Bouquets and brickbats

By Keith Sutherland - Yarra's Edge resident

Coming out of our fourth lockdown makes you appreciate just how lucky we are to live in an area which offers so much.

COVID-19 has changed our lives forever and it seems it’s going to be with us for years to come. We can only hope that the vaccinations should make us more safe to deal with this horrible virus, but sadly the roll out is going too slow.

Living where we do, the lockdowns don’t seem as bad as there is always something happening and the Yarra River offers a calming influence to help your mental state.

Our sincere thanks go out to all those businesses that have stayed open even with limited opportunities and it’s probably at a financial cost to them so it’s now encumbered on all of us to repay them by way of increased patronage and support. We are so lucky to have such excellent businesses that offer a wide variety of options.

“Bouquets and brickbats” to the City of Melbourne and my sincere thanks again to Cr Kevin Louey who is a man of his word and for following up items.

I complained to the council about the dangerous situation when paving is wet and extremely slippery. I was first told there was no budget to fix it and my reply was, “there will need to be a budget if you get sued if someone is injured!” Well, soon after the council began to put a non-slippery surface to rectify the problem. Thank you so much. 

I love the idea of Lime electric bikes introduced by City of Melbourne but hate the way they are dumped everywhere. Even though they are not as bad as the old O Bikes, they are quite unsavoury left on footpaths and sometimes in dangerous positions. In can’t understand why the blue bikes were removed as at least they had a home base and looked so much tidier but I guess there was a reason.

Also another brickbat is the replacement of another form of gravel opposite Tower 8 and Point Park after being told by council officers they would consider bitumen paths.

We all know how windy it gets with the high-rise wind tunnels which spread the gravel on paths and makes them slippery and dangerous.

To finish with bouquets I must congratulate the council and Lord Mayor Sally Capp for all the support they have offered businesses during the very trying times of shutdowns and all the promotions the council have done to bring vitality back to all parts of the city.

Thank you to Docklands News for highlighting again the “Zombie Bridges” in its last edition as this is still a major concern to residents on both sides of the river at Docklands and Yarra’s Edge.

The proposed tram bridge and now the suggested freight bridge adjoining Bolte Bridge would almost certainly render the marina unviable. Enough is enough. Both the state government and the City of Melbourne need to come clean on their proposals as the uncertainty goes back many years and it’s quite unfair on residents and boat owners. We deserve to have answers. It’s not that hard.

Another item which is still creating much interest with residents at Yarra’s Edge is having their own postcode of 3007 as there is much confusion when ordering Uber and Food deliveries. Also, many people see Yarra’s Edge as its own entity and a suburb in its own right •