Had a couple of breakthroughs in the community project, A Walk in the Park, that I launched a little while ago. 

I got to walk around the area of the project with the Transport Planner and one of the Traffic Engineers from Stonnington Council, and point out to them where I want the six pedestrian crossings installed.  The Traffic Engineer — “I don’t want to put the dampeners on you; just giving you some context” — pointed out that before VicRoads will even consider a crossing they look at two “warrants”: the number of cars and the number of pedestrians using the location.  “Great,” I thought, “I want the crossings so that residents will become pedestrians, not because they’re already pedestrians.”

But after a few score more dampeners — cost, access for emergency vehicles, inertia, history, demarcation issues between Council and VicRoads — I think I heard him admit he had at least three of the crossings already under consideration.  “So,” I walked away thinking, “I’m not nuts for wanting these after all.”

I had a meeting with the State Member of Parliament for Prahran, Mr Tony Lupton.  He was generous with his time, listened closely to my proposal, even asked me for my ideas on how to encourage Melburnians to use the under-utilised bus system.  Gotta love a man, and a politician to boot, who’ll ask for ideas.  He also demurred on cue when I relayed the story of the warrants, “well, technically that might be the process, but …”, and said “yes” straight off when I asked him to open the community event on 2 May. 

I also had a brainwave about the community event.  In this community event, I envisage 100 to 200 residents coming to Como Park on 2 May and dragging kids, dogs and zimmer frames around the oval to the accompaniment of the shutters of the local newspaper’s photographer.  My brainwave is to ask Nathan Buckley to open the event, along with Tony Lupton.  “Bucks” is a local; he’s got to be a supporter of a project designed to increase health and wellbeing; and one of my bus friends, Philip, lives next door to him.  So I rang Philip and he said the sweetest words, “You want Nathan Buckley to open the event?  OK, leave it with me.” 

Now I just have to persuade the Council to give me a permit or some other kind of licence to hold the event there.  They’ve started making objections that the local sporting clubs will already be using the park on that day, but I reckon there’ll be a way round this objection.  Some way, somehow.