THE Hobart City Council has vowed to turn the CBD into a magnet for tourists, families and residents in 2013.
Amid concerns from retailers that opening on weekends and public holidays is too costly when the CBD looks like a ghost town, Lord Mayor Damon Thomas says rejuvenating the city centre is a priority.
More trees, more alfresco dining, better seating, better lighting and more events are all high on the agenda.
Mr Thomas said the first area to be rejuvenated would be a $2 million overhaul of Liverpool St to coincide with the redevelopment of Myer.
The Myer project is expected to have building approvals ticked off in coming days, with the first stage of the redevelopment due to be built by Christmas this year.
The approvals will pave the way for work to begin on the $100 million redevelopment of the department store giant, which has been stalled after a trove of archaeological treasure was found at the site.
The uninviting bus mall will also be high on the agenda, with a $250,000 study to consider if it is an appropriate location for the facility.
"Most modern sophisticated cities in the Asia-Pacific region are not placing in the centre of the city a bus mall like we have here," Mr Thomas said.
"They are usually provisioned two or three blocks away so that you have a much better amenity and not buses clogging up your main arterial route in the city itself."
Mr Thomas said the rejuvenation of the bus mall could be completed for an estimated $2 million.
A greater link between the Domain and the CBD, with a top-quality coffee cart on the railway roundabout, were high on the agenda, Mr Thomas said.
Deputy Mayor Ron Christie was still looking at the feasibility of a tram from North Hobart to the waterfront via the CBD, he said.
The Hobart Chamber of Commerce has been encouraging businesses to open on Sundays and public holidays to take advantage of record numbers of tourists arriving at the city on cruise ships.
Chamber chairman Ron Gozzi said yesterday there needed to be more done to entice people into the city.
"What we need to do is incorporate the city into the travel schedule while passengers are still on the ship," he said.
Australian Retailers Association executive director Russell Zimmerman said a clean, tidy presentation and easy access to the CBD was integral to getting tourists into Hobart's CBD.
"Presentation in anything is important - whether it is a shop, an arcade or a website," he said.
Hobart has been ranked the seventh most family-friendly city in Australia, behind Launceston, which was ranked first.
Launceston City Council general manager Robert Dobrzynski said yesterday the council was doing a lot of work to encourage more people into the Launceston CBD.
"The Launceston City Council founded Cityprom in conjunction with CBD retailers to focus promotional activities, advertising and events on the CBD area," Mr Dobrzynski said.
"More recently, the council has introduced parking incentives like the free Tiger Bus, which operates on a 15-minute loop of the city each day, and two hours of free parking in the council-operated multi-storey car parks each afternoon."
He said the council was compiling a Greater Launceston plan that would guide the direction of the city for the next 25 years.
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