BCNA Letter to Members Regarding House of Word Cultures Proposal for Princes Pier

Over the past month or so the BCNA has considered the proposal that Multicultural Arts Victoria (MAV) has put forward regarding a House of World Cultures (HoWC) on Princes Pier. We have a number of concerns with the proposal such as:

• the site is not close to an activity centre - which is necessary to attract people to the area;
• it has poor accessibility for regular access - it is some distance from public transport along a weather-exposed walkway;
• the area has limited parking, with both Pier and Beach Streets often quite congested;
• the proposed location abuts a residential area which, depending upon the nature of any activities and the hours of operation, has the potential to adversely impact on the amenity of nearby residents;
• the proposed structure, involving considerable use of shipping containers around the heritage-listed gatehouse, may not be compatibly with its historic legacies;
• and perhaps more significant than any of the above, the challenges of adverse weather on the pier might significantly detract from visitor use of the pier.

We have requested MAV to examine these concerns carefully and have encouraged them to arrange a community information session once they have developed their ideas sufficiently.

BCNA has not developed a position on the current proposal. A position will be established once consultation and feedback from members has occurred.

More details are outlined in a letter to members which can be downloaded here.

The MAV Proposal / Feasibility Report can be downloaded here (main report) and here (appendices).

Light Rail Shared Path Lighting - It's Happening!

This was seen today so it seems as if things are underway. It will involve providing lighting along the shared path between Beacon Cove alongside the Light Rail. Many walkers and cyclists were uncomfortable using the path at night because it is very dark in places.  Hopefully this should solve the problem.

Update on 1-7 Waterfront Place

The derelict state of the site at 1-7 Waterfront Place was highlighted by the Herald-Sun and other media on 6th April 2016.  BCNA President Eddie Micallef was interviewed and this enabled him to highlight the fact that the site was an eyesore to the local community and to tourists who were collected by bus from outside the site. Since then BCNA has met the Mayor and has written to Council urging them to examine what further steps might be taken to encourage a clean-up of the site.

Road Changes - Cook Street and Entry/Exit to the West Gate Bridge

Further to the recent post about the widening of Cook Street and changes to the entry and exit to the West Gate Bridge we have received some more information from the contractors.

The changes will affect the areas shown below (can be downloaded here):

The work will take place from now to early August.  Details of the works and potential impacts (eg lane closures and speed limits) can be downloaded here.

The end results will be two lanes in each direction along Cook Street and changed lane structure (I guess to help long trucks) for the turns onto and off the West Gate Bridge from/to Todd Road. Very detailed diagrams of the final layouts can be downloaded as follows:

• Cook Street
• West Gate Bridge Inbound
• West Gate Bridge Outbound

We'll provide futher updates here when we receive them, however if you have any questions, please contact the contractor on webbdockimprovements@bmd.com.au.

Princes Pier Gatehouse Being Used by Albert Park College

Some of you may have noticed that the Princes Pier gatehouse has been visited regularly by school students. We're trying to get some more information but an article in the Herald Sun (needs a subscription to read it) suggests that it is being used, in conjunction with other venues, as temporary classrooms for Albert Park College Year 9 students due to delays in construction of their new Year 9 campus.

It is great to see the College using the gatehouse.

Webb Dock Works Update

As many of you will have seen, works continue on the traffic signals and landscaping across Williamstown and Todd roads, as well as the over-dimensional gate and commuter bike path north of Williamstown Road.

We have been informed that a final closure of Todd Road between the West Gate Freeway southern ramp and north of the Life Saving driveway is scheduled for early June. More details to be provided in the coming weeks.

We have also been advised that the Webb Dock Access Improvement Project to duplicate Cook Street and improve the West Gate Freeway entry/exit ramps will start this week.  We are seeking more information and will pass this on when we receive it.

The latest Webb Dock works advisory notice can be downloaded here.