Not only has council spent an additional and unbudgeted for amount of over $1,000,000 in the creation of more car parking space at GESAC and the ‘relocation’ of the existing playground, but it is clear that another $600,000 dollars is about to be spent on adding a further 60 to 70 car parking spaces in Gardener’s Road. We extend our deepest sympathies to those poor souls who live on Gardener’s Rd and immediate surrounds. Not only will this street descend into bedlam, but after years of ‘consultation’ with these residents it appears that all their concerns have amounted to nothing. Gardener’s Rd will now attract even more traffic PLUS the loss of the vast majority of nature strips.
All of this information is found in the agenda items for next Tuesday night’s council meeting in response to a Request for a Report dating from September. We note this date since the original request stipulated that the report be tabled at “one of the next two Council meetings”. Obviously this was not done!
More importantly, a significant aspect of the request has again been entirely ignored ie That a report be prepared on pedestrian safety at the GESAC and Bailey Reserve car park. In particular the report should investigate the safety of users of the soccer pavilion and the viability and consequences of a permanent drop off area on Gardeners Road”. Please note that the word ‘safety’ and ‘pedestrians’ is not mentioned once in the report! In fact the report has as its purpose : “To provide options for potential additional car parking following two requests by Council”. Neither of the stated ‘related’ requests for reports even mention car parking. But as per usual this administration has decided to ignore councillor resolutions and provide its own warped interpretation of plain old English. Surely it’s about time that officer reports actually stick to the topic and adhere to council resolutions?
Even so, this report again raises fundamental questions:
- How sound was the original ‘business plan’ when ratepayers are now being forced to cough up an additional $1.6 million dollars on bitumen and asphalt to accommodate cars? What kind of planning went into car parking right from the start?
- How many more ad hoc decisions will result in the loss of green grass and open space at Bailey Reserve?
- Why, it would appear, has so little consideration been given to local residents?
- If the over-riding mentality of this council is ‘user pays’ then perhaps council should consider installing parking meters at the GESAC site?
- How does the creation of more and more parking spaces fit in with the Transport policy and the Environmental policy whose main objectives are to lessen the reliance on cars – not as this is doing to provide more and more opportunities (excuses?) for people to use their cars?
- Will councillors reject these reports since they don’t answer the specific resolutions?
PS: we are in error, but unlike Council we do cough up when mistakes are made! The report on pedestrian safety was tabled at the 24th September meeting. This does not however detract from our assertions that far too often reports do not answer the requests made and it certainly doesn’t account for the potential expenditure of another $600,000!
Glen Eira Debates 
December 14, 2012 at 8:31 PM
Another $600K to be spent on carparking despite this Council’s avowed policy of reducing reliance on private vehicles by actively promoting the use of sustainable transport (public transport, bicycling and waking). And where are they going to put the carpark, in an already busy street that is also a bus route, in fact it is the only public transport that accesses GESAC.
And golly gosh, remember the report on extending the GESAC carpark. The cost of extending the carpark and relocating the childrens playground was just under a $1m – the cost of building a multi-level carpark (and gobbling up less open space) was $1.5m. So now within 7 months of GESAC opening and less than 12 months of the decision not to build a multi level carpark (too costly and not required) we get another extremely costly incremental solution that pushes the total cost way above the original estimates, that will yet again fail to provide adequate parking and does not even consider pedestrian safety – all it will achieve is a further screwing of local residents.
It really is time the Administration was held to task by Councillors – do a proper holistic assessment and analysis of the current and long term traffic and parking demands of GESAC, Bailey Reserve sporting clubs, all park users and residents. While doing this allow for community input from the start. It’s the only way to do it, should have been done from the get go.
December 15, 2012 at 12:41 AM
Members of the communit made warnings regarding;-
1. parking inadequacies
2. Massive dependence upon private transport.
3. Expense of travellin to GESAC by train from most parts of municipality-
cost of two zone train tickets.
4 Near hour long walk from station.
No questionaire asked who would like to travel that way.
It has become an exclusive day’s outing if one lives in north of municipality yet we pay more rates towards this development!!!
ANOTHER COUNCIL CARES CONUMDRUM