of areas" where the council could do this.

Cr Foley argued while it will be somewhat costly for the council to build multi-storey car parks, it is quite necessary.

"It's inevitable that we will need to do that [eventually]," he said.

Aside from concern about parking, one resident submitted feedback arguing the Civic Theatre expansion will be "a waste of rate payer money" and suggested the council "fix roads" instead.

But while the council report notes one option for funding the project is through a special rate variation - which would be raised from the public - it isn't a guaranteed fundraising approach.

Further, there are also several other alternative fiscal arrangements including state and federal government grants, developer contributions and corporate contributions.

Addressing the concern about allocating money that could be better spent on roads, Cr Foley said the council can't simply re-allocate funds from one type of project to another.

"If the council receives funding for a toilet block, it goes towards that. If we receive funding for roads, it goes to roads. And if we get funding for the arts, it goes to that," he said.

"People just don't understand the way it works, but it is quite logical really."

The coucnil report notes public feedback also raised concerns on a number of other topics including environmental impact to the lagoon, First Nations considerations and the potential needed relocation of the Sorry Rock, concerns around whether the proposed new venues should be bigger, the proposed demolition of the Wollundry Cottage, disability access to the new venues, venue acoustics and financial issues.