Amid global turmoil and national flood disasters, the Parkville Gardens neighbourhood is fortunate to have remained a place of calm and natural appeal. It’s also been a quiet time for community activities, but that’s about to change.
By the time this update is published, two quite different events will have taken place.
The first is the children’s Easter egg hunt scheduled for Sunday, April 10. That’s always fun and the weather’s looking very good!
The second is the Future Melbourne Committee event on the night of Tuesday, April 12. The Lord Mayor and councillors will be meeting in Parkville and local residents have been invited to register and attend. There’ll be reports on both of these in next month’s edition.
As foreshadowed last month, outgoing local member Tim Read MP and his successor Ellen Sandell MP met with the Parkville Gardens Residents Association (PGRA) on the night of Thursday, April 7. Tim has been a great ally for us on issues such as bus services and shelters, school zoning and electric vehicle charging stations. Ellen will officially take up the baton in November, shortly before the state election.
The biggest news of the night was that planning control for Parkville Gardens has been returned to the City of Melbourne. This has long been PGRA’s wish. Development in the area has been under the direct control of the Minister for Planning ever since the state government took it over to provide accommodation for athletes competing in the 2006 Commonwealth Games. This arrangement made it almost impossible for local residents to object to amendments to the planning scheme for the area. This return to customary processes is very welcome news indeed.
Tim Read’s success in gaining budget support for a better bus service has yet to translate into more frequent peak hour buses, so he’s pledged to follow up on this. There was lively discussion about other options for improved public transport in the area, especially a service connecting Parkville Gardens with Flemington Rd trams.
His request on our behalf for school rezoning was rebuffed by the Minister for Education, so there’s more work to be done on this issue. It’s proposed to survey residents about both public transport and school zoning to generate an evidence base for change. The third major topic of the night revolved around electric vehicle charging stations and ongoing traffic and parking issues.
Finally, the lack of a community centre in the neighbourhood continues to be a drawback. PGRA is most grateful to Tim and Ellen for their interest and support.
The next item in our calendar is a Trivia Night on Thursday, June 23 at the Reggio Calabria Club. We’re looking forward to this fun community-building event. For the moment, please note the date. There’ll be more information next month.
Work has yet to begin on the planned safety improvements at the intersection of Galada Ave and Oak St. Construction of the social housing apartment building is proceeding but still at the foundations stage.
It’s that time of year when major faiths are engaged in their core religious observances – Easter, Passover and Ramadan. It’s also school holiday time. PGRA wishes everyone well •
Residents can find us:
facebook.com/groups/pgrass or email [email protected].
Tom knowles is the president of Parkville Gardens Association.