Letters to the editor

It is interesting how the City of Yarra is introducing a new transport strategy to reduce the number of cars coming into the area (Motorists 'not wanted' on Yarra roads, IER, March 23), but developers are given a green light to buck the trend.

When a house in Richmond is demolished it is no longer allocated on-street parking permits, but when a developer demolishes a commercial building they can get approval to include hundreds of additional carparks.

For example, the Rogerseller showroom in Barkly Ave, Burnley, currently set for redevelopment, has parking for around 30 cars. When the eight-storey commercial development is completed, it will have 216 car spots (a reduction from the original 426 allocation) on the fringe of a residential belt plus an unknown amount of daily visitors.

Can you imagine the impact on the environment when at least 300 additional cars will be jamming Burnley St or weaving through residential streets every morning and afternoon.

Although the developers have allowed for 100 bicycle parks, the simple reality is people love their cars and will still drive to this new development. Why does a council that actively promotes itself as "a green council" allow this to happen? It is time for the City of Yarra to get serious and advocate that all new commercial developments can have only the same number of parking spots as the building being demolished.

Leann Middlemass,

Richmond

I would like to say how much I appreciate having a local paper restored to our area and feature articles that reflect our community.

Over the past several months I have written to the councillors of Melba Ward and Yarra City Council highlighting concerns about the deteriorating condition of the trees and vegetation in Burnley Park, and requesting the council provide them with water and mulch.

Sadly there has been no action, and like residents of Acacia Place (Yarra effort plants seeds of friendship, IER, March 23), I have taken to doing what I can, including getting mulch from Clifton Hill and watering nearby trees and vegetation.

With the increase in population in Richmond it would be reasonable to expect that open spaces are properly cared for as a vital asset to the wellbeing of residents as well as natural habitat for wildlife.

Victoria Chipperfield,

Palmer St, Richmond

The ability of Yarra City Council to fulfil basic tasks such as rubbish collection and road and pavement maintenance must be seriously questioned.

It is evident that road and pavement maintenance has been ignored over many years.

Some within the council, such as the Greens, seem not to be interested in such trivialities.

A case in point is the section of paving along Barkly Ave from Stawell St to Adam St, which is in very poor condition but has now been marked out for tree-planting in a number of places.

It is already extremely difficult during busy traffic times to drive safely out of Stawell St, We hardly need trees to block our view and there has been scant, if any, public consultation. It is so lopsided to plant trees and ignore the poor paving conditions.

I raised this recently at a council meeting for it to be all but dismissed out of hand.

Dorothy James,

Stawell St, Burnley

Thank you for the new magazine, Inner East Review. It is just what we need to bond our area.

I agree with the editor's view on what is vital for our students (From the editor, IER April 6), the teaching of basic maths skills, spelling, phonics, local history and culture. I hope it happens right away. We need to raise the educational standards and provide our children with a sound foundation in life.

Martha Rogers, Richmond