Article in Heidelberg & Diamond Valley
Weekly
BANYULE Council has called for an immediate meeting with
VicRoads to discuss the safety and amenity of residents living on
Rosanna Road. The move came last week after the council
rejected a VicRoads proposal to designate Rosanna Road as a
preferred traffic route as part of a road-use plan.
The plan was developed to give vehicles priority on some roads,
and public transport, cyclists and pedestrians priority on other
roads. Burgundy Street in Heidelberg, for example, has been
designated a pedestrian priority road. Councillors voted to approve
the rest of the plan, with the exception of Rosanna Road.
Cr Tom Melican said it was never designed to take the amount of
traffic that uses it, but there was no alternative. ''Some
people north of Banyule simply have no other choice but to drive on
Rosanna Road. People in their houses during the night are being
subjected to trucks belting down the road at excessive
speeds.''
Cr Anthony Carbines said he was concerned Banyule could not come
up with an alternative plan, other than using Rosanna Road as the
major route.
The council wants to work with VicRoads to develop short-and
medium-term plans to improve conditions for residents living along
the thoroughfare.
Meanwhile, the state government has dismissed concerns over a
document which showed two options for a tunnel between the
Metropolitan Ring Road and Eastern Freeway.
The government sought funding from federal government body
Infrastructure Australia for the so-called ''missing link'',
expected to reduce traffic on Rosanna Road, in 2008. That
application had ''long'' and ''short'' tunnels.
The Greens and Banyule Council are against any ''short''
options, which could include a viaduct over the Banyule Flats and
Yarra River, rather than tunnelling under them.
But government spokesman Bill Kyriakopoulos said the documents
were submitted before the government had released the Victorian
Transport Plan, which only proposes the ''long'' option: '' a
tunnel between Lower Plenty Road and the Eastern Freeway''.
HDVW believes a subsequent application has been submitted to
Infrastructure Australia but is yet to be considered.
Mr Kyriakopoulos said the government was committed to consulting
the community before deciding on a final route for the $6 billion
project, scheduled to start in 2017.
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Rally and Update on the VC67 Ammendment before
Parliament (posted 25 June 2010)
On 22nd June members of Friends of Banyule, the Green
Wedges Coalition and affiliated groups, attended a Rally onthe
steps of Parliament organised by Protectors of Public Lands (PPL),
to protest against the VC67 Planning Scheme amendment.
The Rationale for Rally was :
It is expected that, at this next sitting of
Parliament commencing on 22 June 2010, Planning Minister
Madden will be putting a resolution to the Upper
House for ratification of VC 67 Planning Amendment. This
is to approve extension of Melbourne's urban growth
boundary involving alienation of Green Wedges and will also
increase density (Government lingo for high rise) of residential
development, including along tram and bus routes.
This amendment to the Planning Scheme would open up
approximately 43,00 hectres of environmentally sensitive Green
Wedge woodland, grassland and productive farmland surrounding
Melbourne to development. It would also apply the new (only
partially amended) Growth Areas Infrasrucure Tax, as well as
allowing as of right now, high rise development along tram, bus and
light rail routes as well as around staions, with little or no
local input or avenue of appeal.
David Trenerry was MC and made an excellent speech on VC 67 as
did Brian Walters SC of PPL Vic. Other speakers included:
Colleen Hartland MP - Greens, David Davis MP for the Coalition,
Clifford Hayes - Concerned Councillors Coalition, Rosemary
West - Green Wedges Coalition, Brian Walsh -Planning Backlash (in
Mary Drost's absence) and Gillian Collins of Save our Bushland
Heritage. Various groups including FOB sent messages of support
which were read out.
Channel 7 ran an item on the evening news and The Age
published a number of letters from Green Wedges members. This
matter needs to be kept before the public as it has wide
ramifactions for Green Wedges as well as planning accross the
State.
Some rally participants attended the Upper House of Parliament
to hear Planning Minister Madden move - "That pursuant to
section 46AH of the Planning and Environment Act 1987,
Amendment VC67 to the Victoria Planning Provisions be
ratified." It is understood Mathew Guy, Shadow
Plannning Minister, moved an amendment to exclude Clause 12
relating to high rise development along tram, bus and light
rail routes plus train stations.
The matter was adjourned as the Speaker deemed it necessary to
refer it for expert legal opinion. Greg Barber of the Greens party
gave notice of a motion to refer VC67 to a Committee. More
information/speeches are available at www.parliament.vic.gov.au
VC67 may not be raised until the next sitting of Parliament on
27 July. Further details will be posted on
Protectors of Public Lands website.
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Yarra River Action Alliance
(posted 4 Jun 10)
The Yarra River Action Alliance have come together out of
concern for the major development that is occurring on and around
the river in the City of Yarra. The Alliance is
rapidly growing in size as other people and groups emerge
with similar issues and concerns.
The Yarra River Action Alliance appreciate the need for urban
growth in order to meet the future needs of metropolitan
Melbourne, but the land on the Yarra River is a precious and finite
resource, and we are against any inappropriate or irresponsible
development on its banks. The river is our heritage and we need to
preserve it for future generations. A video is available on
the Vimeo website (register to view videos) http://www.vimeo.com/11110109 .
Sign their online petition at http://yarrariveractionalliance.com/?page_id=111.
................................................
YRAA Rally
Dear Protectors of Public Lands Victoria Inc. (PPL
VIC) Members and Friends
A rally called by Yarra Councillor Stephen
Jolly was held on Saturday 5 June 2010 at Citizens
Park (Richmond Oval)t, Richmond. The theme was the lack of
public say in the major developments in suburbs in the Yarra
municipality and opposition to the mother-of-all-inappropriate
developments on the Yarra River - the 11 storey massive
residential and retail complex on the Honeywell
site on Victoria Street, Abbotsford. We would be pleased
if you can attend and support us in this David versus Goliath
fight.
PPL VIC and Yarra River Action Alliance are appealing at
VCAT. As legal costs are astronomical (the case will go
for a week or so altogether ) we are mounting an appeal
for assistance. Donations can be made by direct
payment to a specially designated MECU bank
account - Protectors of Public Lands Victoria Inc.
Fighting Fund BSB 803 140 Account
No 12012290. For enquiries ring MECU on 132888. Or send
to PPL VIC PO Box 197 Parkville 3052 with details of name and
address. We need this as at the end of the case if we have a
balance of funds we can refund donors. Website at http://yarrariveractionalliance.com/
Regards Julianne Bell Secretary PPL VIC 4 June
2010
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Update from the 2nd Save Our Bush Alliance (S.O.B.A.)
Rally - June 2010 (posted 4 June 2010)
The Rally was held on 2 June outside the Transport
Forum at Crown Conference Centre and attended by a small
but dedicated and enthusiastic group. There were lots of
banners and placards and a vocal chant calling for no more
freeways. Those across the road at the Transport Forum were
in no doubt of our views and what we were there for. A police
and security contingent directly outside the centre almost
outnumbered those protesting.
The Rally was organized by the Save Our Bush Alliance
(SOBA). MC was Gillian Collins of Pines Protectors and other
attendees/speakers included Dee Anne Kelly Greens Frankston, Sue
Pnnicuick Greens MP (Southern Metropolitan),
Damon Anderson Save Coomoora Reserve, Rosemary West Green
Wedges Coalition and myself (Dennis O'Connell), filling in for
Marion on behalf of Friends of Banyule.
For a copy of Friends of Banyule's
speech click here
There were some excellent and quite passionate speeches
made by some obviously very committed and motivated members of
the various groups. A media presence across the road recorded
some footage of the rally which will hopefully give us some air
time.
To our surprise, Roads Minister Tim Pallas, accepted an
invitation to come across the road and address the Rally directly.
A motion from the Rally in opposition to the Peninsular Link
Freeway but suggesting options including upgraded public transport
for the area, was put to Mr. Pallas. Some of the attendees,
especially from Save the Pines and Willow Bank Road/Pobblebank
Nature Reserve strongly put their case to the Minister, that
bulldozers had already gone into these reserves destroying animals
and wild life which were not able to be removed to a safe shelter
or other reserve prior to the bulldozers going in. The Minister
while stating that construction of the Freeway would
proceed, indicated that he was concerned about what the meeting had
conveyed to him and believed the above damage to wild life
should not have occurred. He advised that he would
undertake to find out why this had happened and why the
contractors had not put measures in place to prevent it occurring
now and in future. We will have to wait and see whether the
Minister is as good as his word.
Tim Pallas addressing the
Rally
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Freeways Not Worth the Cost
THE AGE May 21, 2010
THE economic case for the Brumby government's
top transport project is in tatters, with its own figures revealing
benefits barely a third of its multibillion-dollar price tag.
Read more ... >
(This link provides both a written article and video footage -
timelapse for video download at the AGE site)
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Suburban streets clog up as truckies turn off
tollway
THE AGE, May 16, 2010 - Clay Lucas
The EastLink tollway is causing
mounting traffic headaches, as thousands of trucks travelling from
Melbourne's manufacturing heartland in the south-east pour off the
toll road in the city's north, filling up local roads and
infuriating residents. Read more ... >
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Where goes the North-East Link - A 6 Billion Dollar
Project without a plan? - Our meeting with VicRoads
(posted 19 May 2010)
Representatives of Friends of Banyule
and Protectors of Public Lands met on 20 April
with representatives of VicRoads North East Link project team. The
meeting was arranged at our request with the hope of finding out
more about government intentions for the project.
This meeting was a sequel to an earlier meeting, on 1 May
2009, with the Southern and Eastern Integrated Transport (SEITA)
which then had bureaucratic responsibility for the proposed
North-East Link, now ceded to VicRoads.
People in Banyule, as well as much wider afield, have
become increasingly anxious about the proposed project since its
sudden resurrection by the Brumby government in the December
2008 Victorian Transport Plan.
If it were to go ahead the project would cut the communities of
Viewbank, Rosanna, Heidelberg and Bulleen in half and destroy one
of the most important historical and environmental assets in the
City of Banyule - the Banyule Flats Wetlands and Warringal Park
Swamplands.
It would be fair to report that the greater interest from
the meeting on 20 April lies in what was left unsaid rather than
what was disclosed by official government
representatives.
Representatives were unable to say when they expected
construction might commence, much less were they able to indicate
when the government intended the first vehicles to roll along the
North-East Link. There has been reference to 2017 as a starting
date, but this remained unclear, and if 2017 is a starting date
whether it is for the commencement of construction or the
completion of the project.
We referred to a September 2008 report undertaken by the
consultants, GHD, for the Department of Premier and Cabinet which
included traffic projections for the proposed freeway which
anticipated very high motorcar usage and relatively low usage by
commercial vehicles. VicRoads was unable to provide any advance on
these figures. The government's proposal to extend the Urban Growth
Boundary, with concomitant increases in population, is thought
likely to change this equation.
VicRoads was asked what parameters they were working with
for travel by public transport as opposed to private motor vehicle
in determining the need for and carrying capacity of North East
Link. VicRoads indicated that the government had an objective that
20% of all journeys made in Melbourne be by public transport. This
objective, set for achievement in 2020, had already been
met.
No advice was able to be given by Vic Roads on addressing
current issues related to traffic congestion, including on Rosanna
Road. VicRoads advised that this was the responsibility of the
organisations's South East and North West Metropolitan regional
operations.
There has been understandable speculation in the community
about the intended route for the proposed freeway. We drew
attention to the most recent edition of the Melbourne
Melway and the fact that it included a
dotted line route for North-East Link. VicRoads representatives
indicated that the initiative for its inclusion in the
Melway did not come from their project
team but is likely to have come from elsewhere within VicRoads.
They were unable to advise whether it was an officially decided
route for the freeway.
VicRoads officials were able to confirm that a
benefit-cost analysis of the project would be undertaken and that
this would be released publicly in a timely manner.
The issue of project funding was raised with officials. It
was noted that a project cost of $6 billion was included in
the Victorian Transport Plan. It
was unable to be confirmed whether this would be the final figure.
We asked what capital contribution the Brumby government would be
seeking from the Commonwealth government and whether the request
was likely to be acceded to. VicRoads was unable to advise on this
but did say several other transport projects which had received
Commonwealth contributions ranging between 50% and 100% of project
costs.
VicRoads was asked whether the Victorian government was
looking towards a restructuring of the toll road industry as a
precursor to attracting private sector operators for the project.
They advised they had no information on that.
We noted rising apprehension about noise level emissions
from freeways in Melbourne and especially resident concerns related
to the Monash Freeway and also the Eastern Freeway in Balwyn North.
VicRoads replied that they do have noise standards that they apply.
In broad terms the current maximum is said to be 63dBA. Standards
appear to apply for traffic movements between 6 am and 12 am only.
No such protection apparently applies between 12 am and 6
am.
VicRoads was asked about the lighting levels they apply
for illumination of the road network. We introduced material which
pointed to adverse health effects of excessive lighting in cities,
including increased human and animal sickness. VicRoads said that
they have progressively increased the efficiency of their lighting
systems in the road network.
VicRoads was asked to confirm the government statement
in The Victorian Transport Plan
that it was expected to construct the freeway by tunnel.
VicRoads advised that this is not certain and will be subject to
additional inquiry.
It is not known whether the project will be "fast-tracked"
under new legislated provisions for transport projects which were
enacted in 2009.
Traffic count data for specific road segments in the
vicinity of the proposed freeway was requested but has not yet been
received.
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The Banyule Festival - Kids Arty Farty Festival on
Sunday 28 March 2010
The Kids Arty Farty
Festival was a big success and we would like to welcome
our new members :
Toni Simioni, Kosta Albanis, Paula Mattews, Dee-Ann Kelly, Ruth
Cumming, Campbell Cumming, Robert Dunning and Diana Kavelj
Special thanks go to Warringal Conservation
Society for making it possible for us to share their stall again
and Anthea Fleming for creating yet another impressive display set
for visitors to enjoy.
Thank you also to our volunteers Dennis and
Toni, Noel, Amanda, Kevin, Rosemary, Kristina and Margaret for
their hard work to spread our message about the proposed freeway
and Friends of Banyule.
Many people as well as members
of Friends of Banyule visited our joint marquee
and enjoyed the display of paintings created by local primary
school children "what I love about my park".
We distributed our new Flyers as well as press
clippings and had maps of the proposed freeway routes on
display.
Thank you to our sponsors
!!
We would sincerely like to thank the following companies &
individuals who kindly sponsored the design and production of our
T-Shirts :
Bulleen Art
& Garden, Warringal Conservation Society, Sun
Installation and Roofing, Horizon Industrial Pty Ltd, M &
M Ware, D O'Connell, S Sheahan, N Martin and S Marks.
And a big thank you to Synergy
Design who produced the great A-Frame sign for our
stall.
We also had Friends of
Banyule T-shirts for sale which were very
popular. The T-Shirts are designed by Roland Harvey, a local artist, childrens' book
author and illustrator (you can visit Roland's website
at http://rolandharvey.com.au/ ) and
were printed by Brunswick printmakers 'Oneonethreeeight'.
This is our T-Shirt
design...
The T-Shirts are printed Brown on a Cream background and available
in Adults' sizes : S, M, L, & XL and Childrens' sizes : 8 &
10.
Bulleen Art & Garden has set up a
fantastic display with our T-Shirts for sale - check them out...
they are located at 6 Manningham Road West, Bulleen Ph. 03
9850 5155.
Or your can purchase a Friends of
Banyule T-Shirt, via email at info@friendsofbanyle.org. They are $25.00 each, are
made in Australia and are available in a wide range of sizes. All
proceeds from the sale of the T-Shirt help us with our ongoing
campaign.
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More photos from the Festival ...
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"What I love about my park" - paintings by local school
children
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Concerns remain on Victorian government
approach to local bus
services
(posted 5 May 2010)
Residents of the City of Banyule and surrounding
municipalities are anxiously awaiting the outcome of the review of
local bus services currently being conducted by the Victorian
government. Local route bus services that currently operate in
Banyule and in much of Melbourne are poor and require major
reform. Services are infrequent, routes are indirect in many cases
and there are insufficient Saturday and Sunday services.
Connections with rail services are also poor at many stations and
interchanges.
We recently wrote to Public Transport Minister
Pakula to set out our main
concerns. Please click here to read our letter and the
minister's reply. Our latest
Press Release to the media is on the following link for
your information also.
This issue is urgent and it is incumbent on the government to
take early effective action. The reply made on the minister's
behalf contain no inkling that there will be much needed reforms.
Unfortunately, the outcomes announced by the Victorian government
from the bus reviews conducted elsewhere in Melbourne have been
very disappointing.
Our recent letter to the minister was made to
reinforce the comprehensive
submissionFriends of
Banyulemade to the government's bus
review process. Please
click here to read
the Friends
of
Banyule Submission
to the Bus Review.
Most road traffic in Banyule is generated locally or from a nearby
municipality. With rising concern about climate change and growing
road congestion, many more Banyule residents should and would use
public transport to go to work, to school, to shop and visit
friends. However, current service arrangements make this
impossible for many.
Please see our 'In
the Press' webpage for feedback from
residents - in particular the article in the Manningham Leader from
January 28, 2010
|
 ted March 31, 2010,
Greensborough railway station: major bus/rail
interchange in urgent need of upgrade.
|
We recommend to the Victorian government that they
accept the recommendations in our submission to the bus review and
to respond positively to develop sustainable transport in Banyule
and surrounding suburbs, reduce road congestion and associated
noise and air pollution and to preserve the natural
environment.
The 903 SmartBus which services Burgundy Street, Bell Street and
Northland Shopping Centre and beyond every 15 minutes on weekdays.
City of Banyule residents need more bus services of this quality to
reduce car dependency and protect the environment
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Bob Birrell - Immigration and Population
Growth
Article in THE AGE 28 July, 2010 that
spells out the hollowness of the economic arguments for population
growth in an understandable fashion.
Melbourne Conversation -
Will Melbourne Still be Marvellous in 2050 ?
Conversations about Population Growth - on Internet TV from
29 April 2010
Future Leaders is supporting the City of Melbourne, through
its Melbourne Conversations program of free talks, in the
presentation of this event which was held on 22 April 2010.
Australia's population growth will mainly be in urban areas
with Melbourne estimated at seven to eight million by 2050. The
organisers have said " Many argue it's sustainable,desirable and
inevitable but many disagree. Prominent commentators will
discuss the numerous pros and cons of predicted population
growth."
Kelvin Thomson on Population
Growth
The issue of population growth is very much related to
the planned freeway here in Banyule. As Melbourne's
population increases and the Government continues to make land
available in the outer suburbia without any functional
infrastructure such as public transport, people are reliant on
private cars to travel to and from work, go shopping or pick up
their children from school etc. This in turn puts additional
pressure on our local roads. A carefully implemented population
reform, public transport solutions and rail freight will make a
freeway unnecessary!
Here are a number of reference documents & videos for your
information :
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Transition Banyule
Transition Banyule is a new movement
that aims to connect local people and groups and move towards
a more sustainable future. Transition
Towns is a world-wide movement which began in
the UK in 2004, aiming to build resilient, localised, low
carbon thriving and abundant communities.
For more information on the Transition Towns movement
go to http://www.transitiontowns.org/
or for Transition Banyule, contact Mary
Stringer
phone: 03 9455 2581
email:
transitionbanyule@gmail.com
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S.O.B.A. Rally
Thank you to all our members and supporters who attended
the Save Our Bush Rally and Bush
Funeral on the steps of Parliament House on February 24.
It was great to join forces with other groups such as Friends of
Pines Flora and Fauna, Save Coomoora Reserve Coalition
and the Green Wedges Coalition, who are all
fighting against the destruction of the native bushland and
parks by freeways.
We had a lot of media in attendance and turnout was good.
Click on this link
to our President's speech at the Rally (PDF
download).
Please enjoy the photos and stay tuned for our next
Newsletter and also the Banyule Festival on March 27-28.
Cheers
Marion Ware, President Friends of Banyule
For more information on the SOBA Rally, click on this
link (PDF with active links)
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Current Status of Banyule Council's planning for the North-East
Link freeway (posted 11 Dec 09)
Bayule Council's last Meeting for 2009 (Monday 14th December 2009)
provided a comprenhensive summary on planning for the North-East
Link freeway through Banyule City.
For more information see Agenda document (go
to page 76). The 'Attachment' documents that are
referred to are available on Banyule
Council Meeting Agenda and Minutes webpage.
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Friends of Banyule Newsletters
Our Newsletters are sent regularly throughout the
year via email to our member base and cover topics
including latest news of Friends of Banyule's campaign,
events & meetings that our members are participating
in and information and hyperlinks we trust you will find
interesting.
Copies of our earlier Newsletters are available for download
in PDF format from the links below. If
you have any suggestions or input or know of anyone that
would like to receive our Newsletters, please don't hesitate
to contact us at info@friendsofbanyule.org
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Archived News Items
Community Concerns over Minister Gate-Crashing
Inquiry - PPL Media Release March 14, 2010
ABC News - Email reveals Government plans to
deceive (posted 26 Feb 10)
See the revelation re Planning Minister Madden's public
consultation process! Click on the following link to discover what
happened Thursday 28 February, 2010
http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2010/02/25/2830415.htm
Current Status of planning for the North-East Link
freeway (posted 11 Dec 09)
Banyule Council's December 2009 Meeting (Monday 14th December
2009) provided a comprenhensive summary on planning for the
North-East Link freeway through Banyule City. For more
information see Agenda
document (go to page 76). The
'Attachment' documents that are referred to are available
on Banyule
Council Meeting Agenda and Minutes
webpage.
AGM
Friends of Banyule's AGM
2009
Urban Growth Boundary Inquiry - Click on
the following link for a copy of the Submission by Friends
of Banyule.Also the Hansard
Report of the presentation to the
Parliamentary Committee
PPL :
Planning Bill to Upper House
PMees & the
Banyule Bus Review
Video : Destruction of Local
Habitat to make way for Freeway (opens in same window...
therefore need to access your 'back' arrow at top of page to return
to Friends of Banyule website)
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