Plan for Cooks River parklands – Steel Park

Council plans to plant vegetation in front of  the riverbank to stop the community having access to the river – yet this is where many sit to enjoy a picnic with friends, read a book, chill out & watch the river.  The fence you can see carries on for many metres past following the path & keeps children from running from the playground to the path or the river.  It should be enough.  Why should the community miss out on being able to sit beside the river?  There are so few places where we can do this along both sides of the river without having a fence, mangroves or something in front to prevent this.  I find this part of the plan very sad & hope Council changes their mind.

 

Continuing on from my posts on Mahoney Reserve. See – http://bit.ly/210uG1I

Steel Park is also a ‘designated fauna habitat link.’

Inner West Council (nee Marrickville Council) plan the following for Steel Park –

• Add more concrete paths to “help with existing desire lines & increasing recreation opportunities.”  One will be a 1.8-metre wide path to Thornley Street from the current shared path along the grass next to the cliff up to Thornley Street. Our Council loves laying concrete in parks.

• What is good is the plan for new trees around the flying fox, the water play park & between the play facilities & the ball net. New trees also for around the exercise equipment & the proposed water treatment wetland. New trees are also planned for the slope near Thornley Street.  It would be nice to know the number of trees planned, but any new trees are a boon for this park.

• All the Poplar trees except for those in the Children’s Playground will be removed. I think this is entirely unnecessary, especially removing healthy trees for the reasons given & in these days of climate change when trees are more important than ever.  It will be an expensive job to remove 27 big tall trees.  You can read more here –  http://bit.ly/1Wlfe1x

• The lower branches of the Casuarina trees along the foreshore pathway will be removed to increase sight lines & ground covers planted.

• Grasses, groundcovers & small shrubs will be planted alongside residential properties.

• Grasses & groundcovers to be planted beside the car park.

• New rain gardens a minimum 2-metres wide will be added to the car park & planted with local native sedges, grasses & tree plantings.

• 13 new seats will be placed along the edge of Illawarra Road & behind the Debbie and Abbey Borgia Recreation Centre.

• 5 concrete “block style” seating will be placed in the patch of grass near the house on the slope next to Thornley Street.

• There will be another barbeque installed next to the playground with a shade structure.

• The playground will be expanded with new equipment that has a nature based theme.  That’s nice.
• The fence around the northern playing field will be removed.

• New bike racks installed near the exercise equipment.
• Upgrade the playing field with new turf & drainage.

• And sadly, Council plans to plant vegetation infront of the river  “to limit water access by users.” 
 I would have thought the extensive fence between the shared path & the children’s playground & barbecue areas would have been sufficient.  Frankly, the plan to cut off access to the river makes me feel sad.  To stop people being able to sit at or near the river’s edge is a BIG LOSS to many in the community.   Plenty of people like to sit here on picnic blankets & watch the river.  

Community consultation is open until this Wednesday 8^th June 2016.  You can access the link at ‘Your Say Marrickville’ & download the Plan here – http://bit.ly/1DRISiO

A 1.8-metre wide path will be installed on the left of the photo to the trees in the distance & up the slope to Thornley Street.

The fence will be removed & seats installed.  The playing field will be upgraded with new turf and drainage.