Got the customary SMS that Harry was headed for the park, so we headed down, as did Syl and Amber.  It was chilly, but they were rugged up and had fun!

...as shown on the TV news.  (Channels 2, 9 and some of 7 until my battery ran out).

You can see Nai and VV towards the end of the ch 2 footage).

And here's some pix.

It's had over 400 views, and I've received a few letters back from the politicians I sent it to.  It's also had a few supportive comments posted on YouTube.

There a huge public meeting scheduled for 2pm this Saturday at Kensington Pool (well.. the hall in the Community Centre in which the pool resides).  It's entitled "DEFEND KENSINGTON" and has been set up by the Kensington Association.  So, I've been out sticking up nice posters (colour ones, printed by KA) and Nai and I will be handing out flyers at the train station on Thursday.  Oh... and I have chalk on my hands again - there's a few footpath scrawls about the streets ;)

Today was our last day in Bangkok, and so, our last day in Thailand.  Checkout was at noon, so we used every bit of that.  We ate a nice sedate breakfast and relaxed and made sure we could pack everything away easily.  We picked out some clothes for the plane flight and kept them separate.

Our bags could be stored downstairs, so we headed out with just a few bags... the requisite back-pack and the camera bag (that doesn't look like a camera bag).

Next to the night-market was a huge park.  So, after breakfast and a coffee, we checked out the park.  It was quite well appointed, with meandering paths and roadway, and plenty of playground equipment.  Near every playground, there was also free exercise equipment.  Recumbent bicycles, sit-up benches, a peck-deck thing that used your own weight in the seat for resistance.  Pretty cool.  We'd been there about 45 minutes when we saw something swimming in a small water channel.  It sort of looked like a small crocodile.  After rubbing our eyes and having a second look, it proved to be a 2.5m dragon.  HUGE!  Over the course of the afternoon we saw around 10 of them, walking in the park or swimming in the lakes.  Astounding!  We couldn't find a toilet that was open, so instead, we headed for a shopping centre. 

The proved to be a little more difficult than we first expected, but it ended up ok.  We wandered around the shopping centre trying to get Vievey to drop off to sleep in the stroller.  That didn't work so we went outside to the rough cobblestones and she was asleep in minutes.  It was about dinner time, so after a bit of frantic searching, we found a nice Japanese restaurant in, what appeared to be a foodcourt mainly comprised of Japanese restaurants.  Genevieve woke up so we headed back to the apartment building, through the park.  By that stage it was full of people jogging, exercising and playing various sports, include a curious volleyball played entirely by kicking only, with a wicker ball.  Amazing to watch.

When we got back, they let us all have a shower in the gym, and then we bid our farewells and cabbed it to the airport.  Again, the freeways were pretty amazing and the cab driver was a leadfoot, which didn't help. 

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After receiving mailouts, seeing posters, receiving flyers, reading footpath scrawls and chatting to people like us, the community hall was full to hear Greg Barber MLC speak about the impending tunnel, what it would do to Kensington and what we can do about it.

The general consensus from various people and groups in the hall was to do the following :

1. Tell as many people about it as possible (I'm doing my best...)
2. Attend the Melbourne City Council Planning Meeting on Tuesday, June 3rd where this will be discussed
3. Write your own submission to the Department of Infrastructure, stating your stance and how you will be affected.

To that, I'd add (as a few people suggested) to email/write to every councilor, politician and sporting club you can see being affected.  Hell... I've even emailed Becton!  (Google is your friend, to get email addresses).

People were most appreciative of Greg organising the meeting so we could get together as a group.  There will be another scheduled for a fortnight's time.  Some people have their own agendas, and some people disagree on a few of some other people's political views, however everyone was united on defeating the tunnel.

There was a bit of business, and pleasure, for the little girl in the park this morning.

The business was handing out brochures to help save the park.  As happened last time, the toughest person melted when they saw her coming.  Her saying "Excuse me man, would you like a flyer?" helped a lot too.  Their expression changed somewhat, once they read it and had a chat with Naomi or me.

The pleasure, was a bit of a play with her best friend Harry.

Holland Park faces serious disruption
Is there to be an 'open cutting' or 'slot'?

According to the Engineering Report, the deep drilled (that is, borrow horizontally like a mole) part of the tunnel starts at Hoddle Street at the Eastern Freeway and ends at Holland Park.  The geology then requires the remainder of the tunnel to be dug as a cuttingor trench.  Holland Park would be used as a 'staging area' during the deep tunneling phase.

What are the implications of this?

Short term:  A 'staging area' implies that for some years, large sections of the Park will need to be fenced off and used to store spoil from the excavation of a tunnel that is kilometers long, plus machinery, etc.; it implies years of noise, dirt and disruption.

Permanent:  The main Eddington Report, Investing in transport, East-West link needs assessment, says on p. 218 that the Park needs to be used as a staging point for deep tunneling during construction, then to be "fully restored at the end of construction". 

This is contradicted by the Engineering Report which says on p. 75:  "In the concept design, it has been assumed that generally this section 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’."  This implies that part of the open 'slot' would be in Holland Park permanently. 

Department of Infrastucture officers have told us that p. 75 is badly expressed and that, in fact, the 'slot' would be covered over and the Park restored.  DOI intends to post a Question and Answer page shortly, at which time this issue may be resolved.

The latest email from the Kensington Association.

East-West Tunnel - latest position

Members of the Association's Eddington Report Working Party met with officers from the Department of Infrastructure on 8 May:  Leanne Seddon (engineer) and Tony Canavan.   

The following points were made by the DOI officers:

*  The Eddington Report recommends an east-west tunnel and provides one feasible method of constructing it.  If a tunnel is finally approved, it may differ from the original plan.

*  It is not intended that there be an 'open cut' or 'slot' in Holland Park.

*  Coming from the east, the deep drilled tunnel will divide under Royal Park, with a branch heading SW under Kensington and another heading NW up the Tullamarine tollway, emerging some distance NW of the 'sticks'.  DOI information is that the branch section cannot be constructed by deep drilling, and needs to be done by 'cut and cover' in Royal Park, after which the park will be restored.

*  At Holland Park, because of a change in geology, the deep drilled section needs to change to a 'cut and cover' method.  Somewhere south of the rail line, the cut will remain open to the sky.

*  They said that it was never the intention to leave the Holland Park section open, and that after the conclusion of construction, the cut would be roofed over and the Park would be restored.

*  The truck link from Smithfield Road across the wetlands towards the docks would be a high-level expressway, but was this in the conceptual stage with no detaills available yet.

The following points were made by members of the Working Party: 

*  Members thanked the officers for the opportunity to meet, and the information provided.

*  While not questioning the good faith of officers, members drew their attention to the assurances given in the planning stages of CitiLink:  That the high-level section of CitiLink from Mount Alexander Road south would be insulated with a sound proof tube, and that overall, the CitiLink project would result in a dramatic reduction of traffic through Kensington, neither of which in fact occurred.

*  The proposed truck link could have serious deleterious impact on Kensington Banks.

*  Given that there is to be no exit from the expressway/tunnel between Dynon Road and Hoddle Street, for people coming from the west, we anticipate that traffic wishing to enter inner suburbs and the City will exit at Dynon Road, and that some of that traffic will attempt to make its way through Kensington.

*  Regarding Holland Park, members drew attention to p. 75 of the Engineering Report that appears to clearly imply that there will be a 'slot' or open cutting through Holland Park which will necessitate bridging over at Childers Street and the rail line.

The officers said they were not familiar with p. 75, and would study it.  They promised to put further information up on the DOI website, and let the Association know when they had done so.  Members again thanked the officers and the meeting adjourned.

Actions:  We recommend that residents continue to spread the word to friends and neighbours that the East-West Tunnel is a potential threat to Kensington, keep up to date via the Association website (www.kensingtonassociation.org.au) and join the Association.

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