Forthcoming Events
Saturday 8 December Brunch for Peace. Peter Scullin Reserve from 12 midday onwards. BYO drinks. Watercolour cards and KAN calendars for sale. Organized by Union of Australian Women.
Friends of Bradshaw Park 15 December 10am Christmas break up party. at the park.
Sunday 16 December Blue Wedges Polperro Dolphin Swim Fund raiser Leaving from Sorrento Pier at 1.30pm Bookings essential 5 988 8437. Only 20 places available
Channel Deepening
Blue Wedges Coalition lawyers have filed an application in the Federal Court to prevent the Federal Environment Minister from approving the proposed Channel Deepening project. Court action is costly. If you would like to assist Blue Wedges donations could be sent to Blue Wedges PO Box 162 Dromana 3936.
Waterwatch Project
Judy has completed the Waterwatch training program and will join Nina and Brian in checking water quality in or near major drains flowing into Mordialloc Creek upstream from Wells Road bridge.The equipment has been ordered through Melanie from Waterwatch. The crew will be testing for Turbidity, Suspended Solids, Temperature, Dissolved Oxygen, Nitrogen.
Mordialloc Creek Bridge
VicRoads advises that the pedestrian and cycle path on the east side of the bridge will be fenced to separate the path from the traffic lanes. Presumably the shared path on the west side will also be fenced.
Green Wedge
Meeting 29 November at Dingley Community Centre was well attended by residents who voted to retain the section of Kingston’s Green Wedge above Kingston road as open space rather than have this area rezoned by council for resource recovery, (concrete crushers) facories and housing. Cr Alabaster advised that there were insufficient sports grounds in the city. 13 cricket clubs were unable to obtain grounds to compete this year. There is clearly a need to retain all available open space to compensate for loss of private and public open space due to increased housing density in Kingston.There were presentations by Mara and Mary to respective village committees during November concerning rezoning of the green wedge.
Bay Trail
The local member organized a meeting with Gavin Jenning’s Min for Environment’s personal adviser, DSE’s Wayne Malone, and Russel Costelloe to present our case for the bike track to be located on the verge of Beach Road, not on the dune or cliff tops. We await the outcome of that meeting. We were advised however, that Vic Roads is seeking to increase to four lanes Beach Road in Bayside to cater for truck traffic!! Why? Has this something to do with channel deepening with increased traffic from the docks – or extra traffic from Hastings when that port is redeveloped. What happened to the idea of Beach Road as a Scenic Boulevarde?
Mordialloc Creek Levee Bank Bike Trail
Letters have been sent to Ken Carney and Jonathon Guttman re the possibility of formalizing a bike path from the underpass at Wells Road bridge along the creek levee bank to Springvale road to connect with a bike path along Springvale Road. Council is planning a bike track over the creek through Waterways to Braeside Park. It makes sense to create an off – road trail along the levee bank so that Waterways cyclists and others can ride off- road to Mordialloc beach, shops and schools.
Candidate Forum 15th November
Despite numerous phone calls it proved too difficult to collect all four candidates together at one time and one place but we were privileged to hear two candidates from the Greens and Democrats who would be excellent members of Parliament in future. With a change of Government perhaps climate change and related issues will be given the attention these matters require.
Mentone Unit Developments
Le Gym has been reduced from six storeys to five levels but is still an over development of the site already heavily trafficked with rail and road traffic on Balcombe Road. The old council depot will also be converted to a four storey residential development. This development will further compound traffic problems in the area.. Mentone lacks a structure plan to prevent inappropriate developments such as those mentioned above occurring.
Walkabout at Epsom
October 20 Friends of Bradshaw Park joined a tour of Epsom Estate, Mordialloc Creek and Yammerbook (Drills Land). The tour was conducted by Allison O’Keefe. The 4 hectares of grassland was saved from destruction when the Epsom training track was converted to a residential housing estate. Sun orchids, onion orchids and other species have survived in this fenced area surrounded by houses. Yabbies are still in residence in holes in the dry conditions awaiting rain. The tour continued across the footbridge over Mordialloc creek noting recent revegetated sites before proceeding to Yammerbook. Gannets have taken up residence in a tree on the waters edge of the creek.
Other Business
Joan questioned the cost of dredging the shipping channels in Port Phillip Bay. Although POMC quotes approx. $785 million a more realistic estimate according to others could be $1 billon.
Johanna has taken photos of extremely tall palm trees planted on Waterways. The developer sold this development on the basis that plantings would be indigenous.
A night walk was conducted at The Grange.