Kelvin Ave; The Eastern Courier's Final Word

Park bid

canned

CLARENCE PARK

JOHN STOKES

THE on-again, off-again, onagain

plan to close part of a

Clarence Park road to build

a ‘‘pocket park’’ is off – again.

But this time it is for good.

A fortnight after Unley

Council decided to close

Kelvin Ave, between Frederick

St and East Ave, to

create the park, elected members

abandoned the idea last

month – meaning the street

will remain the same.

The decision came after

passionate presentations

from residents.

Residents said safety would

be compromised if traffic was

forced to use George St or

Mills St.

Francis St resident Inara

Gehling was delighted with

the decision after a saga lasting

three years.

‘‘It makes you believe in

democracy again,’’ she said.

‘‘We’re not against parks or

greening but the location was

a safety issue.’’

The plan was first mooted in

late 2009 but abandoned after

more than 200 people signed

a petition calling for the road

to remain open.

The council instead backed

a plan to make the stretch of

road between Frederick St

and East Ave a one-lane, twoway

thoroughfare. The decision

prompted a second petition

for the road’s closure.

Elected members decided to

make it a park again at a

committee meeting on November

12 this year.

Unley Mayor Lachlan

Clyne said the council would

improve the way it consulted

the community so the drawnout

issues surrounding the

future of Kelvin Ave would

not be repeated.

Picture: Noelle Bobrige

Patch Theatre

Company artistic

Its good that John got some of the facts right. There are certainly many lessons to be learned from this.