Mayor4Unley

Another great TDU in SA. And a reasonable crowd at the street party on King William Road, Unley. That party cost Unley Council $275,000 (or 0.5+% of the last rate rise for Unley residents). A great party, but at a huge cost to the rate payers. Soon we will hear from Council that the event brought in excess of $1million in revenue to the local businesses. After 20 years of funding by Council, maybe it's time for the local businesses to contribute more to fund the event. I feel that the street party has run its race and Unley Council should save money and perhaps fund a few smaller and more community themed events in our larger parks. Its time to change! Unley should give it up and let the event go to Kangaroo Island in 2021. Mayor Michael Hewitson is all smiles at the recent street party

I notice that Mitcham Council will building a cycle path to connect to the busy cycle path along Rugby Street in Unley; on route to the Adelaide CBD. A great outcome for the cyclists. Rugby Street is already a busy cycle route and the Mitcham road works will generate more cyclists passing through Unley. I read of a forecast 60% increase in cyclists from Mitcham. What we need to do is review this cycle route through Unley to ensure that there are no issues with the forecast higher volume. Safety for all - pedestrians, vehicles and cyclists - needs to be our top concern. There must be a common sense approach to traffic priorities ie. who gets right of way. For common sense solutions and practical outcomes Vote 1 Bob Schnell #Mayor4Unley  Tip: always wear a helmet! Written &authorised by Bob Schnell, 10 Halmon Avenue, Everard Park 5035

CYCLISTS WANTED to volunteer for an experiment. The University of SA will conduct a study to evaluate the effects of dried fruit & nuts on exercise performance & recovery. All food will be provided; just dried fruit & nuts. You will get $200 upon completion of the study. For some reason the study is only for males. Why ? ( Let me know if you find out .) Sounds like a worthwhile study, so give it consideration. For more information: see the photo and email  sansom.researchvolunteers@ unisa.edu.au  or phone 83021365. #Unley #Cycle #Cyclist Vote 1 Bob Schnell #Mayor4Unley to enhance cycle & walking paths across Unley. Written & authorised by Bob Schnell, 10 Halmon Ave, Everard Park 5035

The junction of the Mike Turtur shared path and Musgrave Street @ Goodwood has been revamped giving better line of sight and improved safety for pedestrians and cyclists. It works well if the cyclists and the pedestrians follow the path and the signs painted on the path. I stood there today for half an hour and watched ... most cyclists just went wherever they wanted: whichever was the shortest route. They are still cutting across the driveway and putting themselves at risk. most pedestrians and joggers did the right thing, but some (a few) also cut across the driveway. What is really needed is a hump or some physical barrier along the edge of the bricked driveway. Full marks to the local resident who has planted the area. It's good to see residents planting and maintaining the verges in their street. Many thanks to the cyclists and pedestrians who have provided me feedback on what works and what doesn't work. I've taken that on-board.

Fixed. The Mike Turtur cycle/pedestrian Shared Path at the Leah Street intersection with the tram line at Forestville has a new painted section saying ‘ Keep Clear ’. Now, when the boom gates are down, cars don’t queue across the narrow path for pedestrians and cyclists.  This enables the foot and bike traffic to cut across the queued motorists. I had received numerous requests to get it fixed. A simple solution that is working well. The shared path crossing is near the Dear Daisy cafe (on the corner). #Unley #cycle

Great news for cyclists and pedestrians passing through Goodwood. Upgrade works are about to start at the intersection of Musgrave Street / Railway Terrace South/ Mike Turtur Bikeway Path. A safety issue was identified and poor sight lines and other safety issues are to be fixed. The works will commence on Tuesday, 8 May 2018 and will be completed by 5 June 2018. This is a great outcome for this busy Shared Path.

Pedestrians have a priority over cyclists and motorists; in most cases. On a shared pedestrian/cycle path, the cyclist must look out for and give way to pedestrians, especially at crossovers eg. at tram stops. It is rare to see a cyclist slow down and give way to and care about a pedestrian. Usually the bike just barrels through. It's damn annoying, damn rude and just irresponsible. Yes, there are some responsible cyclists, but most are in a world of their own; with a sole intent of getting there as quickly as possible. Unley Council has trialed the installation of signs 'painted' on the shared paths asking cyclists to slow down. The bikes just burn rubber as they fly over the top. It was a wasted experiment. #Unley Councillor Don Palmer has taken the bicycle handle-bars and given them a good a shake in his recent blog about lack of courtesy on the road. I agree with his observations and comments. Have a read what Don said

The State seat of Unley is heating up for one hell of a fight in the upcoming SA Election. It's going to be a fight that Unley has not seen before. Incumbent, Liberal David Pisoni was looking safe, in his very safe seat that he has held for 12 years in opposition. SA Best candidate Anthony Olivier will give the traditional Liberal/Labor polling a solid shake-up. There will be a lot of Liberal money splashed about in Unley to get their message out. Liberal priorities like rate capping and a cycle path to Melbourne will be real election issues. My reflection is that: Rate capping is just a vote grabbing ploy; I mean what voter wouldn't want reduced Council rates? The reality is that rate capping won't actually work. I don't imagine there will be a huge influx of cycling tourists pedalling over from Melbourne. Seriously, this huge spend needs a rethink; it just sounds a bit looney. I won't give my forecast or reflect on my political views, but Unley...

DPTI has just contacted me to advise that over the next 3 nights there will be overhead works at the South Road tram overpass. Throw screens will be installed on the recently fixed cycle/pedestrian bridge. I hope that the new throw screens don't cause the same problem as last time. I'm sure that the new design has been carefully scrutinised (and certified). Anyway, there will be night works with noise and some traffic diversions over the next 3 nights. The cycle/pedestrian bridge is due to open in ~ 6 weeks. I understand that it will be a grand opening with dignitaries aplenty; more-so with the approaching SA Election. I will be there in lycra to wave the cyclists through.

I hear that Cr Mike Hudson is not wheelie good. Or should I say, his $400 four door car is no longer in good shape. The cops took a dislike, probably attracted by the non functioning brake lights, and defected the car. The cost of repairs was five times the value of the car. So, Mike has decided to walk or try to borrow his wife's car. Which probably explains why I saw Mike window shopping at an Unley bicycle shop. Anyone with a secondhand bike that they want to sell, just contact Mike Hudson at Unley Council.

The Leader Street Streetscape Project is now complete. Just a bit of asphalt to be laid near the railway line, booked for early August. The transformation of the street is fantastic. Looks great. It's green and cycle friendly with new cycle lanes. Prior to the road works there were no cycle lanes.. Rain-gardens were designed to filter stormwater and remove pollutants that would have normally been washed down creeks and into the ocean. These rain-gardens will filter about 5 million litres of stormwater annually. That's 2 Olympic sized swimming pools of water each year. Also, the new permeable footpaths have provided capacity to store 110,000 litres of water that will be 'soaked' into the soil and provide extra water for trees and vegetation. This streetscape renovation of Leader Street in Forestville is a pilot for transforming streets across Unley. Over time there will similar projects across Unley. It's been a good outcome.

Why UberEats? Why? Why? It doesn't make sense. Just stupid. People are just doing it because it is new (and needs to be tried). My son ordered UberEats (= takeaway, home delivery) from a fav eatery on Goodwood Road, about 4km away. It was a wet and cold night and the food was delivered by bicycle. The food was cold; as you would expect after delivery by bike on a cold and wet night, on a journey from so far away. Stupid! Eat there or drive and pick it up. Just common sense. Yes, my son got Uber credit for a bad experience, but that's not the point. A bad food experience is totally not acceptable. It was all fine before Uber arrived. It hasn't impacted me, but the young are uberising many aspects of life; and creating a new norm. It's a bad business model that delivers cold food, bad service  and leaves the consumer dissatisfied; and reflects poorly on the food outlets. Today, in the junk mail I revived an UberEats advertisement encouraging me to ord...

Surprise, surprise ... Unley has been awarded a start in the 2018 Tour Down Under (TDU). It coincidentally 😉😉 was announced soon after the budget rate rise was endorsed by Council. Unley has been awarded the Stage 2 Start, from King William Road up to Stirling via the long way, a distance of 148.6km. Stage 2 will be held on Wednesday 17 January, 2018. The Gourmet Gala street party on King William Road will be held the night before. For the record, I oppose hosting this event for the 18th time at a cost of $266k. This equates to a cost of about $14 per household, funded by a rate rise of 2.9%. At Council, I opposed this budget expenditure. In my chats with residents, there seems to be little support for the huge cost of hosting this event. Most people would prefer a smaller, cheaper and more family event eg. like Unley Way to Go, like what we used to hold on Unley Oval. I doubt that Unley will host the event in 2019. The money saved can be used to pay off some debt.

At the meeting held on 22 May 2017, Unley Council resolved ... The undertaking of the 2018 Unley Gourmet Gala and Tour Down Under Stage Start be endorsed, pending confirmation from Events SA that our expression of interest has been successful. I voted against this motion. The minutes show that Cr Mike Hudson also voted against it. Read the minutes and see who voted for this waste of money: your money My rationale for voting against hosting the Start and a Street Party was: Unley has hosted the event for 17 years. It beginning to stale and needs to be replaced with a smaller event @ lower cost eg. $40k. The reports states that the event injects $1m into the local Unley businesses. That is nonsense . Unley as a Council, as a broader area gets little in return. Other businesses beyond King William Road (KWR) get no return. It's all about KWR and many of the traders don't want the event as it impacts their businesses. Some businesses actually lose money due t...

The pedestrian/cycle path over the train line near Goodwood Station will be built in late 2017. It is scheduled to be complete by February 2018. The project has been given the green light. Survey works will be conducted later this week. This will be a fantastic outcome for the 1,000+ cyclists and the many pedestrians who make the daily trek through the dark and damp subway; and endure the stench of urine and the risk to safety - not a good place to be at night.

Unley Council has a dilemma when considering replacement of footpaths; as seen at the recent Council Meeting. In 2011 Council endorsed a program to replace the bitumen footpaths with 1.2m wide brick paving. This reduced width was a significant cost saving measure. In 2015 Council endorsed its Active Ageing Strategy to ensure accessibility for everyone. In September 2016 Council endorsed its Environmental Sustainability Strategy which in part seeks to ensure that there is an increase in the tree canopy of the street trees. In October 2016 Council considered what to do in 7 streets that are scheduled for new brick paving. The dilemma is whether or not to remove some trees and widen the footpath or retain trees and leave existing squeeze points. Consideration was given to a desired width of 1.8 with a minimum width of 1.5m. A modern gopher/scooter requires a gap 78cm (most are 75cm wide). The idea of having room for 2 gophers to pass was considered unreasonable; as was 2 prams and...

Here's a letter to the editor, published on 28 September 2016 ... A crazy and impractical idea of West Torrens Council that cyclists wear hi-vis clothing. I'm surprised that the Council didn't go further and seek to have grey and dark cars marked with hi-vis stripes to enhance visibility. An example of a Council wasting its breath on an issue that can't be achieved and doesn't match community expectations.

Fantastic news about the SA State Government finally announcing the plan to build a pedestrian and cyclist overpass at Forestville, over the train line. This has been long overdue. The entrances will from Norman Terrace and Railway Terrace North. The path will be disability compliant and there will be stairs and lifts to the 2 station platforms below. For cyclists travelling from 'Glenelg' to the city, this will cut 2.5 minutes off the commute time. The price tag is $10m. This includes the cost of 2 lifts and compulsory acquisition of land. At night there will be a nice subdued blue LED glow. Here are more details from BikeSA

There has been concern and there will be growing concern about the legislated legality of cyclists riding on footpaths. There is some hysteria about the issue, but I feel that it is unwarranted. In a presentation to Council we were informed of how in some instances it makes sense; for cyclists to avoid dangerous narrowing of the road etc. Whilst the legislation permits it, I doubt that there will be a mass of cyclists hitting the footpaths. A few facts ... Fact 1: yes, it is legal (legislated by the SA Government) Fact 2: yes, Unley Council can ban some (or all) footpaths for cycling Fact 3: no, Unley Council can not enforce any bans; only SA Police can do this Fact 4: any footpath where a Council applies a ban must have a sign at the start/end of the prohibited section If bans were to be applied, then streets would be cluttered with costly signs; just like the 40kph speed signs. All things considered, I'm not that concerned by the new legislation. The majority of cycli...

There is much confusion about the new law allowing cyclists to ride on footpaths. Here is a link to some questions and answers that help to clarify the matter. Now, it's up to the cyclists to do the right thing. It needs to be remembered that pedestrians have absolute right of way. Questions & Answers