Future of CBD in your hands

WHAT has to be done to make the Central Business District of Cairns a thriving and bustling place?

The number of vacant shopfronts is a poor look and hardly a welcoming feature for tourists and visitors.

There are plenty of cafes, tour desks and massage venues but not much in the way of retail with many having gravitated to the other end of the CBD to the Cairns Central Shopping Centre.

It’s not as though the CBD is unattractive and there are highlights such as the Shields St landscaping, the Grafton St nod to its Chinatown past and classic buildings such as the Boland Centre and DFS Galleria.

At one stage some of the vacant shopfronts became art studios or were transformed into pop-up retail outlets for short periods of time.

CQUniversity and James Cook University have played their part by establishing CBD campuses which don’t provide facilities such as cafes or gyms to compete with existing businesses.

Landlords should offer rental discounts to lure more tenants into the CBD.

Business operators need to consider different offerings for customers. How many massage parlours and tour desks does this city need?

The council is to review its highly unpopular weekend paid parking policy which may revert back to free Saturday afternoon and all-day Sunday parking in a bid to revitalise the inner city at weekends.

And how about a striking water feature? What about a mini replica of the Millaa Millaa falls?

A forum with actual outcomes should be held as soon as possible.