Mayor4Unley

This morning ... just so sad to see a magnificent big tree cut down in Unley - next to the tram line, corner of Norman Terrace and Fourth Avenue in Everard Park. A gathering of residents protested the removal. I asked the tree feller (the guy with the chainsaw) why it was being removed. His reply was that it was dead. 'Just dead branches Mate'. Yet around the stump there was healthy green growth and shoots. And it was healthy last year. This tree does lose its leaves. None of the nearby residents knew of the planned removal. They just came out at the sound of a chainsaw. On whose land was it? DPTI or Unley Council - always hard to tell around rail corridors. A loss of another big Unley tree, probably to be replaced by a shrub. Surely residents must be informed and consulted prior to tree removals. I suspect that it was a DPTI removal. Just sad.

Back in the year 1909, Unley Road was dug up to remove the tram tracks that had been used by the horse drawn trams. New rails were laid for electric trams and this work took 2 years. All of the rubble removed was carted to Unley Road to create the huge viewing mounds. Check out the photo to see how many men were involved. In 1911 electric trams started to run along Unley Road. The tram service ceased in 1957. Looking at the photo and so many labourers, it reminded me of the work done 30+ years to build the brick road along King William Road. Soon, King William Road will be dug up and paved with bricks. Brick footpaths and a brick road. I still say that the road should be bitumen to reduce costs and speed up the build time. Work had better start soon to have it completed by Christmas in time for the retail trade. It will be a great outcome, but there will be serious disruption to the local businesses; like what happened on Goodwood Road. Tough on the traders, but unavoidable....

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

I found the bargain of the year! Yesterday on eBay I found a used bridge for sale. It was the pedestrian and cycle overpass bridge on South Road at Tram Stop 6. Despite it being SA Government property, a frustrated commuter from Sellicks Beach (eBay account keynes8963 ) listed it for sale on eBay. The description said that it was only 7 years old and had cost $30m. Postage was $10.40 via Australia Post Parcel delivery. I placed a bid early in the day at $250. I was quickly outbid with the bids exceeding $100k. I did send the seller a message asking if the overhead lights were included. He replied that if I paid cash he would throw in the lights. Later in the day the advertisement and all trace of it was removed from eBay; probably at the instigation of the Government.

Here's a letter to the editor, published on 14 September 2016 ... During last week's Royal Adelaide Show, parking in adjacent Unley suburbs was a total mess. Local traffic was heavy and slow. Why don't more people catch public transport to the Show? The cost of fares for single tickets is a big expense for families. A simple solution would be if the SA Government provided free public transport for people with prepaid tickets to the Show.

They are still talking about running the new tram line down Goodwood Road, rather than along Unley Road. It simply won't fit. It would be an obstacle for cars and severely reduce the volume of traffic, especially during peak hour. From my perspective that would be great; reduced commuter traffic in the Goodwood shopping zone. Much of the traffic would be diverted to King William Road and Unley Road; good for Goodwood 😀 It would be a real engineering feat to get the tram down through the underpass with poles inserted into the crumbling walls of the underpass. Ugly poles from the CBD to Mitcham. The real reason for the Government's probable decision to go with Goodwood Road is  a recommendation from the Urban Development Institute of Australia state director Pat Gerace who said in The Advertiser that the benefits were overwhelming. He said that Goodwood Road had huge capacity for high rise apartments and commercial developments, whereas Unley Road was already built up. He...

At the recent Unley Council meeting (June 2016) there was healthy debate about the merit of underground trams (in a tunnel) under Unley Road; from Greenhill Road to Cross Road, a distance of ~ 2km. Mayor Lachlan Clyne had publicly proposed consideration of underground trams. Unley Council responded with a motion on notice that sought to publicly disassociate itself from the Mayor's proposal. It was a healthy debate. My argument against the proposal was as follows: My costings, formulated by assistance from civil engineers, forecast a cost of $1.5b. That cost may blow out to $2b within 5 years. The new Sundrop solar powered salt water tomato farm at Port Augusta costs $180m. At that price we could build another 5-8 Sundrop tomato farms. The proposed solar powered and thermal storage power station at Port Augusta will cost $1.2b. We could build another one and have $300m left over. These project costs at Port Augusta put the proposed expenditure at tunnel building in Unle...

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.

Last night I enjoyed another night at the Fringe. Two shows on either side of town. And then a trip home on the tram. We were packed in like sardines in a can. The tram would have to be the most popular (and crowded) public transport in Adelaide. Anyway, back on the tram ... An intoxicated Asian woman got on. She was on her mobile talking very loud, having a one-way conversation. The poor person at the other end. She was oblivious to the world around her. Totally immersed in her conversation. Actually, she had been at our tram stop and had been on the phone for 10 minutes, perhaps longer. A third of the tram followed her conversation with interest and laughter. One person near me very nearly wet herself. From the conversation ... The woman had recently got a dog - one of those fluffy shitzu type. She was worried about her dog being left alone at home in the dark (without any lights on). Someone had told her that dogs are colour blind. (Which is true.) She rationalised that bec...

A few weeks back, I was on the tram to the city. It was peak hour in the morning. It was a wet day and the tram was packed. It was like being in a can of sardines. No need to hang on. The surrounding bodies kept you upright. No risk of falling if the brakes were applied. It was humid and stifling and uncomfortable. Passengers encroached heavily on others’ private space. There was a lot of unintentional body to body contact. Someone near me had cheap earbuds and was listening to some crap music; we all had to share the noise. Someone near me was wearing a back-pack. With every tram movement I had the back-pack pushed into my side. Damn annoying. Etiquette should be that passengers are advised to remove back-packs and place it between their feet. These people take up the space of 2 people. Someone near me was sniffing and snorting loudly. It was terrible. Disgusting. I suspect that it was the person with earbuds. Next to me was a tall elderly man. Probably a grandf...