Wollongong City Council is preparing for the opening of the Keira Street Transit Mall on Monday, 29 November by educating drivers and pedestrians about changes to traffic conditions in the heart of the CBD.

Opening of the Transit Mall will allow drivers to travel north and south through Keira Street, giving them easier access to parking stations and making travel around the CBD quicker and more convenient. Access to the northern suburbs will also be simpler as drivers will be able to travel straight through Keira Street.

General Manager, David Farmer, said the Keira Street opening is particularly important for visitors arriving in Wollongong from the north, who are currently sent west, away from the heart of the city.

“As part of the opening, there will be some new conditions for drivers to be aware of. One of the biggest changes will be the introduction of Wollongong’s first bus lanes,” Mr Farmer said.

“Bus Lanes will operate along Crown Street and Keira Street. Bus lanes are not general traffic lanes, so cars must not drive in them. For more information about using bus lanes, I’d encourage you to visit www.rta.nsw.gov.au/usingroads/buses/buslanes.”

“Cars traveling north from the southern suburbs are no longer able to turn right from Keira Street into Burelli Street, so drivers should use Auburn and Church Streets,” the General Manager said.

“To keep traffic flowing smoothly there will a few points where you can’t turn left or right, so I’d ask all drivers to take extra care, drive slowly and keep an eye out for new directional signage.”

“Council is also encouraging pedestrians to take extra care crossing Keira Street. At the moment pedestrians find it very easy to cross at the lights from the NRMA building to the Mall. With increased traffic through Keira Street, pedestrians will need to use the traffic signals and look carefully before crossing,” Mr Farmer said.

“Major changes at Keira Street will come into effect on Monday, 29 November. We are confident the new traffic conditions will ease congestion in the CBD and make key locations more accessible.”