Rouse St disappointment

Many of the trees that held such promise have died. Residents have asked me how this could happen.

Maintenance of the trees is still the responsibiliy of the contractor who will be required to replace them at their cost.

The questions remain: why was insuficient care given to the trees during the maintenance period and why was there such poor monitoring of the contract?

I have sought a response to these questions as well as a solution that will support the trees to maturity.

Final results as declared by the VEC

First preference votes
BOUDRIE, Alexandra: 575
PLOWRIGHT, Sue: 613
AUSTIN, Anne: 223
DOWLING, Shane: 519
SCRINIS, Anthony: 231
ROBERTS, Richard: 1037
BOLITHO, Janet: 2413

Results for single vacancy after distribution of preferences
ROBERTS, Richard: 2665
BOLITHO, Janet: 2946
please check the VEC website for further details about the Port Phillip elections
www.vec.vic.gov.au

Priorities for Port

Over the past four years, these are the issues that have emerged most strongly as priorities for Port

• Liardet/Bay St intersection - making it safer
• making our parks and sporting grounds more drought resilient, and better care of park and street trees
• getting the full range of services needed for a complete community - including the new secondary school, a new place for our nursing home, and expanded family and childrens services
• a new wave of local action on climate change
• a council focussed on service
• protecting Council's track record of strong and careful financial management
• completing the transformation of the Rouse St area from an industrial to a residential precinct including street upgrades
• taking full responsibility for Beacon Cove planning and management from the State Government
• protecting resident amenity from the intensification of Webb Dock and associated freight traffic
• keeping Port Melbourne a welcome place for everybody - regardless of age, income, status or life circumstance
  

Transformation

Did you see it? The former carpark on the east side of the Railway Reserves at Raglan St has been turfed. And then tonight it rained.

The council has reclaimed disused roads for public parks here and at Raglan Ingles.

Port Melbourne people cycling more often

Doorknocking confirms that cycling is big in Port Melbourne. People would like to see facilities for cyclists further improved.

My priorities for cycling from a Port Melbourne viewpoint can be found at

http://docs.google.com/Doc?id=dcfsmdxp_35g48fs5cp&hl=en

Priorities between Graham St & the beach

Improving the area between Graham St and the beach:

• up the ante on dog an dog poo management. I will continue to work closely with Body Corporates on this issue. I support a review of the dog restrictions between Lagoon Pier and the Port Melbourne Yacht Club


• complete the transformation of the previously industrial Rouse St area to high quality and attractive tree lined streets


• improve conditions for walking and cycling to make them the safe and convenient choice for local trips


• strengthen and improve the connections between your building and Station Pier and the Beacon Cove 109 tram terminus

Effective foreshore management

• more effective beach cleaning
• get stormwater drain outlets off beaches

Better cycling facilities: as an avid cyclist, I remain committed to supporting cylists - please refer to my listing in the Bicycle Victoria website for my specific ideas: www.by.com.au/findshow/6/3852


Caring for parks: We must commit to greater care for Lagoon Reserve as it sustains heavy use by sporting clubs, dog owners and general recreational users


Sensible financial management: These are difficult times and careful financial management is crucial.

Priorities for Beacon Cove

• council to take full responsibility for Beacon Cove planning and management. I will seek to get the Promenade handed over to Council as a priority so that council services such as bins can be provided


• making the small parks of Beacon Cove drought resilient and implementing the Garden City Reserve and Sandridge Beach landscape plans


• having local amenity front of mind in any future changes in the Station Pier/Waterfront Place area


• getting Princes Pier fixed up

Priorities for Garden City and Fishermens Bend

• early implementation of the Garden City Reserve and Sandridge Beach landscape plans including paths, lighting and more trees


• getting an effective buffer in place between the port and Garden City


• protecting resident amenity from port intensification and increased freight traffic by:


• making the Plummer St bypass the route of choice for heavy traffic


• working to achieve a Dockside Road that exits directly from the port


• supporting the rail link from Webb Dock to get freight off road and onto rail


• ensuring no b triples on residential streets


• much work at Murphy's Reserve to further improve the grounds including replacing the fence on Plummer St as a priority

Strong performer on financial sustainability

The recently released report of the Victorian Auditor General ranks Port Phillip among the top performing inner Melbourne councils on a range of indicators for financial sustainbility including underlying result (7.85%) liquidity (2.22), indebtedness (3.54%), self financing (25.83%), and investment gap (1.86)
http://download.audit.vic.gov.au/files/LGPSA_Part5.pdf (see p13/30)

I will
maintain council's track record of careful and strong financial management

Council's commitment on climate change

Council has a soundly based climate change policy with clear greenhouse and drinking water reduction targets.

Council has adopted a target of zero net greenhouse gas emissions from council operations by 2020. The council will also seek to reduce consumption of drinkable water by 70%. The policy is backed by a detailed implementation plan.

To read the detail of Council's climate change policy please refer to

http://www.portphillip.vic.gov.au/attachments/o29402.pdf

I will ensure that there is wholehearted commitment to this policy and that it is reviewed and reported on annually

A new wave of local action on climate change

The council offers a range of environmental programmes for residents wanting to take action to reduce their environmental impact such as Climate Change 1000. Sign up for 100% greenpower and you will be eligible for an environment audit of your home.

Check out some of the other initiatives at

http://www.portphillip.vic.gov.au/environmental_initiatives.html

Remembrance Day

Each of the crosses next to the Port Melbourne War memorial fountain remember Port Melbourne people

Lest we forget

Staggered intersection at Williamstown Road

Whereas until recently very few people crossed Williamstown Road on foot, since Bunnings opened, many people are making this crossing.
Today at the evening peak, I observed two primary school students crossing from west to east on Williamstown Road.

Supporting walking

These markers follow the 'goat track' across Garden City Reserve which will soon become a proper walking path as part of the Garden City landscape plan.
Historically, councils tended to put paths where they thought people should walk. Now, the wisdom of walkers is respected and the new path will follow the route people use. An older resident walks from her home in Garden City Reserve to the South Melbourne market and back!

Walking is something we all do, and all intend to do more of.

I will support walking through

• greater attention to the quality of footpaths


• addressing weak links in walking routes


• supporting walking groups

Getting around in Port

Over my term on council, a number of people have approached me about accessibility issues in our city.

Accessibility is fundamental to full participation in the life of our community.
However, an enormous amount of work remains to be done to ensure our community is accessible to all.
Work is currently underway at all the intersections in Bay St to make them easier to cross in a wheelchair or with a pram

I will
take every opportunity to support greater accessibility in our community

Impatient on Princes Pier (4)

Work has resumed on Princes Pier. The state government originally allocated $14m to this project. It is not enough for the work that needs to be done. The Minister is trying to get more money to complete the refurbishment of the deck as well as the Gatehouse.
This project needs to be finished. It has taken too long.

I will

• make sure Princes Pier is a priority for the new council


• and lobby the state government for sufficient funds to fix it so that it is an asset to the Port Melbourne and wider community

Hands Up! for September 2008

The number of Port Melbourne Primary school students walking or riding to school is now 57.64%, up from 48% at the start of the year. This is testament to the huge efforts of the school community supported by the City of Port Phillip.
These bicycle hoops are part of that service.

The active travel rate in Port Phillip is more than double the national average of 20% reflecting the City of Port Phillip's commitment to this programme over many years.
http://www.bv.com.au/join-in/125/

Fig at North Port tram stop

Council's work on restoring the Raglan St/North Port area to parkland was delayed by Citipower laying a high power electrical cable associated with the protection of services for the channel deepening project.
Council staff were successful in getting the trenches moved as far away from the trunk as possible.
Work has now resumed and is almost complete.

Community garden takes shape on Nott St

Raised garden beds and compost bins were made this weekend at the Simply Living garden outside the Uniting Church in Nott St (off Bridge St), Port Melbourne.
There will be fruit trees as well as vegetable beds. A rosemary hedge will be planted on the edge closest to Nott St.
Community participation and involvement is encouraged. Drop by when they are working and have a chat.

Garden City Reserve

Water tanks have been installed at the Sandridge Trugo Club, the first step of implementing the Garden City Reserve landscape masterplan.

The Trugo Club only has a small roof so has limited capacity.

The tanks will provide water to both the club and the park.

I will make sure that the Council takes every opportunity to increase water storages in our parks

Living next door to the Port of Melbourne

The Port of Melbourne is our next door neighbour to the west. The Port's development plan anticipates significant port intensification at Webb Dock over the next twenty years.

I will do my utmost

• to ensure that adequate buffers are put in place between Garden City and Webb Dock to protect the amenity of Garden City residents


• to keep the alignment of Dockside Road away from Todd Road


• to get rail back to Webb Dock

Bike path outside Beacon Cove tower

At present, the boardwalk and cycle path at Beacon Cove are the responsibility of Major Projects Victoria. This dangerous place on the bike path is their responsibility. 

I will continue to strongly advocate for the City of Port Phillip to become responsible for the planning and management of Beacon Cove so that straightforward safety issues like this can be resolved quickly.

Sandridge Beach

Sandridge Beach is about to get its long awaited improvements which will include

• improved path connections between Batman and Cumberland Roads and the foreshore path
• better managed vegetation
• renewal of grassed areas
• lighting

The works will be completed before the end of June next year.

I will ensure Sandridge Beach landscape works are delivered as promised.

Bay/Liardet St intersection tops safety concerns

My top traffic and safety issues are

• the Bay/Liardet St intersection


• pedestrian crossing from Bridge St across Williamstown Road at Bunnings


• 40 kph for Bay St (north of Bridge St)

I will work with Council and VicRoads to get these hot spots fixed.

Garden City Reserve playground

Children and their families spent some time talking with staff about what they want to see in the new Garden City Reserve playground to be installed this year.
People liked the idea of having some picnic tables alongside the playground.

Their thoughts will feed in to the design of the new playground.

I will ensure that the Garden City Reserve playground project is delivered as promised.

Sharing the roads and paths

I passionately believe in respectful sharing of

• shared walking/cycling paths
• the road between cyclists and car users

I support the work of the Amy Gillett Foundation (Safe together) http://www.amygillett.org.au/

I will work with others towards developing an expected standard of behaviour on shared paths

More public transport more often

Knowing that the space taken by 60 cars is equivalent to the space taken by 1 bus and that
one tram can carry 150 people

I will

• improve the connections to our tram stops and make them safer
• strengthen the comunity bus service to ensure it meets the needs of residents
• strongly support the work of SouthPort Daylinks and the service it provides to our frail and elderly residents

I will advocate to the state government for:

• greater capacity of the 109 at morning and evening peaks
• greater frequency of the 606 between Port Melbourne and St Kilda to strengthen the connections across the municipality
• much greater investment and leadership by the state government in public transport
• greater priority for the bus 253 bus service on the roa

To improve transport connections from Port Melbourne to St Kilda

I will lobby Yarra Trams to

• align the 109 and 96 tram stops west of Clarendon St so that passengers do not need to walk between stops to change to the other service.

Improving the connections

Port Melbourne has a great network of off-road cycle paths including

• along the foreshore on Beach St - part of the Bay Trail


• the new cycle path at Sandridge Beach (2006/07)


• the pedestrian/cycle paths along the Railway Reserves

However, on the City of Melbourne side the links are very poor as anyone who knows this intersection near Crown will only be too well aware.

I will work with our neighbours to get these connections much improved.

Safer walking and cycling

I will work to make walking and cycling easier and safer for local shopping, commuting to work, fitness, recreation and getting to school

Simply Living

A community garden is taking shape here at the Bridge St Uniting Church.

The east side of the building shown in this picture will be transformed into a publicly accessible edible garden.

The project is supported by a community grant from the City of Port Phillip.

157 Albert St

The application for 3 town houses for this site was recently decided by VCAT. Council was concerned about various aspects of the application, such as bulk and access to carparks in such a narrow street.

VCAT overturned council's refusal. The Tribunal member supported the view of the applicant's expert witness, and quoted from him in his decision as follows

· In an urban setting borrowed amenity should be regarded as a ‘bonus” rather than being taken for granted over the longer term.
· Visibility of a building from neighbouring properties is not the test to determine whether a new building is acceptable or not.
· Narrow areas between buildings and side boundaries are typically used for utility and access purposes as opposed to being areas of high amenity.
· Windows on the sides of dwellings with an outlook towards side fencing or structures on neighbouring properties tend to have a daylight function as opposed to providing any meaningful outlook.
· In urban settings, it is commonplace that side windows will be overshadowed to some extent by existing buildings, fencing and or vegetation.

All over for this season

The borough went down to North Ballarat on Friday night in the VFL Grand Final at Telstra dome in a disappointing end to a fantastic season.

Into the Grand Final!

If you are feeling depressed after St Kilda's exit from the 2008 season - Port Melbourne is in the VFL Grand Final after beating Williamstown today 16 21 117 to 13 18 96!

The ground and the Norm Goss grandstand were full.

Graffiti blight

The benches along the Sandridge foreshore have been tagged.

Attempts have been made to get it off without success.

The benches will need to be re-stained.

Do report graffiti on council property straight away so it can be attended to on 9209 6777 or assist@portphillip.vic.gov.au

Guy Grossi fan club

Guy Grossi is the patron of HEAT [Hospitality Employment and Training] based in Liardet St, Port Melbourne and run by SKYS [St Kilda Youth Service]. The programme is aimed at students disengaged from education who graduate with certificates in hospitality and barrista training.
He spoke at the graduation of the 12th group of HEAT students about the down and difficult times he had experienced in his career.
It is fantastic how Guy has embraced the life of this community since opening Mirka's at Tolarno.
The HEAT programme will be moving to the former infants school on Pickles St later in the year.
Valued partners in this project are William Angliss, the Victoria Police, the Local Learning and Employment Network, and the City of Port Phillip.

What the ...?

This mysterious wrapping will soon reveal one of the planets of the solar system - a permanent installation along the length of the Port Phillip foreshore at a scale of 1:1 billion.

Sandridge Beach, between Beacon Cove and Todd Rd

Further work at Sandridge Beach will be done this financial year to further improve the landscape quality and put in more seats and bins.
In previous years, the cycle path and the timber wall were put in.

Residents will meet with me and staff on Tuesday 30th September at Ada Mary a Beckett childcare centre at 6.30 pm (entrance off Batman Rd) for a peliminary consultation meeting.

Port Primary

Port Melbourne Primary is being upgraded. The buildings on the Walter Street side of the school came down this week. Construction will begin as soon as the demolition is complete. The new buildings will form an 'L' on Graham and Walter, opening to form a courtyard with the older part of the school.

Principal Peter Martin, members of the school council and the architects met with interested neighbours yesterday to show them the plans.

Enrolments for next year are set to be over 260.

Knowing that parking is an issue around the school, staff who live locally walk to school, some others ride and a few car share.

I will keep up the good work the school commuity is doing with council to increase active travel to school.

Mariposa - a small park in Beacon Cove

Mariposa Place is tucked away in Beacon Cove - houses surrounding a small park. Residents have been hugely frustrated by people parking on the park.

Residents of Mariposa Place like looking out onto the park and value the space for their children to play.

To keep people from parking on the grass, the council has constructed a kerb and put in 'no standing' signs to enable more effective parking enforcement.

Small parks

The small parks at Beacon Cove were planted in more water rich times. Now they are looking stressed and disappoint those who look out onto them.

Money [$400,000] has been set aside in this year's budget to making these parks more drought tolerant.


The area around the gym at Beacon Cove has recently been re-landscaped to better withstand the foot traffic.

I will strongly support the implementation of the work already underway on making the small parks of Beacon Cove more drought tolerant.

Joining Hands

Gasworks put on the story festival today. I liked this notice, a contast to some of the ruder notices you see around such as PEDESTRIANS - with no please or thank you.

Readings ran a story writing competition with strong entries from all local primary schools, including Port Melbourne Primary.

The theme offered endless opportunities for creative response. 

Port Phillip Citizens for Reconciliation were very busy with boomerang painting, and everywhere there were beautiful opportunities for children to make or create things.

http://www.gasworks.org.au/

Travelling well

Port Melbourne Primary has been working with local residents and the City of Port Phillip to encourage active travel and ease congestion around the school. Several actions have been taken so far with more to come:

• 54% of children came to school by active means last month (bike, scooter, skateboard) - a huge change - and up from 48% at the previous count
• 40 km signs installed in Poolman St - a notorious rat run according to Poolman St locals
• a 'kiss and go' zone has been introduced in Clark St to enable busy parents to drop their children off safely. This has created more order in a very unruly traffic area.

I will built on the support already given by Council to Port Melbourne Primary to encourage active travel to school.

Safer routes to Port Melbourne Primary are already in the planning phase, across Garden City Reserve and Poolman St to the school.

Princes Pier at Port Community Forum (2)

Over 100 people came to the forum hosted by the City of Port Phillip with the Port of Melbourne Corporation at the Life Saving Victoria building on the Boulevard.
Princes Pier aroused the most feeling in the room. Martin Foley explained that the Minister is seeking further funding to continue the demolition work and restore and refurbish the Gatehouse. Princes Pier is managed by Major Projects Victoria, not the Port of Melbourne Corporation.

Other hot issues were:

• the 'third world conditions' around the restaurants presenting to cruise ship visitors (and locals)
• great frustration over the length of time being taken to move Beacon Cove over to the full control of the City of Port Phillip
• concern about B doubles and whether they would access local roads
• getting freight onto rail. The representative from the Port of Melbourne Corporation spoke of a 40% target - higher than the government's commitment to 20%

How is Plummer St going?

The Plummer St bypass opened in June 2008. People have reported different experiences. The actual traffic counts on Monday 2 September show that:

• Plummer St (24 hour traffic volume) 7,500 vpd
• Plummer St trucks 1,468 (20% of all vehicles)
• Williamstown Road (near Page St) 17,500 vpd (down from 25,000 vpd)
• Williamstown Road trucks 2,208 or 12% of all vehicles (down by >3,500 vpd)

I will work to make the Plummer St bypass the route of choice for trucks through better signage and education.

Into the finals!

Round 20 ended with a convincing win for Port Melbourne
20.15-135 over the Northern Bullants 14.10-94
At half time this result didn't look so certain.
The Boroughs have come from the bottom of the ladder to the top in just two seasons.
Gary Ayres, reflecting on the season, warned about the dangers of over coaching leading to confusion amongst the players, and regret that the media tended to focus on high profile AFL players rather than supporting the talent in the VFL.
As you can see, no dogs are allowed on the Port ground. This has become a hot issue between the Seagulls and Port Melbourne with Williamstown taunting Port Melbourne by holding a dog show on the ground at half time.

Mega trucks or trains?

The City of Port Phillip supported the Rail Freight Alliance in holding a summit of 200 councillors, exporters and farmers from around the state at the Town Hall.
Tim Fischer, former deputy prime minister, and a passionate advocate for rail emphasised the need to re-instate the Webb Dock Rail Link.

With the freight task set to double by 2030, a shift to rail is essential.

Every container on a truck undermines the case for rail.
The summit was particularly relevant for Port Melbourne when there is talk of introducing B triples onto our roads.

Remembering the Great White Fleet

On this day a hundred years ago the Great White Fleet sailed into Port Phillip Bay. This beautiful spring morning, the USS John S McCain was escorted into Port Phillip Bay by the Darwin, to be welcomed by a Boonwerung elder and the US consul.

The Great White Fleet of 16 battleships manned by 14,000 sailors was sent around the world by President Teddy Rooseveldt as a show of strength to Japan.

Find out more about these incredible events of August 1908 at the exhibition at the Port Melbourne Town Hall/Library put on by the Port Melbourne Historical Society http://home.vicnet.net.au/~pmhps/newsfeature.html

The ships were painted white but were coal powered as the smoke from the funnels from photographs show. Imagine keeping them clean.

The sailors had such an amazing shore visit in Melbourne that 154 of them jumped ship.

Drains on beaches

This drain, opposite the London Hotel, belongs to Melbourne Water. It discharges large volumes of stormwater onto our beach. Melbourne Water involved local people in a discussion about a preferred future for the stormwater outlet some years ago.

The preference was for the drain to exit alongside the boardwalk next to the TT Lines carpark. While Melbourne Water supported this option, no funds have been allocated to the project as it is not as urgent as other projects for which they are responsible.

Stormwater carries not only litter but pollutants such as sediments, dog poo and chemicals that are washed off the roads into the bay.

The EPA advises not to swim next to stormwater drains after rain.

I will continue to ask Melbourne Water to make this drain a priority so that it no longer exits on to the beach

Go Borough!

Port Melbourne beat historic rivals Williamstown at North Port Oval yesterday 16.17 (113) to Williamstown 14.19 (103)

Council has committed funds towards a range of improvements at the ground including restoring the Norm Goss stand.

Monuments and Memorials

The War Memorial Fountain has been the place to commemorate ANZAC Day in Port Melbourne since it was erected by the citizens and Council of the former City of Port Melbourne. The gathering attracts more and more people each year.
Over time, the memorial has been weathered by the elements. The responsibility for the ongoing care and maintenance of these memorials has never been clearly assigned.
This week, the Council took the direction of committing funds into the future for its memorials across the city.
The Port Melbourne War Memorial is recommended to be one of the first monuments to be restored.

Premium parking for car sharing

You may have seen Flexicar's bright yellow cars at the corners of Liardet/Bay and Rouse/ Bay and wondered how they are going.
Car sharing schemes work best close to public transport and in higher density suburbs like Port Melbourne.
Flexicar is going very well in Port Melbourne with 43 active members. The two cars are in use for an average of 8.45 hours per day.
If you only need a car for that cross town trip or to go away for the weekend, car sharing is an option with all the convenience of a private car.
hhtps://www.flexicar.com.au/

Monumental sculpture

A new public artwork was unveiled at Gasworks Arts Park this evening, funded by the Gasworks Foundation. Its called midden.
The bluestone sculpture is created to be walked or stood on, rained on or performed from. Check it out at the next Farmer's Market on the third Saturday of each month.
This event reminded me of how much we owe those who had the foresight and vision to secure the former Gasworks for the arts and our community. www.gasworks.org.au

Turner Reserve (between Bridge and Graham)

New trees have been planted in Turner Reserve, strengthening the line of trees along the path as part of the overall work on upgrading the Railway Reserves. Its hard to imagine that only 20 years ago this was a railway siding.

I love the distant views of the city you get from various parts of Port Melbourne.

Vandalism is always a concern. Keep an eye on those trees!

Care of the Reserves has been an issue for over a century:

'(the neighbours) seem to think that the Reserve is intended by nature for empty jam tins, broken crockery, dead cats or other rubbish of still more objectionable kinds' from the Port Melbourne Tribune 1888 quoted in Railway Rockeries: Tales of the Melbourne and Hobson's Bay Railway Reserves, Port Melbourne

Footpath frustration

This weekend people have been particularly fed up with dog poo. Several people have spoken to me about it. Unfortunately, this offence is seldom committed when anybody is looking, which makes it difficult to deal with.

Zinc

Even if you have seen the plans, it is often hard to get an idea of what a particular development will look like. This site, next to Sandridge Bay Towers/Harpers starch factory, on the corner of Rouse and Dow St will apparently look like this.

It picks up the red brick theme of its neighbour in a six level structure containing 83 dwellings. It also creates dwellings inside the former warehouse on Dow St.

The architects are Williams Boag.

The zinc refers to zinc cladding on the upper levels of the building.

Down the drain

All drains lead to the bay. This champagne bottle no longer looks quite so 'pink' after its sojourn down the drain.

Every gutter leads to a stormwater drain that exits into our beautiful bay.

Further steps to reduce the Market's environmental impact

South Melbourne Market is the Council's biggest energy and water user. Village Green and South East Water are working with individual stallholders to identify ways to reduce water, energy and waste. The programme is funded by Sustainability Victoria and the council.
http://www.sustainability.vic.gov.au/

The Market is also about to move to energy efficient lighting. The changeover will cost about $35,000 with a predicted greenhouse gas emission saving of 43 tonnes next year.

I will see that the council's meets its energy and water reduction targets and reports to the community on them.

Legal (as opposed to) illegal demolition

The house at 246 Stokes St (cnr Farrell) has gone. This house definitely fell into the 'structurally unsound' category. It was practically falling down.
Two three storey town houses will be built on the site. This is what the standard planning permit condition requires for demolition, particularly where there is building fabric to be retained.

'Prior to the commencement of the works permitted by this permit, including any demolition works, a fully detailed ‘demolition method statement’ must be submitted to and approved by the responsible authority. When approved, the statement will be endorsed and will then form part of the permit. The ‘demolition method statement’ must fully describe and clearly demonstrate that the construction methods to be used on site will ensure that the building fabric required to be retained on the plan approved under Condition 1 of the permit will be safeguarded during and after the demolition process has occurred.'