Apartments, High Density developments, Manningham Council, Pedestrians, Public Safety 4 comments

CRANE JIBS OVERHANGING ADJACENT PROPERTIES

By on March 8th, 2016

The basic principle of law is that a landowner owns rights that stretch from the centre of the planet to the airspace above the land. Legislation has given aircraft the rights to pass above the land without causing any trespass, but the basic principle holds good nearer the ground. This means that the jib of a tower crane swinging across land owned by an adjoining landowner is trespassing.  

Load over D'caster house Click to enlarge

Load over D’caster house
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Hornsby Crane collapse Click to enlarge

Hornsby Crane collapse
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Melbourne Crane on fire before collapsing Click to enlarge

Melbourne Crane on fire
before collapsing
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The use of tower and gantry cranes are now commonplace on building sites able to provide lifting capacity while occupying a minimal footprint on the land. An inevitable consequence of the use of cranes sites is that the jib of the crane will oversail adjacent sites. Even if the Continue reading CRANE JIBS OVERHANGING ADJACENT PROPERTIES →

Apartments, High Density developments, Manningham Council 7 comments

JACKSON CT MIXED USE PROJECT LISTED FOR SALE

By on March 1st, 2016

 The Jackson Court Activity Centre looks likely to be revitalised with the construction of a supermarket if a buyer can be found who will pay an estimated $12 to $15 million dollars. However, it may not happen any time soon if the property is sold because the permit expiry conditions are written in such a way they could allow a new owner to delay commencement of construction indefinitely. 

Leader Article April 2015 Click to enlarge

Leader Article April 2015
Click to enlarge  attachments

Jackson Court For Sale 002

Mixed Use For Sale“I am extremely disappointed to hear that the property is on the market when the owner himself worked so hard to garner support with the petitions he organised and now he wants to flog it off to who Continue reading JACKSON CT MIXED USE PROJECT LISTED FOR SALE →

High Density developments, Manningham Council, Traffic & Parking, Vic State Government, VicRoads 8 comments

EXPERTS DIFFER ON ARTERIAL TRAFFIC VOLUMES

By on February 21st, 2016

The table below left, from a study first conducted in 2001, showed existing traffic volumes along Doncaster Road plus forecast volumes in future years leading up to 2021. Earlier, in November 2000, Manningham Council had released a high-rise strategy plan called Doncaster Hill Strategy 2021

2001 Volume Estimates Click to enlarge

2001 Estimates Doncaster Rd at JJ Tully Drive
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Tram Road Traffic Click to enlarge

Tram Rd Traffic 2015
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Doncaster Road 1. Click to enlarge

Doncaster Rd  2015.
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Doncaster Road 2. Click to enlarge

Doncaster Rd 2015
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The study forecast Continue reading EXPERTS DIFFER ON ARTERIAL TRAFFIC VOLUMES →

Child Welfare, Manningham Council, Pedestrians, Traffic & Parking, Vic State Government, VicRoads, Walking 6 comments

DONCASTER HILL NOT FRIENDLY TO PEDESTRIANS

By on February 14th, 2016

Doncaster Hill resident John Stanford wrote; “Pedestrians who reside west of Tram Road and wish to travel by Bus to Box Hill and beyond must either risk crossing Tram road to a bus stop opposite or take the safe option and walk up to the Doncaster Road crossing and back to a bus stop on the east side which could be some distance depending on how far south of Doncaster Road the commuter lives”.

Ideal crossing location with Bus stops opposite Click to enlarge

Bus Stops located opposite  ideal for pedestrian  crossing
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Child Supervision Click to enlarge

Child Supervision Vital
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Speed/Pedestrian Survival Click to enlarge

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Tram Road, a four lane divided arterial road which bisects the Doncaster Hill Activity Centre, presents a hostile environment to walkers because it has no pedestrian crossings to enable safe access points to local zones for local retail and commercial facilities as well as bus stops. Despite all the material published by the Manningham Continue reading DONCASTER HILL NOT FRIENDLY TO PEDESTRIANS →

Australian Government, Climate Change 38 comments

MEDIA INTEREST WANING ON WORLD WARMING

By on January 29th, 2016

Media interest in global warming appears to have declined somewhat after it had peaked in 2009 when the UN Copenhagen Conference was held.  Except for a spike before and after the UN Paris conference in November, the graphs below show a declining number of news articles on the subject.

World Newspapers AGW Click to enlarge

World Newspapers AGW
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Aust Newspapers on GW Click to enlarge

Aust Newspapers on GW
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Limited Coverage Japan Click to enlarge

Limited Coverage Japan
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The diminishing media interest appears to correlate with the majority of public opinion who now agree the planet is warming but believe it is a natural phenomenon.  The IPCC policy of exaggerating the consequences of global warming and blaming mankind, appear to have backfired. In an attempt to get the world’s attention its advocates have been competing with each other on who Continue reading MEDIA INTEREST WANING ON WORLD WARMING →

Bicycling, Fitness, Manningham Council, Road Safety, Traffic & Parking, Vic State Government, Walking 5 comments

PEDESTRIANS A MEASURE OF IDEAL URBAN SPACES

By on January 23rd, 2016

“Artists, philosophers, urban planners and architects have been dreaming, writing about and drawing ‘ideal cities’ for hundreds of years…In most of these visions the pedestrian is the measure of ideal urban spaces.”  From European Cooperation in Science and Technology (Methorst 2010, p.34)

Previous Ped&Cyc Plan Click to enlarge

Previous Ped&Cyc Plan 1.
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Revised Ped&Cyc Plan Click to enlarge

Revised Ped&Cyc Plan 2.
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Tracy D. Writes.. “Council have not provided the proper facilities for walking and cycling on Doncaster Hill which is a  fundamental requirement for an Activity Centre. The proposed walking path, shown in pink in plan two, was previously a widened footpath, shown in blue in plan one. It was to be shared with cyclists but has been “quietly” scrapped because it had failed to meet safety standards. Why it is now designated as a useless walking route on existing footpaths, is puzzling. I suppose it might be useful for those not familiar with the area who might want to walk around the Doncaster Hill perimeter or a more cynical explanation might be that it was hoped no one would Continue reading PEDESTRIANS A MEASURE OF IDEAL URBAN SPACES →

Bicycling, Manningham Council, Obesity, Public Health, Walking 3 comments

WHY HAS INACTIVITY BECOME SO APPEALING?

By on January 13th, 2016

Inactivity has a price tag

Inactivity has a price tag

Two thousand years ago, Hippocrates, the father of modern medicine, said, that if we all had “the right amount of nourishment and exercise, not to little and not to much, we would have found the safest way to health”. Unfortunately we have not heeded the advice from Hippocrates. Governments and local Councils should be doing more by developing environments that enable more people to be active – by locating Activity Centres in areas where it is easier to walk and cycle around, by ensuring there are lots of green space, and by carefully planning public transport and leisure facilities.

This Construction Worker Uses a Hoverboard To Do His Job …      (video link)

Click on above link

Click to enlarge

Everywhere you look today there are new inventions on the market all towards an economy of effort. John Kimpton of Donvale sent this humorous video by Jack O’Doherty of how a Hoverboard could be utilised by a tradesman.

Doctor Nick  Kight says, “Physical inactivity has its price tags. It is linked to the development of chronic health problems like heart disease, type 2 diabetes, obesity, depression, dementia and cancer. It can make us feel bad about ourselves, guilty and frustrated, appeased only with the ever alluring reward of inactivity – comfort, rest and stress-free”. Obesity is a growing epidemic around the world–and often Continue reading WHY HAS INACTIVITY BECOME SO APPEALING? →

Apartments, Emergency Evacuation, Fire Safety Compliance, High Density developments 5 comments

EVACUATION FROM HIGH-RISE APARTMENT FIRE

By on January 5th, 2016

The risk of emergencies such as fires escalating into full scale disasters in Doncaster Hill apartment buildings are very real. Councils and Owners Corporations have a legal and moral responsibility to provide systems and procedures to ensure that minor incidents do not escalate into full scale emergencies, if and when they do, occupants can be warned and efficiently evacuated to safety.

High Rise Building on Fire Click to Enlarge

High Rise on Fire
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High Rise Fire Dubai Click to enlarge

Hotel Fire 
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There have been growing concerns that current laws do not require fire-safety checks at the planning permit stage. Fire-safety elements are considered later during the building permit process, often once construction has begun. Even then, fire checks are usually conducted by building surveyors rather than by fire authorities. The MFB gets involved only when invited to do so by the developer or if it decides on an investigation. Unless you have a vigilant observer or a whistle blower, we would not know about dangers until it was too late. On one occasion  the MFB had to the use the freedom-of information laws to investigate the design of a high rise apartment complex on Doncaster Hill. After design flaws were found, the developer had to change plans until the fire brigade was satisfied that Continue reading EVACUATION FROM HIGH-RISE APARTMENT FIRE →

Bicycling, Fitness, Obesity, Public Health, Walking 2 comments

WHAT SITTING TOO LONG CAN DO TO YOUR BODY

By on December 29th, 2015

We know sitting too much is bad, and most of us intuitively feel a little guilty after a long TV binge. But what exactly goes wrong in our bodies when we park ourselves for nearly eight hours per day, the average adult? Many things, says Dr Mercola, who detailed a chain of problems from head to toe.

Effects of Sitting Click to enlarge

Effects of Sitting
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Mortality Rates of Sitting Click to enlarge

Mortality Rates of Sitting
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The average person spends more than half their waking hours sedentary, doing such things as working at a computer, watching TV or sitting in traffic. Physical effects such as a strained neck can also result by an incorrect sitting posture. If most of your sitting occurs at a desk at work, craning your neck forward toward a keyboard or tilting your head to cradle a phone while typing can strain the cervical vertebrae and lead to permanent imbalances. Sore Shoulders and Back: The neck doesn’t slouch alone. Slumping forward overextends shoulder and back muscles as well, particularly the trapezius, which connects the neck and shoulders. Continue reading WHAT SITTING TOO LONG CAN DO TO YOUR BODY →

Apartments, High Density developments, Manningham Council, Traffic & Parking, Vic State Government 13 comments

COUNCIL OVERSTATED AVAILABLE CAR PARKING

By on December 19th, 2015

The Council Newsletter posted on the Manningham website on 19/12/2015 announced that construction of Westfield’s five storey car park would start early next year. It went on to say that the multi deck, to be located in the north east corner car park adjacent to Goodson Street, would add 854 car spaces to Shoppingtown’s available parking tally. 
December 2015 Update Click to enlarge

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View of Multi Deck Looking From S/West Click to enlarge

View of Multi Deck Looking From North East
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From Council Minutes Click to enlarge

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However according to the council minutes Sep/14 the above statement published in the Newsletter is misleading.The car park will only be providing an additional 570 spaces after the 284 car bays it displaces have been deducted. This does not take into account the 368 temporary staff and customer car parking spaces, available on two privately owned development sites adjacent to Westfield, which means the total addition to it’s available parking could be reduced to Continue reading COUNCIL OVERSTATED AVAILABLE CAR PARKING →