The bourgeoi-Vieve

Naomi had booked a time for VV and me to see the doctor for a Hep A injection - the only one suggested for a trip to Thailand.

VV really enjoyed the train ride in and the hustle and bustle of the city.  We met up out the front of the building and took the lift up to the waiting room.  She hadn't had a sleep, so both Naomi and I were a little concerned that she may have a meltdown at some stage.  That wasn't helped by a considerable wait in the waiting room.  At least there was plenty of passing traffic for her to talk with/sing to/dance for.

We finally got to go in.  I had my shot and while the doctor prepared Genevieve's, we discussed her reaction to what we think was peanuts in a chocolate.  She's given us a referral so we'll get her allergy tested at Royal Children's when we can get in*.

So... there was a break in the conversation and Genvieve comes out with "Vievey's turn now???".  It was SO cute.  I had mine in the arm, but she was getting hers in the butt.  She was sitting on Naomi's knee, happy as Larry until *jab*.  The look of disbelief, betrayal and hurt was just SO sad.  She started crying (not screaming).  We had the chocolate at the ready and said "Would you like some chocolate now?"

"No, chocolate, no, no, no, stop Daddy... stop  Daddy.........  CHOCOLATE?"  Crying stopped immediately!

Kinder bueno

OK, here's something I don't really follow.  If you draw a line directly from the end of the Eastern Freeway to the start fo the Tullamarine tollfreeway it pretty-much just follows straight on.  (Under the cemetary, and through the guys of Royal Park.  But then, you have to do a pretty decent deviation from there for it to meet J J Holland Park.  And then, depending upon which final exit point they pick, it needs to go back up North again, directly after Holland Park so that it meets with Ballarat Road.  So... it looks like it's deviating JUST TO GO THROUGH THE PARK - so they can use it as a quarry staging point for 5-8 years. 

Meep, meep, meep, meep, meeep

Well peoples... bets are off.

We're going to dedicate the next few weeks to getting the word out about the Eddington East-West tunnel, and its effect on JJ Holland Park to as many people in Kensington (and beyond) as we can.  This will probably (largely) include :

• writing letters and/or emails to any persons or sporting organisations who will be effected by the loss of the park
• letterbox dropping
  
• door knocking and  discussing the implications with people
• ensuring that posters are displayed in the park, at the train station and at as many local businesses as possible
• and, of course, stuff on the web.
  

Squidoo

Flyer

Tip : When handing out flyers telling to the local sporting groups on the ovals about the impending demise of the park, take your 2 year old daughter to do the handing out.  VERY VERY effective!

The next meeting of the Kensington Association is at 7:30pm on Monday, 5th May at Holy Rosary School, Gower Street Kensington.

The main agenda item is the East-West Tunnel.

My VERY dodgy graphic of Holland park with freeway

From their email update...

The Association Working Party has met and has agreed to press for a special briefing about the East-West Tunnel and its impact on Kensington and other inner suburbs.  So far, no answer.  We are also planning a public meeting where residents will be able to ask questions of our local Members of Parliament and Department of Infrastructure officials.

If the proposed East-West Tunnel goes ahead as planned, Holland Park as we know it is finished.

There is plenty to dislike about the tunnel proposal (pollution, diverts from public transport, encourages more car use, imagines petrol falls back below $1 per litre, is horrendously expensive, opens way for private investment tax rorts, and so on).  

For the time being, we are focussing on the impacts on Kensington.

It may be difficult for you to picture what it will look, (or sound) like.  It's horrible!!  We have asked for an artist's rendering.  If we don't get it, we will make up our own.  For the time being:

From these words, picture this:  In Holland Park, just down the slope from the Ormond-Altona Street corner, the tunnel will break out into the open.  It will have been drilled under the Kensington hill, but at this point it appears as a huge hole or archway, facing south (towards the rail line), 4- or more probably, 6-lanes wide.  This is the infamous JJ Holland Park portal.  From this point, reports say that tunneling is no longer possible because the ground changes from primarily rocky to primarily sandy.  Therefore from here, a 'sunken' 4- or 6-lane expressway will proceed towards the south (rail line) in an open cut or 'slot'.  Picture a trench with perpendicular sides, say 10m or more deep, along which 4 or 6 lanes of traffic travel, night and day, leaving or approaching the tunnel portal.  The 'slot proceeds south-west passing under Childers Street and the rail line, each of which be carried across the 'slot' over new bridges at the same level as now.  From there the open 'slot' continues towards Dynon Road, approx. parallel to Kensington Road.  Eventually it joins up with the Westgate freeway.  As the engineering report p. 75 says:

In the concept design, it has been assumed that generally this section [from the Holland Park portal south] would be in an open cutting with vertical retained sides as this provides an opportunity for the tunnel to daylight and would enhance the driver experience. New overbridges would be required for the railway line, Childers Street and Dynon Road to cross this open ‘slot’.

Obviously there will be severe impact from noise and pollution on Holland Park, the child care centre, the recreation centre, houses along Ormond and adjoining streets, and Kensington Road and adjoining streets.  Large pats of Holland Park will be unusable.  Large sections will have disappeared.

Meanwhile, there will need to be ventilation towers, the location of which are not stated.  (Skinny Park would be a handy location, being as it's another park!!)

Later we will have an illustration showing the impact of this, but if the above word picture is not clear, for the time being, please take our word for it, THE IMPACT OF THIS ON SOUTH KENSINGTON WOULD BE HORRENDOUS!

Obviously, it must never happen.  Obvioiusly the Association executive by itself cannot stop this.  All residents need to work together.  Please tell your neighbours about this, and ask them to join the Kensington Association.  (After all, who else is going to fight the fight for Kensington?)  Also, please ask them for their email addresses, and we will add them to our mailing list for email news.

If you know us, or even if you don't we'd love you to come along to protest the East-West car tunnel as proposed by the recent report on Melbourne's Transport, but Sir Rod Eddington.

I am against the tunnel for a number of reasons.  The truth be known, I find it offensive on environmental grounds.  We shouldn't be building more roads in the city, it just encourages people to drive cars. I can't imagine as to where the money may better be spent, but hey... there's plenty of outer (and not-so-outer) suburbs that are still squealing for train lines.  And train to the airport is a good idea as well - but I digress. As you can imagine, however, I'm also against it because of what it is going to do to our local park, the J.J. Holland park.

So, if you are available, come along to Debney's Park, on Mt Alexander Road, just North of the Tullamarine Fwy interchange, from 1pm on Sunday, May 25th.  We hope to see you there!

Royal Park Protection Group Inc

News Bulletin – April 2008

EAST-WEST TUNNEL SPELLS DESTRUCTION FOR ROYAL PARK AND INNER CITY SUBURBS

The extension of the Eastern Freeway in a tolled road tunnel under Royal Park was announced in the release of the Sir Rod Eddington’s “East West Link Needs Assessment” report on 2 April 2008.  This was an inauspicious day given that an intense storm hit Melbourne. Was this an omen from the Gods?  The Royal Park Protection Group Inc. and community groups in Kensington featured in the Age on 3 April 2008 as "the losers" in the article on The Tunnel “$18 bn to link east and west”. See also article in the Age of Saturday 26 April “500 properties face demolition”.

We now know as far as Royal Park is concerned:

·  That the Tunnel will go underground from Hoddle Street, Clifton Hill and that there will NOT be any outlets to the city until the Flemington Road/Racecourse Road/Mt Alexander Road/City Link/Elliott Avenue intersection and then there won’t be a turn off until Footscray or possibly Sunshine. This is despite the fact that only 7% of car traffic is headed east-west and 8% of truck traffic. Most traffic is headed to and from the City.  (The State Government's Northern Central City Corridor Study 2001 to 2003 produced these figures and came to the conclusion that extension of the Eastern Freeway westwards was not needed.) Experts say that pressure from big business and city will force the Government to introduce outlets to the city with on-off ramps at intersections on the way, namely at Nicholson Street and/or Lygon Street and/or Rathdowne Street and/or Royal Parade.   

·  There will be a massive spaghetti interchange at the Flemington Road/City Link etc. intersection with flyovers and on/off ramps across West Parkville residential area including the Parkville Gardens residential development and the Royal Park Wetlands and, possibly, Travancore Park on the other side of City Link.
·  There will be a “tunnel staging point” in West Royal Park close to Flemington Road which will result in a massive quarry alienating public parkland and destroying carefully re-established indigenous vegetation.  Another “tunnel staging point” will be located at the J.J. Holland Park in Kensington and will also effectively turn that park into a quarry.
·  The whole exercise for the road tunnel, originally costed at $1 billion, is now up to $10 billion. The bets are on that the Government will regard Royal Park as disposable and, in a “cost saving” measure; the extension of the Eastern Freeway will be in an open cut motorway through the Park, not underground in a tunnel. (Several years ago under Bracks a leaked Cabinet document advised that the Tunnel would extend under the cemetery then only up to the entrance to Royal Park, after Royal Parade it would be a roadway.) [This is the same for Holland park]
·  The Tunnel comes with huge vent stacks belching pollution up to 12 storeys high which will mark the path of the Tunnel.  See the photo taken by Jill Quirk of the Burnley Tunnel vent stack next to the Malthouse Theatre in South Melbourne. One or more such vent stacks will be located in Royal Park polluting the Park and nearby institutions, for instance Royal Children’s Hospital. In addition they will be a major security hazard given that they can be easily scaled and interfered with. (Security costs have not been included as far as we know.) [Another is likely for Holland Park]

The Tunnel will be the killer blow for Royal Park after the recent alienation of public parkland for the State Netball and Hockey Centre, the Games Village (alias a real estate development) and the Royal Children's Hospital  (see the new quarry on Flemington Road for the new and expanded Hospital buildings) plus other sundry pieces of infrastructure such as the new super market style carpark at the North Entrance to the Zoo; commuter bike paths; and a new cycle bridge over Manningham Street West Parkville with bright red iron struts designed in the new "brutalism" style of architecture.  

 IMPORTANT NOTICE

JOIN OUR COMMUNITY PROTEST TO SAY “NO” TO THE TUNNEL & TRAVANCORE DEVELOPMENT AT 1 PM ON SUNDAY 25 MAY 2008  DEBNEY’S PARK FLEMINGTON  

Reason to Protest:  The proposed developments will clog the roads around Flemington, West Parkville, North Melbourne, Ascot Vale and Kensington and destroy public parkland notably Royal Park. Specifically:  (1) The Tunnel will have a major interchange undoubtedly in the form of a spaghetti junction at Flemington Rd, Racecourse Rd and CityLink; a flyover across West Parkville residential area plus Royal Park and possibly across Travancore Park; and consume parts of Royal Park West and Holland Park in Kensington as staging points for tunnel construction. Vent stacks will be situated along the route of the tunnel. (2) The Travancore 22 story Office/Apartment Development and 1,000 vehicle carpark will cause even greater traffic congestion in and around the southern part of Mt. Alexander Rd and will also consume 2,000 sq meters of Debney's Park.

Taken together with the failure to make major improvements in public transport they will lead to an urban nightmare for the residents of five Melbourne suburbs and loss of significant parkland.

Time and Date:  1 pm Sunday May 25 2008 Location: Debney's Park, Mt Alexander Rd next to the Flemington Community Centre.  Key Speaker: Dr Paul Mees – our public transport guru MC: Rod Quantock 

Themes:  Say “no” to John Brumby and the Big End of Town's urban nightmare; oppose more loss of public parkland; demand real solutions to our traffic and public transport problems and real action on Global Warming.

Transport: Train - Flemington Bridge Station Upfield Line. Tram - No 59 up Mt Alexander Road from Elizabeth Street that drops you off at Tram stop 23 next to the Flemington Community Centre or No 57 up Racecourse Road and walk north through "Housing Commission" grounds. Bike: Moonee Ponds Creek Trail. Parking: Outside Flemington Community Centre (limited); Victoria Street  - first left after Debney's Park and walk back across sports fields; parking areas of "Housing Commission" flats on Racecourse Road entrance and walk across. Melways Map Reference: 43B1

Principal organizing groups: Mt Alexander Rd Campaign Group (MARCG) and Royal Park Protection Group Inc. (RPPG) with the support of Protectors of Public Lands Victoria Inc. (a coalition of over 80 environment, heritage and community groups.) Contacts: Julianne Bell RPPG 9818 4114 or 0408022408 jbell5@bigpond.com   or Gab Pretto MARCG on 0411060059 stoptrafficdisaster@live.com.au.

From an article in The Age yesterday

Analysis of the Eddington study shows that under one option for the proposed 18-kilometre cross-city road tunnel — which would begin at one of two sites in the inner west and meet the Eastern Freeway in Clifton Hill — 496 properties would have to be demolished.

That plan would link the Eastern and West Gate freeways via a tunnel emerging near the Maribyrnong River. An elevated freeway would then travel from Dynon Road to the West Gate, and require later widening of the West Gate. The proposal would result in scores of properties being acquired between Footscray Road and the West Gate in a corridor near the Maribyrnong River.

The second option would involve compulsory acquisition of 226 properties. In this case, the road tunnel would run from the Eastern Freeway to near Sunshine Road, then connect with the Western Ring Road.

From the graphic they have in the paper, it appears that the J. J. Holland park have a severe 'Negative impact' from both of these proposals.

As mentioned previously, it appears as though the tunnel is to be open to the air somewhere near/in the park and beyond.  Wit the first option, it appears it would come out of the ground and transition from being a tunnel to an elevated road at by Dynon Road.  If there are no on/off ramps in the vicinity, it would not increase traffic here directly, although there's always the potential of increasing the number of 'Rat-runners' as they are called - people using suburban streets to avoid tolls.  However, no matter which (current) option is chosen, it appears that it will destroy the park both during construction, and potentially after, to a large extent.

There is a day of protest scheduled for May 25th.  We'll keep you posted.