Alternative Media Group

Fit for a queen

Author:

Shant Fabricatorian

Posted:

Thursday, 3 December 2009

With two major new developments set to re-open in the area, Lord Mayor Clover Moore received an ear-bashing from Erskineville locals worried about traffic influx in the area during Council’s recent Inner-West Community Forum on November 17.

The Imperial Hotel is set to reopen in the coming weeks, after it won a legal battle against the City of Sydney in the Land and Environment Court. The court ruled that the hotel could accommodate up to 788 patrons on Friday and Saturday nights.

Attendees of the forum asked Cr Moore to reveal how it would deal with the high number of people who would be drawn to the area on those nights.

Erskineville residents also reminded Cr Moore of their disappointment following Council’s Development Application approval for a new supermarket. Cr Moore defended Council’s decision, saying the DA was 60 per cent smaller than the original two-storey proposal which was rejected earlier in the year.

Paul Howard, a member of the Friends of Erskineville working group, led the chorus of community complaints. He said locals were concerned the supermarket would attract a high amount of traffic from outside the Erskineville area.

“I think what came out of Tuesday night’s meeting specifically is that the Lord Mayor and council officers finally recognised that the Erskineville area’s traffic and parking issues need to be investigated in some detail,” Mr Howard said.

“The Lord Mayor probably got the message that the community is still very unhappy about the decision regarding the supermarket.”

Mr Howard also criticised Cr Moore for not meeting with his group before Council took the vote. “I guess as our elected officials we would have expected to have the courtesy of a meeting with her as a resident delegation and to explain our positions, but she wasn’t available,” he said.

But Cr Moore scoffed at suggestions that she refused to meet with the group, saying Council had thoroughly consulted the Erskineville community throughout the DA process.

Mr Howard says community members were disappointed with the Lord Mayor’s handling of the questions put to her on the night. “Some residents have called me and commented on how rude the Lord Mayor was to some residents… I don’t know, maybe she was a bit stressed on the night,” Mr Howard said.

Labor Councillor Meredith Burgmann said she sympathised with Erskineville residents who felt they were left out of the loop. “I agree that there has been a breakdown of communication between Council and the residents of Erskineville,” she said.

“I was one of the councillors who voted against the supermarket, because it seems to me that what’s happening in Erskineville is that the residents are getting very anxious about over-development and suddenly having a concentration of traffic in the area, and I understand that. Council needs to consult wisely about how they will go about fixing the traffic issues that arise.”

According to a City of Sydney spokesperson, traffic concerns were being addressed as part of a council study. “The City has held two community workshops (March 31 and September 2) to seek community feedback and comment on the draft Pedestrian Cycling and Traffic Calming (PCTC) plan,” the spokesperson said in a statement.

“The draft PCTC plan is due to go to Sydney Traffic Committee next month and to the Planning, Development and Transport Committee before seeking final endorsement by Council next year.

“Developments including the Imperial and the Hive have multiple conditions of consent imposed on them to minimise traffic impacts in the local area.”

A draft report published in August said the PCTC Plant would, “assist in meeting the 2030 targets for the city of 10 per cent of trips made in the city by cycling; 50 per cent of trips made by walking; and 80 per cent of work trips by city residents in non-private vehicles.”

by Ehssan Veiszadeh

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