Solomontown Footpaths Project Begins
Construction of new concrete footpaths in the Solomontown area begins today in an exciting initiative to reduce lead dust in the community.
The Solomontown Footpaths project is a partnership between Council, the South Australian Government and the Targeted Lead Abatement Program (TLAP), which is contributing $1 million towards the project. Council will also incorporate other streetscape improvements such as planting trees and installing Water Sensitive Urban Design (WSUD) infrastructure to complement the new concrete footpaths.
Footpaths will be sealed in the ‘Church Circle’ area of Solomontown, being the area bounded by Three Chain Road, Main Road, Alpha Terrace and Albert Terrace. Once the footpaths are sealed, Council will plant trees and ground cover plants.
Please note that there is a change to footpath construction works as outlined by Port Pirie Regional Council in earlier communications. The APA Group has advised there will be a future upgrade of the gas main in this area mid-late 2024. To accommodate this, Council will commence works on the new footpaths and tree planting on one side of the streets only to avoid the cost and disruption to residents of having to redo footpath works following the gas main upgrade.
Works will be conducted in the following areas (on one side of the street only in each location):
- King Street (western end, between Alpha Terrace and Marriett Street)
- Queen Street (northern side, between Alpha Terrace and Park Street)
- King Street (eastern end) on the northern side only.
- Park Street
- Marriett Street
- Prince Street
- Wilkins Street
- Three Chain Road (between King Street and Queen Street).
Council will directly notify affected residents and provide continual updates. We ask for residents’ patience as there will be some traffic, pedestrian and property access restrictions during the works.
Council advises that the footpath construction and planting will be completed on the other sides of these streets after the gas main upgrade is completed.
Sealing footpaths avoids the gradual erosion that can be associated with other footpath surfaces and makes street sweeping effective.
The tree planting and WSUD is funded from a contribution from State Government as one of the projects in the Port Pirie Greening Program. This four-year program will have exciting benefits for Port Pirie including:
- Increased tree canopy cover and overall greening
- Reduced on ground heat
- Reduced dust in the street environment
- Reduced lead dust in the environment
- Improve the overall appearance of the streetscape.
The Port Pirie Greening Program is a partnership between Port Pirie Regional Council, State Government and TLAP.
The Targeted Lead Abatement Program (TLAP) is a joint State Government/Nyrstar-funded strategy to reduce lead exposure. It commenced in 2014 and aims to reduce blood lead levels in children in Port Pirie.
Quotes attributable to the Minister for Energy and Mining the Hon. Tom Koutsantonis MP:
The State Labor Government is playing an active role in ongoing efforts to reduce lead levels in Port Pirie.
This is a fruitful funding partnership with the Port Pirie Regional Council with whom we share the goal of improving both the environment and the amenity in Solomontown.
Image: Map of the Solomontown Footpaths Project.
