We regularly feature a blog by a different Mayor on how their council is making a positive difference for their community.

City of Kingston, Mayor, Cr Steve Staikos

This year will be a key time for Kingston as we continue to help and support our community groups and businesses recover from the impacts of COVID-19.

As part of this ongoing process of recovery, we at Kingston have introduced a series of outdoor activations across the City – in partnership with the State Government and funded by the COVIDSafe Outdoor Activation Fund. These initiatives have been designed to support our community and promote our local businesses who make Kingston a wonderful place to shop, stay and love.

Since early 2021, we have been transforming car parking spaces across the City into parklets, allowing local businesses to extend their outdoor trading spaces and operate in a COVIDSafe way. We have been able to assist these businesses by supporting their investment in equipment, permits and other tools needed to offer safe retail and dining options for the community.

Just recently, we welcomed three additional parklets to the program – providing new places for locals to meet, eat and relax with outdoor seating, umbrellas and white picket fencing. These latest parklets also feature permanent bench seating, allowing the community to use these spaces outside the parklet host business’ operating hours.

Our outdoor activation program has also spread to our parks and reserves, with the installation of 100 temporary picnic tables across 26 locations. On each picnic table, there is a sticker with a unique QR code, connecting them with nearby local traders for picnic supplies. Additionally, Kingston’s registered mobile food trucks have been invited to set up and trade at one of six dedicated sites across the City until April 2022.  It has been a pleasure to see our community come together and spend time in a safe outdoor environment, while also supporting our local traders and mobile food vendors.

The Kingston community has also been enjoying our new and vibrant temporary community spaces in Highett and Mordialloc. Each space is surrounded by local traders and features seating, tables, greenery and festoon lighting. I am thrilled that we have been able to deliver these spaces for the community, and the feedback we have received so far, from traders and residents, has been extremely positive.

We are currently planning the next stage of our outdoor activation program with Part B funding of the State Government’s COVIDSafe Outdoor Activation Fund. This will allow us to establish permanent and semi-permanent precinct improvements with a number of enhancements to local shopping strips in Chandler Street, Parkdale and Centre Road/Melaleuca Drive, Clarinda.

I believe these initiatives represent our ability to continue to thrive during difficult times, and I am looking forward to these outdoor activations enjoying a continued presence in our City, long after COVID-19 is just a distant bad memory.

It’s just one way that local government can help support and stimulate economic recovery in sectors that were hit hard by COVID-19.

We will continue working hand-in-hand with our community and traders, and I am confident that together we can deliver a bright future for Kingston.

Mayor Steve Staikos
City of Kingston

Previous Mayoral blogs

An archive of previous Mayoral blogs is available at Previous Mayoral blogs.