Risk management and public safety in Glen Eira is touted as the number one priority. The following photos we’ve received tell a different story! Why are pedestrians repeatedly forced onto busy roads without adequate protection such as barriers? Are there permits for all of these? Does anyone at council bother to check? Is anyone ever fined, taken to court? Or is it all too hard?
Glen Eira Debates 
May 30, 2015 at 9:09 AM
Glen Eira City Council has abrogated its responsibilities concerning building sites. The rot starts with the Building Site Management Code of Practice, which is woefully inadequate. It contains no mention of the need for Road Closure permits for example, and as can be seen in the photos, roads are routinely closed or blocked by developers. Building materials are stored on the naturestrip. Footpaths are damaged or ripped up for indefinite periods such as the entire construction period. Debris is washed into local drains.
A particularly noxious practice of Council is to wait until the end of a development to issue a single token fine. Until then, council staff have admitted to me they will not take enforcement action. They won’t even ensure that a footpath is navigable by the elderly or disabled on mobility scooters. Council considers it acceptable to force pedestrians onto the roadway without barriers or protection from passing cars on busy streets made uncomfortably narrow due to parking on both sides. It is a shocking situation.
While unlikely to fix all problems, a starting point would be for Local Law to require a development site to display prominently all Permits issued, and in the case of Road Closure permits, what the conditions are that have to be complied with. Then we could tell whether a site is operating in defiance of Local Law or whether Council officers have been derelict when issuing a Permit. It shouldn’t take prosecutions in the wake of the deaths of 3 people for local government to take public safety seriously.
May 30, 2015 at 9:36 AM
Waiting for the appearance of the Local Law draft is akin to waiting for the Messiah. Readers should note that the minutes of the last council meeting contained this damning information as just one example –
“3rd September 2013 – Public questions and right to make a statement. That the following be referred to the Local Laws Committee for the purpose of amending the Local law – Committee complete 9th April 2014. Awaiting other sections of the Local Law. Officer – CEO!” (page 227)
Readers should remember that the tree register was also to go to the Local Laws committee. It didn’t survive that experience. Thus after two years sitting on a council resolution nothing has been done. Then again, resolutions in Glen Eira mean absolutely nothing!
May 31, 2015 at 7:48 PM
This series of photos presents a stark contrast of the spin that is presented by Council.
On the one hand we have concrete plinths and paving abounding in public parks to ensure park user safety and the parkland enjoyment of the mobilitiy impaired (ie. elderly and disabled) while on the other hand there’s a blind eye being turned at the ability of both the physically able and mobility impaired being able to access and enjoy parkland.
The arguments of short term pain for long term gain don’t wash – not when developers are continually allowed to do what ever they want when ever they want with street and footpath blockages.
May 31, 2015 at 10:13 AM
It is pretty obvious that the section of the Council that oversees compliance is either dysfunctional or has other reasons for not ensuring compliance and ensuring safety on the public land around building sites. Probably under funded. Plenty of money is spent telling the ratepayers what a marvellous job is done by the hard working people at the town hall. This of course is all spin.
June 1, 2015 at 4:39 PM
Not for the first time is this site showing up the appalling disregard for public safety in Glen Eira. Things are getting worse – of that there is no doubt. Which causes me to ponder the reasons behind such neglect.
Here’s one theory that I’ve heard from a friend of a friend of a friend. Maybe rumour, maybe a kernel of truth.
Traffic management is outsourced. The friend of a friend of a friend believes that O’Brien’s gets a percentage of the fines dished out. I figure that if the percentage is large enough and council only picks up the crumbs, then it isn’t worthwhile for them to go all out and fine or prosecute these people leaving us poor sods with the situation we’ve now got.
June 1, 2015 at 6:38 PM
Shangri-La Constructions tonight have left an unprotected and unilluminated hole in the footpath outside 6 Kokarrib Rd Carnegie. The hole is a fair depth too—at least 600mm, quite capable of breaking a person’s leg. I wonder if Council considers the site manager, which a hoarding sign states is a Bill Belvedere, has met their responsibilities.