SafeCoffs

Solar lights shine on shared pathway on Hogbin Drive.

The final phase of the SafeCoffs project has been completed! It is sustainably lighting the future way ahead and has created a buzz for cyclists and pedestrians alike.

Council listened and with the last of the grant from the Safer Communities Fund we have delivered a safer passage for pedestrians and wheeled users from Orlando Street to Harbour Drive by installing smart solar lights along the shared pathway on Hogbin Drive.

The pathway’s reputation has changed from a dark and daunting thoroughfare at night to a safely lit option for traveling to and from the CBD.

The new solar lights are intelligent in design with the ability to change from 20% to 100% illumination when you pass under them. The lights then drop back down to a soft glow at 20% which enables the battery charge to last up to 5 days without optimal sunshine. This also means the lights will not interfere with nocturnal wildlife during the night.

The positive feedback received by council on improved safety arising from the solar lighting has been welcome and the increased night time usage has indicated our community are no longer reluctant to traverse the pathway after dark.

Solar Savvy in Park Avenue Lane:

You can now safely meander down Park Avenue Lane in the evenings under the newly installed solar lights, which brighten when you pass.

Grant Variation Accepted:

All works have been completed under the fund but a request for an addition to the grant has been accepted!

Solar lighting, similar to that installed in Park Avenue Lane, will be installed along Hogbin Drive pathway between Orlando Street and Harbour Drive. This thoroughfare is frequented by cyclists and pedestrians and will enable safe evening access between our town centre and Orlando Street.

Have you joined in for a night skate at Brelsford Park yet? We've had some fabulous feedback.

The SafeCoffs project has been forging ahead in a bid to make our community safer with all works due for completion by 30 June 2020. The Federal Government grant has provided increased safety for our community more recently with CCTV cameras and lighting installed in Park Avenue Lane, Park Avenue Carpark, the Community Village and Brelsford Skatepark.

Park Avenue Lane: Work is in progress on a solar powered light installation. This is from Gordon Street to the CBD Centre and is to be completed mid May 2020.
There will be five lights spaced down the laneway; three on private property and two mounted on the Council carpark. When operational they will turn on automatically at dark.
With sustainability built in to their operational design, for three hours from dark they will shine at full brightness and from then reduce to 30% brightness. They have a sensor built in to return to full brightness for a period when they register activity underneath, lighting up as someone walks down the lane.

Park Avenue Carpark: Lighting works on the ground, first and top level of the carpark have been covered by both Woolworths and Council in a joint safety venture.
A total of 11 CCTV cameras will be installed on the three levels of the carpark. Work has begun and is estimated to be completed mid May 2020.

The Community Village: Extensive flood light installation works around the Community Village is now complete and has been operational since Christmas.

Brelsford Skatepark: Works are in progress and to be completed by the end of May, weather permitting. This will involve installation of lighting of the skate areas that is software controlled. Lights will turn on automatically at dusk and continue until a pre-set curfew/cut off time. As the curfew approaches, lights will dim for 15 minutes to notify users of impending lights out and after another 15 minutes, lights will turn off for the evening.

Council was celebrating last week when the Federal Government gave us permission to announce a successful grant bid of over $900,000 to install CCTV cameras and security lighting at specific locations in Toormina and Coffs Harbour city centre.

We had received confirmation of the funding earlier this year in May, so were glad to finally be in a position to let the community know.

The cameras and lighting are to be put into City Square, Park Avenue Car Park, Park Avenue Lane, Toormina Oval, Skate Park and Velodrome where they will be a deterrent to offenders while also enabling more successful police investigations through easier identification. Better lighting will also improve public safety.

The project as a whole is called SafeCoffs and is the result of a great deal of consultation work by Council with locals, community organisations, business people and sports groups in these areas which have, unfortunately, become hot spots for crime and antisocial behaviour in recent years.

In the CBD, for example, business owners and members of the public had reported that safety fears were causing people to avoid the area, while the Toormina Sports Precinct has been the target of vandalism and anti-social behaviour for some time.

The plan was that the grant will fund works at the Velodrome, Toormina Skate Park and Toormina Oval during 2018-2019 and in City Square, Park Avenue Car Park and Park Avenue Lane in 2019-2020. However, as work is due to begin this year on the City Square upgrade, we’re looking to move the CBD installations forward if possible.

The SafeCoffs project follows on from the work we’ve already accomplished at Park Beach.

In response to community concerns over anti-social behaviour in the Park Beach area, Council applied for grant funding of $584,082 from the Safer Streets Programme in 2016 to install six CCTV cameras, 53 new lights and also remove some vegetation that had also added to concerns over public safety.

Planning and design work was started as soon as we had confirmation that the grant was in place in December 2016, work began on the vegetation removal in February 2017 and installation of the fibre optic cables and lighting started in June 2017 and were completed well before Christmas 2017 in time for the busy holiday season. The CCTV was operational shortly afterwards.

Hopefully it’s going a long way to making people feel safer.