A reactionary world

A reactionary world

So, I was shunted off the tram like always on my way to my studio in Docklands.

We know Yarra Trams uses Docklands to make its trams run on time. I like to use the hash tag #yarratramshatesdocklands.

Anyway, while I was walking across the LaTrobe St bridge I noticed that they have put up temporary fencing.

This got me intrigued. This fence was making one of the major gateways to Docklands look really ugly. Why was it there?

So, when I did a bit of a search I found out that it’s to stop people from self-harm or suicide.

I thought that this fence was an over-reactive response to what I guess is a sad situation. The council and the government are so reactionary when it comes to tragedy and acts of nature they go crazy putting safety ahead of any logical aesthetic.

A good example was the concrete bollards placed around the city in response to someone using a car as a weapon. While I understand the motivation, those bollards where only there to make the public feel better. However, the giant disgusting ashtrays would not stop a similar incident.

We are so quick to respond to tragic things that as a community we do not think about the long-term effect that our quick decisions have on our city.

Melbourne used to be a city filled with fountains and then we had a drought, so we ripped down most of our old and important fountains and then built a billion-dollar desalination plant that has yet to be used in a practical way.

I guess I just want to bring up this important gateway to the Docklands, the LaTrobe St bridge, is an important feature that, if disturbed, should be done with care and consideration of the urban environment.

In the end these changes to architecture, art and urban design will do little to help people with depression. If someone wants to hurt themselves there is little you can do about it through design changes.

It is derogatory and tokenistic.

What we need to ask ourselves is why someone would want to hurt themselves and what can we do as a community?

If you read this story reach out to an old friend or someone you think maybe having a hard time and go have a coffee with them.

We don’t need to be reactionary, we just need to be caring.

If this story has brought up any issues contact Lifeline on 13 11 44.

Have an awesome month punkz. Follow me on Instagram: doylesart

And let me know if you have a cool story about Docklands.

- Adrian Doyle 

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