Dogs are welcome

Handsome signage has been installed in Garden City Reserve. The signs highlight the rights and responsibilities of dog owners in an off leash area.

Port agenda: Adoption of J L Murphy Reserve Masterplan

The J L Murphy Reserve masterplan is recommended for adoption at Monday's Council meeting in St Kilda from 6pm.

The masterplan will guide all future development of the Reserve. Key features of the plan include:

• incorporation of a wetland to store and treat stormwater on the corner of Graham and Williamstown Road. The wetland will provide most of the future water needs of the Reserve. Water for playing surfaces was highlighted by all clubs as a priority
• addition of a new field for soccer
• a perimeter walking/running track around the Reserve
• improving access to the Dig In Community garden
• tree planting

Click here to have a look at the Masterplan.

The Council depot [cnr Plummer & Graham] is outside the scope of the masterplan. The new Parks and Open Space contractor will be located there when they are appointed later in the year. As a consequence, the Hobsons Bay Obedience Dog Club will move to Garden City Reserve to run their Sunday training programme and share the Sandridge Trugo Club.

Protecting Port's heritage

I am so pleased the Council is reviewing the heritage overlay for Port Melbourne - known as HO1. Heritage overlays are a mechanism in the planning scheme to protect heritage values. For example: in a heritage overlay, a permit is required for the demolition of a building and there are strict tests as to whether a permit will be issued. If there is no heritage overlay, a permit for demolition is not required and other provisions in the planning scheme such as Rescode come into play.
The review currently underway is reviewing past studies and doing a walking review of the areas covered by the overlay to see what has changed since the last study in 1995. The review will also consider whether areas should be added to the overlay. The outcome of the process will be a more rigorous and soundly based underpinning for the overlay which will better stand up to challenge.

The real estate sign in Evans St advertises 'No heritage overlay' suggesting the house is available for redevelopment

'Don't waste the moment'

Gary Ayres revved up players and members at the guernsey presentation night at the PMFC this evening. Well respected Johnny Baird was announced as the captain to lead the players through the 2011 season.

Provocation

I have been in silent dialogue with this piece of text on the outside wall of the St Kilda Library for some weeks now - trying to work out whether the spelling should distract me from the more important question.

Weekend Port: Port Melbourne Nippers Carnival

150 nippers from 5 to 13 gathered on Port Melbourne beach for the annual Carnival. The nippers programme has grown hugely over the past few years. Overall, the Club has grown from around 150 members in 2008 to 500 this year.

Weekend Port: University of the Third Age AGM

Judith Muir inspired us with tales and slides of Port Phillip Bay: Life beneath the sea after U3A's AGM. Judith runs Polperro Dolphin Swims with her family from Sorrento and is a passionate educator. She swims in the Bay daily and observes its waters minutely. She reminded us that 90% of the species found in Victorian waters are endemic - occurring nowhere else in the world. She described 'seagrass is the life force of the bay'. Seagrass needs light to photosynthesise and is made vulnerable when sediment reduces light penetration.
Fantastic that you can be exposed to speakers of this calibre through U3A Port Phillip, capably led by a dedicated committee for less than $50 a year. www:u3app.org.au

seagrass reflections near Mud Island

photo Michelle Quach

From Port to St Kilda spreading the word

Our man from Port Melbourne, Bruce, is an unofficial ambassador for the No Cuts, No Butts campaign. He wears the t shirt on his daily visit to St Kilda and back to Port. Passionate about our beaches and foreshore, Bruce talks to many people along the foreshore promenade and knows whats on their minds. He lets me know.

Ride2School at Port Melbourne Primary

Excited participation from across all year levels for Ride2School Day. This rocket went by so fast I couldn't even get the whole bike in the picture.

Ride2School Day is facilitated by Bicycle Victoria and is supported throughout the year by Hands Up - a monthly data collection report that builds a picture of active travel to school across the state. To see how schools in Port Phillip are going, click here.

Next step for Liardet St Family and Childrens Centre

At the Council meeting held in Port Melbourne, Council awarded the contract for the Liardet Street Family and Children's Centre to Maxstra Constructions Pty Ltd for $4,256,946.
For the full council report, click here

The straw report 5

This is my final straw report for 2011. The straws will live on virtually when I talk about litter wherever I have the opportunity. On Thursday, I used them in a presentation at Frankston where they were reviewing their Litter Action Plan.

If you have ideas on addressing the straw blight on our beaches and in our bays, please let me know.

I tried to reference a pie chart here, which shows the major sources of straws being Macdonalds, 7 11, Hungry Jacks - I am not sure where the black ones come from.

People have had fun with this idea: the straw poll, the last straw . . .
Tackling plastic straws  like plastic bags - click here for more

Now why would I take a picture of a plain grey wall?

It took me a while to identify this picture. Then I remembered. Precisley because it is a plain newly painted wall. It is the wall facing Turville Place Reserve [just off Station St] near the Graham St overpass which has been graffiti scarred for many, many years. With the house now offered for sale, all is clean.
It prompted me to let you know that Council services for graffiti removal can be accessed here.

Weekend Port: Backyard cinema at Gasworks

Meeting up with people added to the enjoyment of tonight's cinema at Gasworks. Many people were accompanied by their dogs. No byo alcohol as drinks are available at the bar. Beautiful setting on a warm night.

The season continues through to April. Visit www.gasworks.org for the programme.

What a year . . .

To all people affected by the earthquake and tsunami

Liardet Children's Centre

Tuesday night's council meeting is at Port Melbourne Town Hall starting at 6 pm. The Port item on the agenda is a recommendation to award the tender for the construction of the Liardet Children's Centre.

For the full agenda and council reports click here.

Thank you to inportmelbourne who pointed out that I had mistakenly said the meeting was to be on Monday.

Perhaps it was in my haste to show this view of the Port Town Hall taken from Heath St which I thought presented a good face.

Pedestrian safety first at Bay/Liardet intersection

Tonight work is underway to install a pedestrian crossing on the western side of Liardet St at Bay St. These are formal pedestrian crossings that require that 'a driver must give way to any pedestrian on a pedestrian crossing' [Road Safety Rules 2009, amended Oct 2010]

Backyard cinema at Gasworks Park: go by bike

Gasworks is providing a discount to people who bike to the Backyard Cinema, being held over the next few Saturday nights. Just show your helmet.

Saturday night's movie is Buena Vista Social Club. For the whole programme go to www.gasworks.org.au

A good or a bad thing?

Fevola won't play for Port Melbourne because he has signed with the Casey Scorpions.

Peter: King of the Lagoon

Happiness is the new table and seats for the south western corner of Lagoon Reserve. Peter Syrkiadis has liased with Council on behalf of park users to get these improvements to the Reserve.

He has also made and keeps refining this amazing dog drinking device from scrap metal. It has a hinged grille that can be placed over the water when not in use. Every evening he takes it home, cleans it thoroughly and puts it back in place the next day.

Cleaning Up Port Melbourne

Tom Burrowes briefing 3207 Beach Patrollers this morning opposite the London Hotel. Group clean ups seem to be a good way to go. It's social and you feel that together you're making a difference. Picking up litter on your own, on the other hand, can make you feel overwhelmed and dispirited.

Weekend Port: kiosk in the Port Melbourne Life Saving Club

When the Council recently renewed the leases on several foreshore kiosks we said we wanted more fresh food options - not just chips and icecream.

Well - take a look at this! I was attracted by the basket of apples but then the beautiful woman who runs the place brought out these huge tomatoes and pumpkins from her father's garden which she incorporates into the frittatas and other dishes.

There is new life and a generous spirit in this kiosk.

Bay/Liardet intersection

On Monday 7, work will begin to make the Bay/Liardet intersection safer. Raised crossings on Liardet St on the east and west approach to Bay St will make it safer for pedestrians to cross, and create conditions for drivers to approach the intersection more carefully. According to counts done last year, 700 pedestrians per hour cross Liardet St from north/south whereas 70 pedestrians per hour cross east/west. By asking drivers to keep the intersection clear, it is hoped to eliminate some of the confusion that can prevail, especially at lunch times and on hot days. To see the changes that will be made, click here.

Clean Up Australia Day & Straw Report 4

Let's autumn clean Port Melbourne's beaches on Clean Up Australia Day on Sunday.

9 am start on the beach opposite the London Hotel, or at the Sandridge Life Saving Club

If you're busy on Sunday - maybe you could clean the kerb and channel outside your place, knowing that stormwater carries all its contents onto the beach and into the Bay.

We're going to count and analyse all the litter collected on the day and that will be a subject of a future report.

The straw collection has grown this week courtesy of another straw gatherer.

This post is also an opportunity to share this picture which I quite like

Just wanted to let you know that the webpages about the Port Melbourne waterfront discussions have been updated and can be accessed here. On the same page is a short video of interviews with people about what they like about living in Port Melbourne - including with John Crawford, Collingwood supporter. Worth a look.

Might Fev play for Port Melbourne?

Have a read of this article in the Leader where Gary Ayres expresses a qualified interest in recruiting Brendan Fevola.

Super Tuesday - first Tuesday in March

Super Tuesday is an annual count of bicycle commuter traffic past certain points across Melbourne. It provides reliable figures of the number of cyclists as well as the routes they prefer. The data collected provides valuable information to Council in planning for cycling. Super Tuesday has been conducted by Bicycle Victoria since 2007.

I met this volunteer counter who lives in Clark St minutes before he finished up at 9 am.

To learn more about Super Tuesday and the counts from previous years, click here.