Shields St Heart to start pumping

Creation of an urban park, public art showcasing Indigenous culture and contemporary lighting will be highlights in an overhaul of Shields Street to start later this year.

The Shields Street Heart is the second phase of the City Centre Alive program, which aims to revitalise the Cairns CBD through pedestrian-friendly, tropical urban design.

Landscaping will be inspired by the surrounding rainforest and bring green, shady walkways and turfed mounds. By night, the street will come to life with coloured light displays.

Mayor Bob Manning said the project would provide the city with a welcoming and attractive setting for shopping, meeting people, dining or just relaxing.

"The objective is to create a city centre that invites people to spend more time exploring and enjoying their surrounds," Cr Manning said.

"We want the CBD to be a vibrant place that draws on the tropical landscape and which supports and promotes local business.

"The celebration of our local Indigenous culture will further add to the CBD experience, particularly for visitors to our city."

Cr Manning said Council had responded to the wishes of the community in designing the inner-city green space for public use.

"Our consultation process last year showed us that installation of a water feature and dedicated performance space weren't highly popular elements," Cr Manning said.

"The desire has been for more grassed areas and a natural appearance, rather than structures such as a stage.

"The after-dark lighting component was well supported in the consultation and we're in the process of researching the most suitable and effective options to create the right balance for a vibrant atmosphere in the evenings."

The upgrade will be staged over two years, starting this October. The section of Shields Street between Grafton and Lake streets to be first in line for the refurbishment.

Stage 1 is due for completion in March 2016, in time for the peak tourist season. Stage 2 will extend the project from Lake Street to the Cairns Esplanade, with a scheduled start date of October 2016.

To complement the refurbished streetscape, improvements will be made to the Lake Street parking station, including security features that will enable 24-hour parking access.

For more information visit Cairns Regional Council