Mayor4Unley

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.

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.

Greek Easter doesn't always coincide with 'traditional' Easter. This year, it was a week later with Greek Good Friday on 06 April. Council was represented at the Good Friday service at the Church of Saints Constantine and Helen, @ 101 Goodwood Road, Goodwood. It's a grand old church; absolutely beautiful inside. On the day the church quickly filled and scores of people participated in the service from outside, on the footpath. Greek Easter in Goodwood is a huge event. Photo source: taken by a parishioner on the day

Last night I attended the Unley FOCUS meeting. I was accompanied by Unley Councillors Peter Hughes and Rufus Salaman. All (but one) of the candidates for the SA seat of Unley were there to give a talk and respond to questions. I scored the candidates and rated their worth to represent us in Unley. The candidates ranged from good to bad to absolutely woeful. One was just so bad; with totally outrageous comments; a racist pun didn't go down well. It was a good evening to assess the candidates. It's a pity that the average voter won't get to see their party's candidate in the candid light that we experienced. Three of the candidates did a bit of Council bashing; two quite heavily. They obviously had no idea of where State Government funding (and involvement) ended and Council involvement started; all rather sad. Councillor Salaman asked a couple of heated questions of one of the candidates. I asked the last question of the night viz. "Will you run...

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.

The community consultation on the new grandstand @ Goodwood Oval has commenced. Unley Council had sent letters to local residents and information has been placed on Council’s website. Also information is available at council facilities.  Public notices will also be placed in the Eastern Courier and at the oval.   Have your say about the new grandstand This consultation is open to all residents in Unley. The consultation will close on Friday 16 March. A report will be presented to Council in April.

Lunch today was home-grown and home-made tabouli. Yum! Stuffed inside a fresh bread roll from the local baker at #BlackForest. Absolutely superb!! Parsley, tomato, cucumber, lemon & garlic ... all from the garden. I must confess to buying a #LocalSA red onion on #GoodyRoad. Tip: pick a 1/2 bucket of parsley early in the day before the heat and soak in lightly salted water for 35 minutes. Leave long stems on the parsley so that after soaking it can be bunched and then shaken outside to remove the water. #EatinUnley #GrowinUnley #ShopinUnley #BestinUnley #iChooseSA #Unley

Bravo Butcher 👍 On Friday I went to the local butcher at Goodwood; BTW it's one of the best butcher shops in SA! Anyway, I went to collect the Christmas order; before the rush on Saturday. I thought, as a treat I would get the dog a couple bones; some nice beef rib bones; the safest type for dogs. I was staggered to learn that the butcher had no bones; not a single bone. However, I was pleasantly surprised to hear that the entire stock of bones had been donated to the RSPCA/AWL. What a nice Christmas gesture. It reflects the general goodwill that pervades the shopping strip @ Goodwood. My dog gets no bone for Christmas, but the dogs at the animal shelters will have a nice treat 👍 When next considering making a donation to charity, why not send a few dollars to the Animal Welfare League. They do so much with so little. It's a great cause!

Good news for short term shoppers at Goodwood. Unley Council intends to install four 1 hour parking spaces on Surrey Street, on the north side near Goodwood Road. This will be ideal for short term shoppers eg. people going to the Chemist or Post Office. This has been the outcome of a request to me from a resident. It is good to see Council rapidly respond to the request from the community. ps It is likely that by the time the signs are installed in February 2018, two of the parking spaces will be limited to 30 minutes.

I must admit to being surprised that Labor's Jayne Stinson had secured $2.5m to build a new 2 storey grandstand and club facilities @ Goodwood Oval (in Unley and in the electorate of Badcoe, formerly Ashford). Badcoe is a seat that Labor must win to retain Government. It was almost too easy. Normally treasurers put up a harder fight. But when the Treasurer Tom Koutsantonis visited the oval 2 weeks ago in his white car, I knew (in fact I was told) that funding was in the bag; all secured providing Unley Council coughs up another $1m. I had been in deep conversation with Jayne about the urgent need to get new change facilities to cater for the growing number of females in our local cricket and football teams. Everyone else seems to be claiming credit for cracking a deal with Jayne, so I thought I should also lay claim. Whatever, whoever (is not important) - what is important is the outcome. I'm delighted that the SA Government has committed to immediate funding of $2.5...

Goodwood Oval needs a new grandstand and club and change rooms for the football and cricket players. New change rooms are essential to cater for female players. The trouble is a new facility is hugely expensive; not a cost that Unley Council can solely bear. Labor candidate Jayne Stinson and Liberal candidate Lachlan Clyne are pursing the matter and are drumming up support from within their parties. Jayne recently took Treasurer Tom Koutsantonis to the oval and gave him a tour of the ageing facility. Tom loves his footy and his presence signalled Labor's need to retain Badcoe. Will Lachlan now take Steven Marshall down to the oval to view the facilities? To get the votes, all Labor and Liberal need to do is to commit to funding of $2m+. A big ask, but a win in Badcoe is important to both parties. Thinking about it, I wonder just how many votes are at stake. Will they get more votes from the local residents? I doubt it. The locals probably won't want more sport being play...

Come and celebrate the transformation of Goodwood Road @ Goodwood. The road and footpath works are complete and it's time to party. A huge street party is planned for Sunday 22 October 10am to 2pm. It's a collaboration between the City of Unley and the Goodwood Traders' Association. The official launch will be at 11am in Rosa Street. See you there. Bring some cash to splash on the day and support the local traders.

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...

The road and footpath renovation works are nearly finished. Now the last minute finer details are being done. I was amazing by the art work being installed in the windows set into the seats along Goodwood Road. Absolutely fantastic. It is not often that Council has me down on my knees, but that's the position I was in to take these 2 photos. A passer-by gave me a rather curious glance. For those who want to find the bikini lady, she is in front of the chemist shop.

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.

Fantastic news that harness racing is returning to Wayville @ The Showgrounds. Years ago, many years ago, harness racing was hugely popular at Wayville. It drew crowds of 10,000s. The last trots race at Wayville was held in 1973. Wayville was the trots venue from 1925 to 1973. There will be 8 races over the year. The first event is on Friday 27 October. Put it in your calendar and get there. The first event will be a nostalgic return to the glory days of harness racing from yester-year. I am forecasting a huge crowd for the first race. See you at the track.

En Japanese bar and restaurant on Goodwood Road @ Goodwood. From a recent return visit, my review is 4.9/5. Absolutely superb. Eat as little (or as much) as you like; delivered in small servings - ideal to share. The staff make you feel special and truly provide service with a smile. Nothing is too much trouble. On my recent visit I discovered a sake that I actually like. It's called 'Shirakawago Sasanigori' and comes in a blue bottle. A lovely cloudy appearance and ever so nice on the palate; and a nice empty bottle to take home.

Subject:   Do you know Goodwood Unley Council is promoting 2 exciting projects in and around Goodwood. Flyers and posters have been distributed to to 2,800 homes and the local shops and businesses to get the message out.   OUR GOODWOOD The Council promotion reads ...  What are your favourite things about Goodwood? What makes it so special? Is it the people, the places, the things to do, family, friends, the history? The City of Unley is looking for you and your communities to submit images and stories for two innovative arts projects Post It and Discover Historic Goodwood . Your images may be displayed on panels integrated in to new banner poles which are being installed on the side streets as part of the Goodwood Road Streetscape Upgrade project. And your stories could be included in a new local walking tour app which will take people on a journey which includes local heritage buildings, stories, music, images...

Australia Post has celebrated street art across the nation by releasing 4 stamps depicting the best examples. One image shows artwork on a house in Railway Terrace North in Goodwood. Fantastic recognition of the local street art. I give it a lick of approval. Oh, by the way, 2 of the stamps show images of street art in Adelaide. Not bad for a sleepy backwater town! Click on this link to view the 4 stamps