The Melville Precinct is well-known for hosting diverse young people and bringing vibrancy to Johannesburg. It also offers guesthouses, restaurants, bars, and antiques, speciality, and thrift shops, making it a popular destination for locals and visitors.

Located near the University of Johannesburg in Auckland Park, Melville is jam-packed with student life that accommodates all lifestyle preferences offering a youthful and artistic feel. The upgrades formed part of the Melville Auckland Park Precinct aimed at enhancing the area. The overall project objective of the Melville Activity Street PEUs entailed activating pedestrian mobility around the Melville Precinct along Main Street between Kingsway and 6th avenues.

The urban design interventions included pedestrianising and landscaping elements to Main Road that will be pleasing for residents and other users as well as attractive to investors. Additionally, it aimed to create the right environment for development along Main Road.

Activities that occurred in this phase included the following:

• Increase of pedestrian-friendly elements to the street

• Landscaping through greening on sidewalks and provision of a green island in the middle of Main Road

• Improvement of the public realm through aesthetic upgrades (pavement upgrades, lighting etc.) and

• Improved functioning of the infrastructure through bulk infrastructure upgrades

“The safety of pedestrians has specifically been an issue along Main Road. Many students use this street to navigate the precinct to access retail, business, residential, and office spaces,” said Siyabonga Genu, JDA’s Executive Manager: Project Implementation.

“The Melville project is firmly in line with the City’s commitment to creating liveable, sustainable urban environments, in which residents are able to navigate safely and efficiently,” he added.

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