A BETTER AND CHEAPER LIGHT RAIL ROUTE

This map shows my view of the best Light rail route for Randwick given what we will have to have.


WHY?

WILL SAVE $ BILLIONS

1 LINE NOT 2

NO TRAFFIC PROBLEMS

NO TREES LOST

NO HIGHRISE JUSTIFIED

NO REDUCTION IN BUSES NEEDED

EXPRESS BUSES STAY

FITS ORIGINAL COUNCIL PLANS FOR ITS USE

A BIKE LANE TO FOLLOW


HOW?

It avoids going down Anzac Parade (the only main arterial road to Kingsford and beyond) , this will avoid the traffic bottleneck that will occur when two lanes are lost in Kensington effecting peak hour traffic, reducing bus lanes, eliminating parking, wrecking businesses and giving no room for a bike path.

The whole of my proposed route is off the Road using existing crown land at the racecourse so it will reduce the cost, reduce the trees being lost on the other side of the racecourse and enable the proposed tram stabling yards to operate on racecourse land at the bottom of High Street. This is where the proposed bike path is supposed to go.

It eliminates 2 separate lines,only one is really needed to service the SCG, Racecourse, University and Hospital. This will save billions of dollars. The Line to Kingsford as we all know is only an excuse to allow 20 storey buildings to be build along Anzac Parade at Kingsford, commuters and residents don't need that.

Buses can interchange with trams at the Corner of High St and Anzac Parade (No need to have an interchange at the Kingsford roundabout which will turn it into a nightmare). Car parks can be built on racecourse land for commuters transferring from cars to trams and also be used on weekends by racegoers.

There will still be an option for the future to go South to Kingsford, Maroubra, Eastlakes or Mascot if it all works out to cause no traffic problems.

I also strongly believe the trams should terminate in Hospital Road (currently closed to the public) which will avoid traffic chaos at the intersection of Avoca and High Streets and save High Cross park from desecration and concrete. Residents from the new and proposed over-developments at Struggletown and Barker Streets can easily access it from here.

Buses can continue on current routes and schedules (including keeping the express buses all the way to town)  Some Coogee buses can interchange at corner of High St and Hospital Road, others at the Racecourse near Doncaster Ave with the express buses in peak hour continuing unimpeded by trams on bus lanes to the city. Maroubra and La Perouse buses can interchange at the University or just continue on bus lanes

If anyone is telling you there has to be 2 separate lines ending well short of Coogee beach and Maroubra Junction then they know more than you do about the secret plans for Urban Activation Development (UAPs) beyond the current light rail route, don't let them get away with this!

Councillor Geoff Stevenson

Establishment of a Parking Taskforce

Press Release

ESTABLISHMENT OF A PARKING TASKFORCE

Labor Councillor Geoff Stevenson moved last night at Randwick Council to create a Parking Taskforce to specifically look at the issues arising from the additional 14000 vehicles now competing for parking in Randwick City since the 2002 census. Councillor Stevenson said “ the recent Economic and Demographic profile review released this week by Council has highlighted the bad news that 14000 new vehicles have been added to the streets of Randwick City over the last decade, which most residents are acutely aware of, so it’s now time for Council target this problem and look for solutions”.

Councillor Stevenson believes the taskforce should be headed by the Mayor and include resident, community, business, and government representatives as well as the police and traffic experts who should collectively look at why there has been an additional car for each 10 residents over the last decade added to the streets.

In many parts of the city particularly Coogee, Randwick, Clovelly, Kensington and Kingsford, residents come home at night to find they can’t park anywhere near their home and it’s not getting any easier. Car ownership, a first world problem, is the curse of inner city residents all over Sydney but for Randwick City it is a relatively new problem. Light rail, cycleways, car share schemes and public transport are possible solutions but the attraction of a personal motor vehicle that can be left on the street until you need to use it is a luxury that many residents enjoy to the frustration of others trying to find a park.

Geoff Stevenson said “it’s time we look at how many cars we have and find ways to reduce the absolute numbers. We all love our cars but we can’t all expect to have one if urban consolidation is to continue in the Eastern suburbs at the rates currently proposed by the State Government ”.

Light Rail and Randwick City

Light rail is only going to make surface travel worse for CBD commuters in Sydney, particularly in the Eastern Suburbs. Heavy rail is the only solution for a modern city and electric driven buses should fill the network in between heavy rail hubs.

However if the NSW Government is not going to pay for heavy rail to the most densely populated areas of the Eastern suburbs and link Bondi Junction to the Airport via Randwick City then light rail will be an expensive bandaid fix.

If light rail is going to work it should adopt the following principles.

1. It should link heavy rail hubs with high population centres.
2. It should not run down major roads and cause traffic problems and safety issues
3. It should be for multipurpose use. i.e.) commuter use on weekdays and sporting and leisure use on weekends

Light rail routes should be thoroughly discussed by the community now and not after the NSW Government gets around to doing anything about it.

The Randwick City Comprehensive LEP and DCP are currently under review and now is the time for Council to consult and identify probable light rail corridors.

I strongly believe using my principles above that these routes should not travel along Anzac Parade from Kensington to the City but should flow East-West across the main traffic flow linking Green Square station to Randwick to the Racecourse, the University and the Hospital. Further South a second route should link Mascot station with Kingsford and Maroubra. This will feed the heavy rail network without creating more traffic issues on arterial roads in Eastern Sydney.

Malabar Headland Green Belt

Now is time for a full and frank debate on the future of Malabar Headland!
The Randwick City Council Open Space and Environment Discussion Paper only refers to the public use of the headland as "the proposed park within PART of the Malabar headland". There is no plan for a whole of headland park yet! We need to look at the holistic use of the 177 ha and the adjoining parks and beaches. A "Maroubra/Malabar green belt" is a concept that should be acknowledged in the current review of Randwick's new Comprehensive Randwick Local Environmental Plan and Development Control Plan

ESTABLISH A TRUST FOR MALABAR HEADLAND

Geoff Stevenson
Press Release

ESTABLISH A TRUST FOR MALABAR HEADLAND

Councillor Geoff Stevenson
Central Ward Councillor Randwick City Council

Labor Councillor Geoff Stevenson from Maroubra calls on the State and Federal Governments to immediately establish a Public Trust to deliver and manage the Malabar headland park.

Councillor Stevenson from Randwick Council also calls for the annexing of Maroubra Beach, Arthur Byrne Reserve, Pioneers Park, Cromwell Park and Malabar beach into the new Park Trust.

Councillor Stevenson believes Randwick Council should not be involved with the management of the Park but adopt the same approach as it does with Centennial Park, also within the Council area.

Councillor Stevenson says that the headland park will be the most significant recreational area added to Sydney in the foreseeable future and like Centennial Park will be used by all Sydneysiders not just locals in adjoining suburbs. “It’s too important an asset for the people of Sydney for it to be used as political football between local activists, Councillors and the State and Federal Governments.” Already there are groups fighting over who and how the land will be shared. The logical approach is to create a trust now and allow community and Government representatives to get on with the job.”

“The funding of the remediation of the land and return to public use should be jointly funded by the NSW and Federal Governments. This cost may run into hundreds of millions but if you had to put a price on Centennial Park in Randwick’s north as a comparison there would be no argument that users get wonderful value. Not only will the new Malabar headland park be bigger than Centennial Park but it will have a coastal walkway running through it from Sydney Harbour to Botany Bay that will make it an international tourist destination.” “I expect it will become the most frequented coastal park in Australia when it is finished” Councillor Stevenson said.

Randwick Rates Increase

Displaying all 3 posts by Geoff Stevenson on Facebook October 2009

20 October 2009

Tonight at Randwick Council Labor tried to stop the Liberals and their new Mayor prepare their plan to slug ratepayers by introducing a 7% rate rise for 7 years to pay for $30 million worth of maintenance and construction. This comes on top of last years increase of 9.8% meaning Randwick rates have increased will by 16.8% in 2 years. See GM51/09 at http://businesspapers.randwick.nsw.gov.au/Open/2009/OC_20102009_AGN_AT.PDF

The new Mayor gagged debate on Labor’s motion and supported the Liberals’ Notley-Smith who proposed a convoluted in-principle amendment supported by the Mayor and the Greens to prepare for the 7% rate rise through a special rate variation rather than go to public consultation and look seriously at other options to the problem or for the under funded maintenance and construction of council buildings. Labor Councillor Geoff Stevenson proposed to ask the public what they wanted first before deciding on how to pay for it but this was dismissed by the Mayor without even a vote. That sort of gag on debate shows how the residents are likely to be treated in consultation before they get their $84 bill next year.
over a year ago ·

21 October 2009

A recission motion was filed the next day by Labor Councillors which reads as follows:

That:

a) an extensive community consultation process be undertaken to determine which options ratepayers and residents prefer for the funding of the proposed building program 2010-2017.

b) any in-principle decision to proceed to make a special rates variation application to fund and proposed building program be referred to a full council meeting with a full report on the options as determined in (a)


28 October 2009


Last night Randwick Labor tried to limit the excessive rates increase to fund the $32 million Building Program and exempt pensioners but the Liberals, independents (Andrews, Mathews, Mayor) and the Greens voted against it.

The Council will now apply to the Department of Local Government for an extra 2.69% per year cumulative increase (8.29% after 3 years) to fund the Buildings for our Community Program. To raise $32 million over 7 years the increase will be 2.69% on top of the maximum increase of around 3.5% allowed by the State Government for 3 years until it reaches 8.29% and then stay in the rates “forever”.

Confused? Some of the Liberals were (Belleli and Seng) but they still voted for it anyway.
Who was silent during the debate last night ? Liberal Notley-Smith and his puppet Mayor. The Mayor has made no media comment on this significant issue. He even instructed the Council’s General Manager to contact the media for him to argue the case for him. If the Mayor does run at the next election which is doubtful who will he get to explain to the residents and ratepayers why his term on council delivered the highest rates increase for Randwick on record.

Even after the $32 million is collected more and more will come back to the Council as the increase will stay in the base rate for years and years. Our financially successful Council will now be “in the money” for a number or years to come.

Only $9 million of this money will be spent in the current Council’s term, the rest in the next Council term, so if you want to vote the Council out to stop it, bad luck it will still go ahead.

Labor tried to limit the fund to the $9 million identified in the 2010 budget to be spent in the next 3 years only and to exempt all pensioners from the increase.

Let the Mayor explain why this is not reasonable, he was silent on the night.