Mayor4Unley

Another cafe opens in Goodwood. Actually it’s nearby in Forestville, on Leader Street next to the train line. The cafe called Two Sparrows has grand plans, is open 7 days, and I hope it does well. I like the idea of running classes on bread and cheese making; acting as a community hub. get more info here

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

The State Government has commenced public consultation on the proposed Kaufland mega supermarket on Anzac Highway @ Everard Park/Forestville. However, the catch is that only residents (and businesses) within 60m of the development may formally comment. This is totally outrageous. So many residents who will be impacted can not have a say. I would have thought that the new Liberal Government would have quickly changed the State planning process. This consultation is a joke #saparli. This development has the potential to severely impact residents over a wide radius, especially to the south in all the side streets off Leader Street. There must be a rigorous independent traffic management plan before approval is granted. The high volume of vehicle movements at this site warrants the traffic study. Residents are encouraged to meet with those living within 60m and pass on their concerns which may then be formally submitted. You may also pass on your concerns to me and I will ende...

A high speed train service from Mount Barker to Adelaide is emerging as a strong promise in the campaigns for the SA state Election. And so it should be. It's long overdue. There's no point in building satellite cities without provision of decent public transport. Having a bus service is not adequate; especially through the hills. Experts are forecasting an express service of 20 minutes between Mount Barker and Adelaide. What will be required, and there has been no mention, is huge land acquisition along the Belair line, from Adelaide to Belair and then on to Mount Barker. Currently there is is single track to service the Belair route. Work is expected to commence in mid 2019. Or will it? The only way to avoid the huge land acquisition is to build the detour for the freight trains at Murray Bridge and then use the old freight train rail corridor to build new dual rail lines from Adelaide to Mount Barker (and beyond). A tip to Premier-to-be Jay, Nick and St...

The election posters are going up. Prime position poles are being seized. The suburbs are starting to look untidy. It always staggers me that wannabe politicians #saparli have to put their heavily digitally altered photos on the poles. Surely a smart voter would follow the news and decide which party and which candidate to vote for. Surely. People are not that dumb that they get influenced by a mug shot on a pole. Surely. Yet, they do it. Why? Because they feel good when they see themselves on a drive past on a campaign run; a spot of door knocking and giving away balloons to kiddies at the supermarket (yuk!). The golden rule is to put up posters in the electorate and not outside the boundary. It confuses the public; or could do; and shows carelessness. Note to Lachlan Clyne (Liberal candidate for Badcoe): mate you've got a few posters up in Leader Street in Pisoni #Unley territory. You may wish to redeploy them back in #Badcoe.

A rain garden has appeared on the NW corner of Second Avenue and Everard Terrace @ Forestville ... much to the surprise of the locals. An SA Government grant of $6k partially funded the project. 2 street trees were removed as part of the construction. No trees will be planted in the rain garden. It should be 'blooming' by Christmas. There has been a mostly positive reaction by the locals. Residents in nearby streets are considering asking for one in their street.

Breaking news ... Germany’s Kaufland buys Le Cornu site, Forestville, for $25m to set up giant 20,000sq m supermarket. Wow. That's huge and will probably fill the whole Le Cornu site. Kaufland builds mega supermarkets that are typically 4-5 times the size of a Coles or Woolworths store. A positive outcome is that there won't be an 8 storey building (or will there be apartments above?). A negative outcome is the huge influx of cars bringing shoppers. The traffic impact on local streets will be heavy. Read more ...

On Monday 25 September 2017 I moved the following motion at Unley Council. That: The City of Unley Council writes to the Minister for Planning and expresses its concern about the lack of consultation by DPTI with the local community about the proposed Inner & Middle Metropolitan Corridors (Sites) Ministerial DPA, and particularly for the site comprising 12 to 30 Anzac Highway and 6 to 14 Third Avenue, Everard Park between KFC and Solver Paints on Anzac Highway and extending through to the local minor residential street at the rear in Third Avenue, Forestville. Why? Outraged locals in Forestville and Everard Park, especially in Grove Avenue about zero consultation by the Minister for Planning with regard to the mega development on this site. Locals only learnt about the proposal in a recent newspaper article. I would hope that when the Minister gets a letter of concern from Unley Council, he will undertake further consultation with the Everard Park and Forestville residents. ...

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.

Nothing annoys me more than an unsigned letter being left in the letterbox. However, the discreet camera out the front revealed who it was. Not that I was surprised; I had already guessed who it was. It just matched the pattern of this woman's past actions; and her past accusations. I just beg of you, this woman from Forestville, not to do what you say you will do. You will end up with egg all over your face; not from me, but from your own hand. Give the world a break and bury the conspiracies. Next time, sign your letter and be accountable for your wild accusations. Regards, Bob Schnell

The Messenger 'local rag' newspaper must be doing it tough. I've just received a leaflet from the Messenger in my letterbox. It says 'We have identified a group of suburbs that have a lower than average tendency to pick up delivered copies of the paper. Your suburb is in that group.' Messenger wants my feedback. Further, it suggests that in the future the options may be to drive somewhere and collect a paper from a retail outlet or subscribe for an online edition. I gave feedback and replied that I want the delivery to continue. Yes, a high % of people leave the paper in the driveway and mulch it with their car tyres. However, many (and I would suggest a good 50%) do pick it up and read it. Perhaps the high number of flats in the area is distorting the figures and suggesting a lower than average readership. I suspect that when the Messenger refers to a group of suburbs, the size of that group is high and the real push is to stop paper copies and force r...

The roadworks on Goodwood Road and Leader Street are nearing an end. Both projects will be complete by 30 June. Leader Street is currently being sealed and follow-up plantings will finish the work. After 30 June, the State Government will seal Goodwood Road at night. It's been a major upheaval and a period of frustration for nearby residents and local businesses. On the positive side, it will look great and the charm of Goodwood will return. Thinking ahead 12-24 months, work will commence on replacing the road and footpaths on King William Road. Council needs to learn from the Goodwood Road project and determine how best to minimise impact on the local residents and businesses eg. stage the work in smaller sections and perhaps have more night work.

This week I met with a group of residents to discuss traffic issues in their street; Leah Street, Forestville. The residents had invited local Labor MP Steph Key. Steph brought a ministerial advisor and also Jayne Stinson, the freshly endorsed Labor candidate for Badcoe (formerly the seat of Ashford). The discussion was about how to reduce the traffic volume and reduce the number of heavy commercial vehicles that pass through Leader, Leah and East Avenue, taking a shortcut to the South. I am confident that Minister Mullighan will do something to ease the plight of the locals. It's an interesting outcome given that Unley Mayor Lachlan Clyne (and front-runner potential Liberal candidate for Badcoe) had visited the street a couple of weeks back to discuss these issues with residents. The Liberals are very slow in selecting their candidate for Badcoe. Meanwhile, the Labor candidate Jayne Stinson is working the streets and getting a lot of help from Steph Key.

I have received questions from residents about street trees and the process for their replacement when they become end of life, unhealthy or are severely damaging infrastructure eg. the kerb, footpath and underground services. In particular, concerns are being raised by residents in Charles Street, Forestville. The street (particularly the southern end) is bird city with the big native gums full of bird attracting blossom. I put some questions to Unley Council and here are the responses (with my minor edit). Hopefully this will help to provide clarity. Question: Is there a reference on the website about the selection of street trees? Answer: No. Most streets have a nominated preferred replacement species which is based on the dominant species in the street. Question: Does Council offer residents a choice and take a vote in the street? (Like what used to happen several years ago.) Answer: This only occurs when we undertake a detailed review of a street as part o...

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

On Tuesday this week a team of Concordia College students came to Forestville Reserve to remove all the graffiti the tags from the tram overpass wall. It was an absolute mess. This activity was a part of the students' community service; a part of their course work. It was good to see them at work. Look at the photos to see the before, during and after status.

I visited Forestville Reserve last night. There were a few families out walking and visiting the newly developed area on the East side. Someone jogged past. A lot of bikes zoomed through. It's looking good. The culvert entrance to the creek has been improved with the top layer of stones removed - my suggestion - it was too high, over engineered and served no purpose. Skaters were using the newly surfaced concrete. Some kids were shooting hoops at the basketball/netball court. The new lawn is coming on nicely. The weather is perfect to get it started. There is a mass of new plants and trees. I would have planted more medium sized trees on the boundary. Perhaps they will go in later, but I suspect not. All of this is in stark contrast to the ongoing vandalism of the long mural on the support wall for the tram overpass. Back in November I sat on the wall of the skate park and watched the spray can artists at work creating a fantastic mural. Their work was repeatedly vandalise...

I keep getting questions re the upgrade of Forestville Reserve. Stage 2 has commenced. There is daily progress ... (at last).  The majority of works will be completed by March 2015, subject to site and weather conditions. The work is jointly funded by SA Government and Council. Here is a list of the planned works: ·          Restoration of lawn areas around the skate park ·          Restoration of basketball half-court       A  new netball half-court ·          New fitness equipment, including an upgrade of the existing fitness equipment ·          Enhancement of the new culvert opening, including planting ·          Resurfacing of the skate park (currently in progress) ·          Irrigation and ...

Kids must learn to swim. Enrol for a Swim & Survive VACSWIM course @ Unley pool. Below is an extract of an advertisement for VACSWIM. Summer is nearly here, are your kids ready for a safe holiday season? Enrolment for the 2015 SA Water VACSWIM program is filling fast! As summer’s scorching heat arrives ahead of schedule, it’s imperative that our children not only know how to behave, but also know how to react in and around water. VACSWIM SA aims to deliver a fun, enjoyable, safe and most importantly an educational program to young South Australians. For over 60 years, the SA Water VACSWIM program has provided water safety education to school aged children across the state. *The number of drowning deaths in the 12 month period from July 2013 to June 2014 has seen a 9 per cent reduction on the 10 year average. Although this statistic is welcomed, the figure of 266 drowning deaths in Australia is still too high. VACSWIM SA and its partners YMCA of South Aus...

The landscaping at the corner of Leah Street and Aroha Terrace (Forestville) is finally progressing. Holes are being dug to seat the big rocks that have been ordered. They should be there soon. Also, when the SA Government completes the realignment of the fence along the tramline corridor, there will be more shrubs and bushes planted near the fence at this intersection. A pity that we can’t have a few taller trees, but it will be better than the waste-land that was there.