A resident voice

Elections come around every four years but residents are around for much longer.

The forthcoming City of Melbourne elections for Lord Mayor, Deputy Lord Mayor and nine councillors will be held in October and already there is jockeying behind the scenes to establish “teams” and supporter networks.

Residents are starting from scratch while businesses have a flying start with two votes, non-attendance voting, citywide representation (no local wards) and thus a city-biased business focus. But residents can have a voice if organised across the suburbs and neighbourhoods that make up this city.

There is a body of resident opinion that running a resident team ticket could be an option, providing the opportunity to not only elect candidates supportive of our stake in the city but able to negotiate preferences in a highly contested field of teams.

The Carlton Residents’ Association (CRA) committee will soon be setting aside time and effort to establish an agenda that reflects a “Resident Voice”. It will set out the issues that matter to residents and we will be seeking responses from all candidates so that the council reflects our needs and issues.

Residents are invited to submit the matters that matter to them by contacting me at [email protected]

Mobility

As readers of Inner City News will be aware the east-west links provided by Grattan and Queensberry streets were impacted by the construction of the Parkville Station. This initiative was supported by the CRA and will deliver an underground rail system of benefit to inner and metropolitan Melbourne now and into the future.

The Mobility Policy adopted by the CRA in 2023 sets out the need for transport in the city to reflect the changing nature of the urban environment and be sustainable, integrated and accessible.

The Policy is explicit in its view that following the completion of the Parkville Station in mid 2024 Grattan St should re-open with the changes proposed by the City of Melbourne three years ago – protected bicycle lanes, additional and accessible bus stops,  walking, hook turns to promote traffic flow and one traffic lane in each direction. CRA welcomes the integrated mobility options now available on Grattan St and supports such options across our suburb and city.

CRA is pleased that the council is proposing to complete its policy promise to reinstate Queensberry St and return it to one traffic lane each way and improve the safety and accessibility of cycling from Peel St to Rathdowne St and increase canopy cover by further tree planting. CRA looks forward to engaging with the council in the community consultation that will begin on June 19 for six weeks.

E-scooters

The trial of a commercial e-scooter scheme initiated in 2022 by the Department of Transport and Planning with the agreement of the Cities of Melbourne, Port Phillip and Yarra continues to  be extended. This is despite growing community concerns and now mounting opposition to an e-scooter shared scheme being permitted in the City of Melbourne.

The council has been supportive of the trial and the benefits e-scooters can achieve in the reduction of transport emissions and more efficient use of road space. However, during trial the council is coming to realise that the lack of a regulatory framework and compliance measures is of concern and has informed the state government that its support is dependent on the council being granted the power to enter into contracts with e-scooter companies that would require compliance through the use of geofencing and the imposition of financial penalties.

This would prevent the riding of e scooters on footpaths, in our parks and gardens and left in places that may cause injury.

CRA remains sceptical of the trial and its continuing extension by the state government and the role of the e-scooter as a legitimate contribution to mobility options across our city.

However, we do support the council’s demand that the state government delegates to it  the power to enter into contracts with the commercial providers of e-scooters and regulate their use to the benefit of the city’s mobility. •