We’ve featured the Gardener’s Rd conversion into a GESAC car park previously. A comment from a resident’s relative has prompted us to revisit the issue. What is clear is that when it comes to fixing up council’s howlers residents do not matter. They are expendable, irrelevant, and not even worthy of “consulting” with, despite the chaos that is about to descend on their doorsteps. There has been no traffic investigation before the decision was made; no real accounting for why the original design got it so horribly wrong and no problems in suddenly finding $600,000 that is not budgeted for from a council that is cash strapped!
Here’s the comment and some updated photos.
“My parents live on Gardeners Rd, and I grew up there. My grandfather had the house built in 1952, and my Mum has lived there since then, since she was 9 years old. She was given the house by her parents, after she and Dad got married. I and my 4 siblings lived there till we grew up and moved out. I now live in East Bentleigh not far away with my family. We had the best environment as kids. Beautiful Bailey reserve across the road, and “the pools” in summer. I used to take my kids to the pools and the park too, until recently. We were all devastated when we finally lost the 15 year fight to save the pools and GESAC was built. I hate it. I will never go there, and neither will my kids. We call it BALLSAC. We watched in horror as it was built, half the reserve was turned into a carpark, and the playground was removed and replaced with the junk that’s there now. It’s been devastating to see this happen. And now…NOW… they’re carving up the whole street and turning it into a carpark!!! Right in our street, right outside our house. Mum and Dad, and all of us, and all the neighbours, are devastated. Mum and Dad say they are going to sell up and move, out of sadness and disgust. They were never consulted, no-one in Gardeners Rd was. I’d like to ask the councillors, “How would you like this done to YOUR street? Outside YOUR house?”. What a bunch of (MODERATORS: word deleted). I’m so upset but feel powerless to do anything. Is there ANYTHING that can be done? Can we stop it, get an injunction? Does anybody know? We need legal help. I really can’t believe it and I’m so so sad. This is breaking the hearts of so many people and the Council doesn’t give a shit. What has the world come to? If anyone has any ideas or some legal skill please reply.”
Glen Eira Debates 
March 7, 2013 at 10:13 AM
This is typical when all planning is reactive and adhoc. No consideration has been given to residents which is also typical.
I can’t believe that the original design only included 40 odd car spaces when council was predicting 500000 visitors per year, and no one picked this up. Incompetence is the only word that can describe this council and their hired consultants.
March 7, 2013 at 11:32 AM
The design had about 300 car spaces, and it was 900000 visitors per year,
March 7, 2013 at 12:20 PM
We direct you to the following minutes
1. September 1 2009 and the statement – “GESAC is projected to be used by the community 600,000 times a year as compared with the current swim centre’s 40,000.”
March 7, 2013 at 12:34 PM
I stand corrected, Thanks and keep up the good work.
March 7, 2013 at 1:49 PM
Off topic but we’ve received information as to the following:
1. the Caravan show at the Racecourse is due to start on the weekend
2. A letter was sent out to residents telling them that local streets would be blocked off from the 9th to the 11th March
3. This morning (7th March) streets were already blocked off. Rubbish trucks were reversing down streets, cars stacked up for 100s of metres waiting to make a turn.
4. Residents had no satisfaction in ringing Council and asking what the hell is going on. Evasive answers such as ‘traffic management’ plans were the response with no adequate explanation of why local streets were blocked 2 days earlier – especially when the notification letter advised that this would only happen on the 9th March.
5. We are however pleased to report that the barriers have now been taken down.
6. It should never be up to residents to complain before something is done and the traffic management around Major Events is worked out to a ‘t’ and supervised appropriately – by both the council and the MRC – or whoever is running the event. The evidence for sloppy and inept management is continually adding up!
March 7, 2013 at 11:03 PM
Our council is dreadful at informing residents of works that may adversely affect them. I have a relative who lives in a street where council contractors have been doing line marking. Noisily working until the early hours of the morning on more than one occasion. She wishes to thank council for their consideration.
March 7, 2013 at 5:17 PM
I say to the Gardener rd residents, who the heck did you vote for, this type of abuse has been happening across Glen Eira for decades, and the perpetrators are well known.
Run for council get rid of the councilors that have delivered this nightmare to your doorsteps, then sack the CEO and his cronies, then vote to pull the ballsac down, and dig up the carparks. If you have the numbers you will have the power. Sitting back and weeping gets you nowhere.
March 7, 2013 at 5:46 PM
Both these areas for complaint centre around our dependence on the private motor car. Two resolutions which could be tried are:-
refraiin from offering free parking early… This only causes a rush to beat other genuine transport users.
A free community bus in the municipality would be very welcome for some to go from N Caulfield to GESAC and everwhere iun between. Why not allocate the funds to give this a try at least
March 8, 2013 at 8:06 AM
The Gardners Road fiasco is a product of Councillors not doing their job when GESAC was in the planning stages and now. During the planning stages they knowingly failed to provide parking and, by failing undertake any full analysis of the issue and potential solutions, they are still ignoring the issue. The current destruction of Gardners Road is an ill conceived, ad hoc, expensive attempt to temporarily ( 3 months) allieviate an issue. It will have a for ever impact on lost parkland, lost trees, traffic congestion, comprised safety and residential amenity.
March 8, 2013 at 8:11 AM
Prior to GESAC opening (May 2012) over $1m was spent extending the carpark (which involved ripping up completed car park boundaries) and relocating the playground. Less that 12 months later, over $600K is being spent to destroy part of the landscaping work undertaken in the carpark extension and a street. The current destruction of Gardners Road is graphic proof that incrementally increasing parking is an expensive short term fix that fails to address the GESAC parking issue – an issue which, despite residents pointing it out, was ignored during the planning phases.
The total of these short term fixes ($1.6m) now exceeds the cost estimate for providing underground parking during the construction phase. That underground parking would have provided more parking spaces than that which will be available when the Gardners Road work is completed.
March 8, 2013 at 9:28 AM
Underground parking will cost at least 15 to 20 million
March 8, 2013 at 10:06 AM
From the minutes of July 19, 2011 on projected cost of multi-level carpark –
Multi-level car park
There are two possible locations for a multi-level car park at the GESAC site.
Option 1 would be over the newly constructed southern car park adjacent to the
cricket oval to the south of the GESAC Stadium building. Option 2 would be over the
central car park closer to GESAC’s front door.
Option 2 is not favoured because it would not be consistent with CPTED principles
(crime prevention through environmental design) because the deck would hinder
passive surveillance of the car parks from the GESAC building and East Boundary
Road which were key elements of Victoria Police’s review.
Option 1 could provide up to 72 car spaces at deck level but would mean a loss of 8
spaces at ground level to accommodate a vehicular ramp and a lift for disabled up to
the deck meaning a net gain in car spaces of 64.
The estimated cost of Option 1 work is $1.5million.
March 8, 2013 at 11:25 AM
Multi-level car park Option 1 and 2 are aboveground not underground.
March 8, 2013 at 3:12 PM
This particular issue rang alarm bells in the Council Chamber when all three Tucker ward Councillors voted in favour of the Gardeners Road car park without making any reference to those residents who would be adversly impacted (residents in Gardeners Road who the ward Councillors actually represent).
Shortly after Councils decsion, as a concerned resident, I visited four Gardeners Rd homes and met residents who were equally as distressed as the comment of the relative you have posted. I hoped at that time by collectively representing their concerns to the local press, Council would decide to delay commencement and give the community a say in the proposal.
Sadly I failed these residents. The ward Councillors have failed these residents and ultimately Council has failed them too.
Those residents who stood to lose so much when GESAC came along, have lost again in the GESAC fall out. Councillors regularly claim GESAC as a success when in fact in the eyes of those living across from it and around it – it is a failure.
I am not suggesting that a public pool, gym and ball court are not worthy contributions to the Glen Eira community and perhaps Bailey Reserve was the only location for the development. But to plough on in the face of local opposition without so much as meaningful cosultation to respond to residents concerns, is nothing short of a breach of everything the local government act stands for.
Surely it is incumbant on the ward Councillors to make it their priority to visit each of these residents and hear their stories and do whatever they can to relieve the stress which this car park will now create.
When this Council first came to office, I presented each Councillor with a proposal for permanent community consultative groups to ensure that local community residents were able to have local representation when confronted with local issues, Councillors ignored me then just as they ignore every public question I have about Gardeners Road or any other issue which I raise. I am frustrated at being ignored, but I am only a Council watcher – not a resident directly effected by a very real problem of Councils own making.
The writer asks for legal advice or some help to stop the works from continuing. Short of direct action, there is nothing we can do. What we can and must do is ask ourselves what role shoul our Ward Councillors play in these circumstances? I maintain that no matter what their opinion in regards to the benefits of the car park, to have ignored residents in the way they have is unforgivable.
I would suggest that there are times when Glen Eira Council serves its community well, Such moments are completely overshadowed when issues such as Gardeners Road come to light. It is a dark day indeed and one which Tucker Ward Councillors in particular should admit they’ve got seriously wrong.
March 8, 2013 at 3:59 PM
Mr Gatoff’s comments are both accurate and representative of what many residents have come to expect from this council. The instances of disregarding community sentiment are too numerous to mention. Council spends a fortune in promulgating the myth that it “consults” with residents. Nothing could be further from the truth. When everything is already decided beforehand and most often in secret, then consultation is pointless and a waste of money. Instead of working with residents consistently this council adopts the holier than thou attitude of “we know best” . The gang is the best example of this attitude.
I am heartened by the simple fact that each resident who feels shunned, ignored, and treated with disrespect will keep his experiences firmly in mind. It may be 3 years until the next election but the bubble must burst at some stage.
March 8, 2013 at 4:55 PM
The residents in Gardeners Road have seen their house value go up by at least 40 to 50k because of GESAC. I have cars parked across the road from me as do most residence of Bentleigh. Take a chill pill and just wait and see what it looks like when it is finished. The same happened at Mckinnon when the trees came down, and look at it now 100 times better than before. Chill out and stop the whinging.
Nick
March 10, 2013 at 9:38 AM
To claim that a property has increased in value because of GESAC is simply incorrect. Your comment, with respect, in my opinion shows a lack of empathy for the residents effected by the Gardeners Road car park.
I would and will support Councillors who take decisions which effect local residents if they do so in a culture where there is quality community consultation. I was equally shocked at the way the McKinnon Rsv issue was handled.
So NIck – it’s not the decisions of any Council which I am criticising – it’s the way those decisions are being taken.
A “chill pill” is fine and probably un-necessary for those residents who feel (as presumably you do) that their Councillors speak and act in their best interests. Try telling Gardeners Road residents that. I think you’ll find they are sadly disappointed..and please, let’s not insult their intelligence by suggesting that a giant sports stadium blighting their skyline and crowding their streets with vehicles is somehow good for property values.
March 9, 2013 at 3:37 PM
Figurea for the GESAC complex regarding Parking were given at the pretend conference in the theatrette and McKinnin High School, Cr Magee stated there that he did not want a GESAC. This were proceedures to make it look as though community was consultated,
The same type of proceedure occurred with C60 and the Racecourse only council employed other tricks by circulating two meeting places for the one meeting and then locking doors changing locations and removing matters from agenda and of course always being in a hurry even though residents sacrifice their night the couincillors and staff (paid staff) are always in a hurry before the meetings start etc.
I could go on for a long list— it is so boring,,, but no matter how much time we practice our debating there is not one ever convinced to change the planned line of activity on the Glen Eira Council. And as for standing I would be terrified as I have noted that sensible contribution is always quashed.,
March 10, 2013 at 2:38 PM
So what is the score, just how much open space have we lost, and is council willing to buy up properties to replace this loss.
March 12, 2013 at 9:47 PM
Planning in Glen Eira is really f–ked if the only criteria for success is the number of cars that can be accomodated. GESAC represents a philosophy that belongs in an earlier era, not one in which use of private motorized transport is theoretically deprecated. Council has decided that cars are to be the dominant mode of transport for the municipality, that access to public open space is not a concern, that amenity of residents is only a secondary consideration, that public transport should continue to languish, that public consultation is only appropriate where the outcome can be tightly controlled. Strange how none of these appear on candidate how-to-vote cards.
March 13, 2013 at 8:42 PM
How long before we see ticket machines pop up around ballsac ? . You can almost hear the howling from here. 10000 members and counting I fear not.