Southern Downs Regional Council’s Regulatory Services Team is currently responsible for issuing approvals for various footpath trading activities including, but not necessarily limited to, footpath dining, goods on footpath, footpath advertising, buskers, information booths and fundraising events such as sausage sizzles.

Currently, Council does not have a policy on how these activities are to be conducted and what standards apply, such as establishing a pedestrian zone, to permit safe and easy access for pedestrians to move along a footpath from one location to another or what the minimum width of a pedestrian zone is necessary to accommodate all pedestrians, including those with a disability.

Council’s Regulatory Services Team is seeking to develop a policy in relation to this matter and is interested in obtaining feedback from participants and/or clients of disability groups and agencies of service providers about what some of the issues/ concerns are that people with disability have with the current commercial use of footpaths in the region.

The Regulatory Services team is particularly interested in high use footpath activity such as CBD of Warwick but there may also be some issues with our smaller outlying centres such as Allora, Killarney or Leyburn on which people may wish to comment.

The Regulatory Services team’s interest does not extend to the footpaths, or lack thereof, in residential areas across Council. Their interest relates only to the commercial use of footpaths across the Southern Downs region.

This callout for feedback is an initial step to gain an understanding of the types of issues and concerns that people with disability are experiencing in relation to footpath trading.

You can provide feedback by email to environmentalhealth@sdic.qld.gov.au – using the heading “Footpath Trading Feedback.”

Or contact Andrew Macdonald on 1300 MY SDRC (1300 697 372) for more information.

This article appeared in the Allora Advertiser, 18 January 2023.