Charles Street upgrade

With its proximity to the cultural precinct on North Terrace and internal linkages with other arcades, Charles Street offers a significant opportunity to reinvigorate the north-eastern portion of the Rundle Mall Precinct.

Closing Charles Street to vehicular traffic enables the City of Adelaide to create a high-quality, safe and uncluttered street, that complements the Rundle Mall precinct.

The project replaced aged assets, improved pedestrian safety, enhanced the public realm and improved the retail experience for customers and retailers.

The upgrade included:

• a kerbless street to prioritise pedestrians
• high quality stone paving
• improved street lighting
• improved stormwater drainage
• bollards at both North Terrace and Rundle Mall ends of the street to limit vehicle access (in line with the road closure consultation)
• a gate across Charles Lane, which will accommodate loading/unloading vehicle access from properties that access this street and ensuring emergency egress from adjacent buildings at all times.

Public consultation on closing Charles Street to vehicular traffic was undertaken in October and November 2023 with the majority of respondents supporting the proposal. 

This project has been funded by the City of Adelaide in partnership with a $1.35m grant from the Government of South Australia’s Planning and Development Fund.

If you have any questions about the Charles Street Upgrade project please contact Project Manager, Infrastructure Delivery, Andrew Thorstenson: