This is the Victoria Road Marrickville swale just after it was created in December 2009. Once the plants grew it changed considerably.
This is how the Victoria Road Bushpocket swale looked like late in the day on the 21st March 2013.
On 21st March 2013 I drove down Victoria Road Marrickville & saw earth-moving equipment with Marrickville Council workers digging up the swale on the bushpocket site. I returned at the end of the day specifically to have a close look. The swale had been totally removed & what was left in its place was a large hole, a flattened area that looked suspiciously like a footpath & paint markings on the dirt also looking like the outline of a footpath.
As Marrickville Council have recently built what I call ‘a footpath to nowhere’ under the railway bridge & around the curve of Victoria Road to Myrtle Street, I assumed the swale was destroyed for an extension of this footpath.
The ‘footpath to nowhere’ ends in Myrtle Street where street trees start. To continue the footpath three good-sized street trees planted around 8 to 10-years-ago will probably need to be removed. That is unless Council make the footpath thinner in this area, but I doubt they will because the rest of it is wide & they tend to like wide paths.
There is a footpath on the opposite side of both Victoria Road & Myrtle Street so pedestrians are okay. There has never been a footpath on the other side of this section of Victoria Road that I am aware of. The area is located beside the goods line & coupled with the hill, made an excellent site for a swale & a bushpocket. There are also 3-4 large mature trees here that screen the railway line.
The swale is a major part of the Victoria Road Bushpocket site. It was built by Marrickville Council in 2009 as part of a community environmental initiative led by local resident Micheal Easton & supported by other local residents. The residents met regularly to plant, weed & clean the bushpocket site. Together they transformed it from a relatively empty, verging on an unsightly litter-attracting patch of land to something that was green, functional & quite lovely.
Council even installed a park bench placed under the shade of a tree. The pathways were loose gravel & it was nice to walk here & have a look to see what was in flower at the time. In March 2011, the project was handed back to Marrickville Council who said they would continue to manage the bushpocket.
Apparently the swale has been destroyed to accommodate a bicycle path. As a cyclist, I think a bike paths are very important & much needed. I question however, with this section of Victoria Road being so wide & already a Council designated on-road cycle route, why Council would need to destroy a swale that was part of local stormwater management & important for biodiversity. The swale was built in this location to capture & clean stormwater before it entered the Cooks River, less than a kilometer away.
Something else to consider is that the bushpocket was thriving & great for biodiversity & habitat creation. Now we will have yet more concrete.
If it costs Council $1,000 to plant a sapling, imagine how much the Bushpocket & swale cost to create & manage & how much it cost to remove it.
Will this area be concreted?
Showing Myrtle Street, the new footpath that stops because trees are in the way. The outside lanes are marked with bicycle symbols.
SAVING OUR TREES - Marrickville municipality 
4 comments
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March 29, 2013 at 10:13 am
annapoodle
bit shocked, don’t know what to say except what a shame, damn damn shame.
March 29, 2013 at 12:38 pm
brenda
I like to think that I am fair in my comments and give council recognition when they have done a good job. I feel compelled now, however, to question this seemingly haphazard approach to urban planning by Marrickville Local Government and ask the following questions:
1. If there was really a comprehensive urban plan with foresight to cater to the needs of the community and protect the environment, why did council plant out the swale on Victoria road in the first place without room for a footpath?
2. Why did all the plants, etc in the swale have to be removed and presumably destroyed for the creation of a footpath?
3. What was the cost of creating the swale and beautification of Victoria road that has now been bulldozed? Wasn’t this a waste of money in hindsight.
4. What does council think is the impact of this seemingly lack of planning on not only the environment but the residents who see this beautiful swale destroyed? I am very angry, frustrated and demoralised that council constantly puts concrete down in place of trees and other plants.
5. Will the swale be replanted once the footpath is laid?
6. Are the trees in the way of a continuation of a footpath going to be removed? If so, will council relocate them or will we suddenly get post notification of their removal for some obscure reason?
7. Has council ever considered, that if they feel compelled to remove plants and trees and not relocate them, then there are plenty of people in the community who would volunteer to take the plants and plant then in their own gardens or plant trees in parks so they are not destroyed? They are LIVING things after all.
8. What other areas in the LGA are going to be dug up for footpaths and how many street trees will go as a result of this?
9. If council is willing to spend money in planting out verges/ swales, street trees etc only to then remove them, why aren’t they willing to spend the money to relocate these plants and trees safely or better still commit more time to proper urban planning so funds are not wasted?
10. Why does this council want so much concrete in the LGA?
I want more street trees planted and more verges and swale not less.
I would also like to see these plants and trees looked after and nurtured and permitted to grow big, tall and strong.
March 31, 2013 at 8:59 am
annapoodle
i agree totally Brenda, very well said, and it would be very educational to receive a reply from someone at council regarding all your salient points.
April 2, 2013 at 11:44 am
Nick
I agree with the previous comments about a decision that does not appear supported by any reason from Council. Yes, it would be good to receive a reply from Council. The community, particularly those who participated in building the bush pocket, are entitled to an answer. But don’t hold your breath if recent experience is any guide. In my recent comment I described the disappearance of three Waratah trees we planted on a verge and that I complained to Council about that. Council has deafened me with their silence. Whether my complaint has merit or otherwise, to not respond to complaints from people who try to contribute to the public interest represents the ultimate arrogance of power.