I spoke at Council against this bizarre, ill-conceived Phoenix that keeps re appearing, in various guises, ignoring the wants and needs of locals on Wednesday this week. Over 12 months ago the community rose up en masse to squash the ill-conceived Shrine to Sea Kerferd Road proposal that would have reduced car lanes to one lane each way and moved parking over to the centre of the road to make room for protected bike lanes. Yes! more bike lanes!

I am disappointed that our Council are once again following their own politically biased bike lane agendas, despite this project being dealt with by Martin Foley and the community over 12 months ago, and recent State Government changes that kept the basic structure of Kerferd Road as it was with landscaping and beautification works being proposed. 

The crazy aspect of this latest fiasco is that it is our own Council that reintroduced the single lanes, crackpot centre-point parking and protected bike lanes back into what was otherwise a reasonable State Government re-proposal.

Another WOKE joke from the Council that gave us:

> a rubbish Collection Service that doesn’t Collect

> a pop-up bike lane fiasco that needlessly enraged our community 

> and now a recycled Shrine to Sea proposal that will set the community against Council – even more

There were 30 people speaking on this topic on Wednesday. A topic that was only added to Council’s agenda 4 days before Council was set to vote on it,  and giving little notification time for the community to respond. In any case, there was a broad church of people from both sides of the issue including bike activists from outside Port Phillip, as well as one woman that went on and on at how dangerous it was riding on roads with her infant in a cargo bike. A front load grocery style delivery bike ideal for delivering pumpkins and produce but not a great choice for transporting delicate living human cargo.   

Now the deal at Council is that you can’t interrupt a speaker, unless you are the Council (they make the rules) but I sensed that most people in the room were aghast and biting their tongues at how she was putting her child at such unnecessary risk. 

But everyone is entitled to have their say. Unless you say something that highlights Council’s ineptitude or names and shames a bureaucrat.

My Council monologue continues - April 2, 2022, I along with many others from the community went to a Community Engagement Session regarding this project. I came early and even helped them set up their stand. I spoke at length with a lady and listened to her project sell-in and then gave her my opinions on this concept. 

I said “It's a major thoroughfare in peak periods, it already has wide bike lanes, and road narrowing will cause rat runs past schools and local streets. It will be a problem for garbage and emergency vehicles, a problem for residents to wash and charge cars, it will cause congestion and safety issues, and contribute to a bottle neck at Albert Road and Kings Way”.

I made mention to her that she was not taking any notes and questioned whether this was truly a community engagement session or the presentation of a "fate accompli”? 

I got no response, but fortunately the planned Kerferd Road pop-up bike lanes were then scrapped. 

Confirming my suspicions that “Community Engagement" has always been a way of placating and justifying cockamamy Council ideas - not actually listening and responding to community feedback. 

The upside to this story is that in the end, the majority of Councillors voted  for (Crs Cunsolo, Pearl, Bond & Sirakoff) and one against (Cr Martin) the Mayor’s modified motion which excluded the originally proposed protected bike lanes and reducing car traffic to one lane in each direction  with Crs Baxter and Nyaguy absenting themselves from Chambers. Cr Clark and Crawford did not attend the meeting. 

My message to the bureaucrats and Councillors - don’t forget you’re working FOR the whole community - NOT against it.