Civic Link

Civic Link Parramatta will be a green public and cultural space, a pedestrian and cycle-friendly avenue, connecting the Parramatta CBD to the Parramatta River. It’s a bold, important and community-shaping project the City has a long-term aspiration to create. It will extend across four city blocks connecting Parramatta Square to the river foreshore and the Powerhouse Precinct, home of the new Museum of Applied Arts and Sciences (MAAS) providing a network of public spaces for city life that will:

• accommodate the scale and pace of change in the city
• respond to the environmental challenges of an urban river city
• reflect Parramatta’s rich and vibrant history

Civic Link Parramatta will be a major pedestrian boulevard, framed by buildings with high-quality architecture and vibrant street edges.

Its lively network of public places will connect transport modes and key destinations, including:

• the New Powerhouse Museum
• Parramatta Light Rail
• River Square
• Parramatta Square
• the Roxy Theatre 

Parramatta is transforming at a pace and scale which is unprecedented in its history. By 2036, there will be four times the amount of pedestrian foot traffic in the CBD. Civic Link will respond to this challenge by providing wide footpaths that allow people to move effortlessly through the city.
 

With cultural destinations and located in the CBD commercial core, Civic Link will be a place for performance and artistic expression, day and night. It will provide a canvas for visual arts, lights, music, and festivals, welcoming people of all ages and abilities to celebrate city life.

Parramatta experiences more than 15 very hot days over 35°C a year. 

Civic Link’s continuous 20m width will allow space for large shady trees, providing cool, green connections through the city. 

The City is moving forward with plans for the Civic Link through the preparation of the Civic Link Development Control Plan (DCP), which is an important first step in securing the space for the Civic Link. 
The DCP describes how future buildings will define the shape of the Civic Link and how surrounding movement will work. It:

• identifies new public open spaces, streets, and laneways
• guides property access and servicing
• describes how future buildings will interact with public spaces\outlines the shape of future building form

The DCP will play an important role in ensuring the new Civic Link is active and vibrant, with opportunities for people to walk, sit, meet, and importantly enjoy the beautiful heart of Parramatta. The DCP will be followed by the further design of the public domain in the four distinct Civic Link Blocks. 

The Civic Link Framework Plan sets out the vision for the Civic Link. The Plan establishes the long-term aspiration, strategies, design ideas and recommendations that will define the new public space and allow an arts and cultural precinct to flourish within it, with spaces for local businesses, small bars and cafes, makers and collaborators.