VIRGINIA residents have been invited to submit their thoughts on what improvements should be made to their town as part of the Virginia Main Street Upgrade project.

Playford Council recommitted to the Virginia Main Street Redevelopment project at its April meeting, with the chamber told by council staff it needed confirmation it still supported the project
after November’s council elections.

Elected members voted to proceed with seeking community submissions for the proposed project through an external consultation firm, to establish a final concept of what the main street would
look like.

A widening of the street, the removal of problematic trees planted on the footpath, and an upgraded footpath are all set to occur when the upgrade takes place.

Virginia Resident Action Group president Richard Pateman said creating more disabled parking and extending the upgrade to the Virginia Oval were also on the group’s wish list.

“We want to show the sporting facility is all part of the town; at the moment it’s a bit tacked on the end,” he said.

“There is a lot of community engagement at this sporting facility, you have tennis, netball, football and soccer.

“There is a lot of sport here and a lot of people here on a Saturday, it really brings the town up on a Saturday, so we want the whole town to be better.

“The trees also have to be removed, they are ripping up the concrete and make it awful for parking.

“They (the trees) won’t be destroyed, we’re looking at conservation methods so they can be saved.

“Cars are forced to park wide of the kerb on the main street because of these trees and we’ve had people have their mirrors hit with increasing traffic through the town.”

A public wi-fi network, a new entrance statement and better street lighting are also set to become part of the upgrade.

The redevelopment of the street was included in Playford Council’s 2018/19 Annual Business Plan, but two failed federal funding applications have stalled the project.

Mr Pateman said getting the main street redevelopment right could be a major turning point for the town and lure private investment to Virginia.

“It would be nice to have a bakery here, it’s the type of thing we don’t have but everyone in the town would really like,” he said.

“We’re really excited, I’ve been here 10 years and not a lot has happened, but we now have a new hotel and we want to keep going (forward).

“At the moment, people still go outside of the town to shop, but we want everybody to spend their money in the town and get excited about Virginia.”