Hume council hopes shoppers and traders at Dallas Shopping Centre will feel safer following a $1.25 million upgrade to the Dargie Court strip.
Works to improve safety and modernise the shopping centre were completed earlier this month, with the council improving lighting and drainage, installing new access ramps and upgrading access steps.
New street furniture was also installed, while Dallas’s multiculturalism was recognised through the addition of mosaic tiles and pavement markings.
The state government contributed $250,000 to the project from its Public Safety Infrastructure Fund.
Broadmeadows state MP Frank McGuire said the upgrade had created a brighter shopping hub that would benefit traders and shoppers.
He said the centre had previously lacked adequate lighting, making it a target for crime, including graffiti, property damage and theft.
Mr McGuire said he was confident the work would encourage more people to shop at the centre, stimulating economic development in the south of Hume.
Mayor Helen Patsikatheodorou said the upgrade had been one of the council’s top priorities over the past four years because the Dallas centre was a central shopping destination for many Hume residents.
She said the works had made the shopping strip safer and more accessible.
“We hope these upgrades help Dallas shopping centre to boom with more visitors,” Cr Patsikatheodorou said. “Places like Dallas shopping centre encourage community spirit and now, with these upgrades, we hope it can foster community pride.”
