by Philip Salama-West
Residents of the City of Greater Dandenong took the opportunity to let their concerns be heard during public question time at a Greater Dandenong Council council meeting on 26 May. The public faced the council with a number of issues, from liquor licenses to level crossings.
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Springvale bottle shop raises community concerns
Springvale resident Lucy Cataldi raised the issue of a new bottle shop planned for construction on Springvale Road, with a planning and liquor license currently in the processing phase. Cataldi noted the prevalence of alcohol as a factor in many of the offences that occur in the area.
“Alcohol availability is a key driver of alcohol related harm in the community. Incidents that have occurred in this area include bashing, verbal abuse, burglary, cars smashed and drug abuse.”
Cataldi argued that the area was already well served in terms of alcohol availability, and that a new bottle shop was unnecessary.
“We don’t need another bottle shop. We have Dan Murphy’s on Dandenong Road. Dan Murphy’s has been there a long time and offers a wide range of beer, wine and spirits.”
Greater Dandenong city futures executive director Sanjay Manivasagasivam said the planning and liquor license was not yet granted and that community concerns would be taken into consideration in the council’s decision.
“Any concerns that arise will be assessed as part of the application. This application will be required to be sent to a council meeting soon for a decision to be made. The application has been advertised to surrounding owners and occupiers and an advertising notice has been erected on the site to allow neighbours and others the chance to provide their comments. In addition, council officers are awaiting referral responses from Victoria Police, the Victorian Liquor Commission and the Council Community Services Department.”
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Dandenong residents voice desire for public works projects
A Dandenong resident brought a number of local public works issues before the council.
The first issue mentioned was a lack of lighting on Heart Street, near Hammond Road and the Foster Street Railway Station.
Inadequate street light coverage, the resident argued, had led to an increase in crime along the street.
“This area has become a known area by police and council members as a place of dumped cars and unsavoury behaviour.
“This street has no street lights, so at night it becomes a meeting place for illegal dealings, creating an unsafe area for nearby residents.”
Greater Dandenong city futures executive director Sanjay Manivasagasivam responded that Heart Street has sufficient light coverage to be compliant under national guidelines.
“There are currently four street lights on Heart Street, however none covering the unsealed parking area near the creek – which we assume the question relates to.
“This area does not experience significant amounts of pedestrian movement and additional lighting is thus not required to comply with Australian standards.”
The second matter raised by the Dandenong resident was the status of Palm Plaza’s ongoing renewal project, and how the $239,000 allocated to the project would be spent.
Mr Manivasagasivam responded, saying that the project was prioritising the replacement of pavement in key areas designated as tripping hazards that could harm the public.
“Long term changes to Palm Plaza will be considered in the broader Dandenong Market plan.
“We encourage residents to keep an eye out for a community consultation which will be taking place later this year.”
The final issue brought up by the resident was that of a walkway currently used by workers as part of the Webster Street level crossing removal crossing.
The resident was interested in the council making the underbridge walkway, which runs across the Northern side of Thomas Street, a permanent fixture.
Mr Manivasagasivam stated that this would not be possible, noting that a walkway open to the public on the Southern side of Thomas Street is sufficient to accommodate pedestrian traffic.
“Keeping the walkway is not possible due to the creek’s capacity and performance on the other side once the walkway is in place.”
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Road safety an issue on Douglas Street
Noble Park local Matthew Kirwan voiced concerns about the school crossing zones along Douglas Street in Noble Park, stating that the crossings lacked suitable visibility and that motorists “only see the school crossings at the last minute”.
Kirwan suggested that to increase visibility, colour-coded road surfacing should be applied at the crossings.
Kirwan cited similar surfacing at pedestrian crossings on Railway Parade, by the Yarraman Railway Station, as an example of the measure he thinks should be taken.
Mr Manivasagasivam stated in his response that the implementation of the measure at Douglas Street was inappropriate.
Manivasagasivam said that the yellow surface treatment was used on Railway Parade as it is in place at a set of traffic signals that operate 24 hours a day, and that the circumstances were therefore different to Douglas Street.
“As school crossings at Douglas Street only operate during limited time periods during the day, it is not considered suitable to install the yellow surface treatment as it may create confusion for motorists by giving a misleading sense of priority to pedestrians outside of school crossing periods.
“The crossings on Douglas Street are within 40 km/h speed zones and are monitored regularly.”
