Councillor is shown the issues

A group of Docklanders took Melbourne City councillor Cathy Oke on a walking-tour last month to show her first-hand their issues with open space.

Docklander Dawn Linnett said Cr Oke offered to come to Docklands to see residents’ issues during a recent consultation at the town hall to discuss open space.

“Cathy seemed really on-the-ball,” Ms Linnett reported. “She was very agreeable to our suggestions and hopefully she will be able to doing something about them.”

On April 13, the residents took Cr Oke to Northbank, South Wharf, Yarra’s Edge and Victoria Harbour.  Ms Linnett said the group pointed out opportunities for greening, lighting, additional public facilities, wind mitigation and suggestions of where dogs could be walked off their leashes.

“We had lots of suggestions about how Docklands could become more people-friendly,” Ms Linnett said.

Cr Oke said the personal tour came about during a discussion at the town hall about specific issues in Docklands.

“Docklands residents present on the night had specific ideas for improving open space in the area near their apartments, as well as questions regarding timelines for improvements in recently-constructed areas,” Cr Oke said.

“Better than discussing at the town hall we arranged a site tour, so they could show me in person and I could take photos and notes to better understand the improvements they were interested in.”

“I will report back to those residents what I’ve found out in response to their ideas and questions,” Cr Oke said.