1978 sep st kilda today

Vol 4. No 3.

Official Journal of the Council of the City of St Kilda

September 1978

Nurseryman Phillip Moyle tends a hanging basket in one of St Kilda Council's hot houses.

Prizes for gardens ST KILDA Council is once again running a garden competition with prizes in four categories.

Entries are already being received and can be lodged at the Town Hall until September 22.

The competition is open to all property owners and residents of St Kilaa.

Entry is free and the mayor, Cr Brian Zouch and council's parks and recreation staff will judge the competition.

Winner will be announced during the Garden Festival in Blessington St gardens on Sunday October 8.

The four categories are: • Best garden, house; • Best garden, flat or unit; • Best floral display; • Best balcony display.

The competition is aimed at encouraging property owners and residents to improve and beautify the gardens around their homes and the council's staff is always available to offer advice on landscaping enquiries.

The form below should be completed and returned to the City Engineer's office, Town Hall, before the closing date of September 22.

GARDEN WEEK ENTRY FORM NAME ADDRESS PHONE (If available) please tick • • • •

CATEGORY ENTERED 1. Best garden — house 2. Best garden — flat/unit 3. Best floral display 4. Best balcony display

RETURN FORM TO TOWN HALL, ST KILDA 3182.

Entries close September 22.

City's festival for gardens given for floral and balcony displays. Entry form this page.

School-children throughout the muniFree trees, gar- cipality are busy predening hints, child- paring artwork to be ren's art displays, exhibited during the barbecues, bands garden festival.

St Kilda City Band and hay rides are and other musicians will just some of the act- provide entertainment ivities planned in during the afternoon.

Blessington St garLast year's Garden Week was so successful dens on Sunda lay, that council decided to October 8. continue its emphasis on And for the second the city's gardens and year running, St Kilda culminate the activities Council will award once again with a specprizes for the city's best ial festival in the Blesskept private gardens. ington St gardens.

The gardens will be Once again the garjudged by the mayor, den's hot nouses, where Cr Brian Zouch, and lants for all council members of council's unctions as well as parks and gardens staff. street decorations are Prizes will also be nurtured, are being

ST K I L D A ' S Garden Festival is on again.

TREES FOR FREE: %

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opened for public inspection.

Council's top parks and gardens experts will also be on hand to give advice on how to get the best from your garden or information about the hot houses and the exotic plants growing inside.

The festival aims to highlight St Kilda's parks and gardens and the uses to which they can be put, as well as helping house and flat occupants make better use of their own gardens.

Particular emphasis is being given to children's activities this year and "Life-Be-in-It" games will be provided.

There are also free hay rides.

Barbecues are being

coupon back page

set up to enable families to enjoy the festival and eat with a picnic atmosphere.

Festival activities start at 11 a.m. and finish at 5 p.m.

A marquee is being erected in case of rain.

The festival is aimed at creating an awareness of the value of gardens in a city such as St Kilda.

Council's policy also reflects this by creating and establishing grass nature strips wherever possible, planting native trees, buying extra playground space and continually improving foreshore areas.

The council hopes its policy of creating more garden areas" in the city will be shared by private garden owners.

New man for road study

Roundabout plan traffic control

A THREE-YEAR study is being made of traffic problems in each residential area of St Kilda.

An extra traffic engineer has been appointed by council to carry out the investigations in each area.

Mr P.R. Seamer was appointed after recommendations were made by the city engineer, Mr Martin Verhoeven.

The engineer urged that Mr Seamer be given the job instead of council hiring outside consultants.

He will help the engineer set up a public participation program to investigate existing traffic problems, define options available to eliminate unnecessary through traffic from residential areas.

Quest for govt, aid

ST KILDA Council has asked the State Government for $1,872,000 to help overcome problems likely to be caused by traffic from the West Gate bridge.

VARIOUS schemes have been drawn up by St Kilda Council's engineering department to control traffic travelling through the city.

Traffic management projects undertaken during the past year have included erecting roundabouts to reduce accidents and to cut traffic flowing through specific ••"1HF One of the six experimental roundabouts being intersections.

These include: erected in West St. Kilda.

• Channelisation at Acland St/Upper

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This was submitted to the government in 1978, but no reply has yet been received although the government, on several occasions, indicated it wanted council to submit proposals.

Council has already carried out some traffic management activities, particularly in West St Kilda, but believes problems will occur in a far wider area following the opening of West Gate and that the government is obliged to help it to finance the various measures needed.

Esplanade; • Roundabouts at Woodstock/Nightingale Sts; and Woodstock/Grosvenor Sts; • Roundabouts at Ormond/Glenhuntly Rds; • Six experimental roundabouts in the west St Kilda area; • Reconstruction of the roundabout at Byron/Tennyson Sts; • In conjunction with the Road Safety and Traffic Authority, traffic lights at Alma Rd/Westbury St; • Closure of the intersection of Gordon Av with Broadway; • A traffic management scheme is in hand for Havelock St, Clyde St and Fawkner St. • An experimental closure has been PREDICTIONS produced by the Country undertaken at Lower Esplanade and Roads Board show that after the opening Marine Pde ; of West Gate Bridge there will be a sub• The intersection of St. Kilda and Head stantial redistribution of heavy vehicles Sts has been channelised and signalised from areas east of Albert Park to areas • New roundabout at the junction of Ormond and in conjunction with the Country Roads west of Albert Park unless corrective Board.

Glenhuntly Rds. to help traffic flows. action is taken.

The investigation also aims to make it easier for pedestrians to cross main roads.

St Kilda is being divided into self-contained residential precincts which will be studied individually.

Local residents will also be asked to participate in the study.

New routes for trucks

1978 Before 1978 After bridge open bridge open Without advisory With Advisory Truck Route Truck Route

Beasonsfield Pde. Canterbury Rd. Aughtie Drive Lakeside Drive Queens Rd. St. Kilda Rd.

2 700 4 300 2 800 1 550 1 200 1 000 300 300 250 250 250 250 6 750 5 900 7 200 1 900 1 500 2 000 One measure which Queens Rd until such may diminish this prob- time as the F.9 Freeway lem is the adoption of an is constructed, which will advisory Truck Route link the West Gate Bridge (see below). to St. Kilda Rd. This truck route has been designed by the Pamphlets have been Country Roads Board in distributed to truck drivc o n j u n c t i o n with the ers and employers seekcouncils involved and is ing their assistance in based on leading visitors making full use of this across the Kingsway and preferred route.

ADVISORY TRUCK ROUTE Improvements route. ..

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to truck

Lorimer S t r e e t / Rogers Street / Boundary Street Intersection t r e a t m e n t a n d installation of traffic signals.

Lorimer S t r e e t R o a d widening b e t w e e n H a r t l e y S t r e e t and Gittus Street.

Lorimer S t r e e t / Johnson Street Installation of traffic signals.

F o o t s c r a y R o a d to Lorimer Street Linked traffic signals on t h e Johnson S t r e e t Bridge approaches.

Lorimer S t r e e t / N o r m a n b y Road Minor channelisation a n d installation of traffic signals.

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N o r m a n b y R o a d / Clarendon S t r e e t Intersection treatment (roundabout).

Clarendon Street? City Road I m p r o v e m e n t s t o traffic signals.

Clarendon Street / Grant Street Installation of traffic signals.

Market Street and York Street Conversion to one w a y streets.

Pavement strengthening.

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Market Street / Moray Street Installation of traffic signals.

Market Street/Kings W a y Provision of median break in Kings W a y a n d installation of traffic signals.

York Street/Moray Street Installation of traffic signals.

York S t r e e t / Clarendon Street Installation of traffic signals-

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Clarendon Street, M a r k e t S t r e e t , Y o r k S t r e e t and Kings W a y Linking traffic signals between City Road and Kings W a y .

Union S t r e e t Resurfacing between Q u e e n s R o a d a n d S t Kilda Road.

Q u e e n s R o a d a n d Union Street Linking existing signals b e t w e e n L o m e S t r e e t and S t Kilda Road.

Street plan to urb traffic flow

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• Arterial roads • Local roads to be down graded.

• Sub-arterial roads to be stabilised.

PLANS are being made to reduce the effect of traffic travelling through St Kilda.

Work at junction

A traffic management plan is being made for the whole of the city with initial emphasis on traffic from West Gate and the other main bridges.

THE COUNTRY Roads Board has agreed to carry out further landscaping at St Kilda Junction.

The move follows two years of requests and deputations to the board from St Kilda Council.

The total cost of the project is expected to be $30,000, of which the council has agreed to pro- TO IMPROVE car vide up to $10,000. parking facilities in The landscape de- local shopping censign is based upon tres and also to reA smaller off-street car proposals prepared lieve congestion on park has been provided roads St Kilda Counby council staff and in Jackson St to service cil is building offhas to make allowthe Fitzroy St shopping area. ance for the sub- street car parks.

Two car parks in the In Marlborough St two stantial underpass Village Belle shopping large car parks are being structures which ex- centre (pictured) can built to help shoppers in ist below the junc- a c c o m m o d a t e 60 the Balaclava centre. A tion. vehicles. smaller area in Camden

The plan will be reveiwed once the F9 Freeway is finished.

Parking policy St is also being constructed.

Design standards for these car parks are based on using pre-cast paving stones and extensive landscaping, together with underground electric wiring.

The following short-term traffic objectives have been adopted by St Kilda Council.

• That a traffic management plan be preparte for the whole municipality, with initial emphasis on works required to offset adverse effects of traffic amenity from the bridges. The plan will be reviewed on the completion of F.9 Freeway.

• The municipal road system be analysed according to the level of control required to maintain, and where possible, improve residential amenity. It is considered that there should be four categories: (i) Roads having an arterial function which are able to cater for a limited growth in traffic; (ii) Roads carrying some through traffic on which existing traffic volumes should be stabilised;

(iii) Roads carrying some through on which existing volumes should be decreased ; (iv) Roads considered to have "local importance" only and should be protected accordingly.

• A major objective is to control the roads used by heavy vehicles to avoid disturbances to adjoining premises by noise, vibration and fumes.

This should be achieved by the selection of predetermined heavy traffic routes for through traffic, and by putting severe restrictions on alternative routes which might be used and are unacceptable for reasons of safety and amenity.

• Accessibility between residential areas and community facilities must be maintained and, where traffic growth impedes such accessibility pedestrian devices should be provided or alternate facilities be introduced.

• Works must be carried out in adjoining municipalities to ensure that through traffic enters St Kilda at points acceptable to council, and that it is distributed beyond the city's boundaries as quickly as possible.

Such works need to be co-ordinated with the objectives of other municipalities and agencies.

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It's books before spades

Riding 1st. class in Elwood Park

BOOKS are increasingly becoming as important in the garden as spades and wheelbarrows.

All aspects of gardening are now covered by books, and many top gardeners will not lift a finger until they have first investigated their particular problem or plan.

In keeping with this year's Garden Festival, St Kilda public library has many books dealing with all aspects of horticulture.

The library is a source of information for those interested in floral arrangement, bonsai, design of gardens and many aspects of growing plants and trees.

An increasingly popular aspect of gardening is the cultivation of Australian native plants. Alex Blomberg's Australian Wildflowers to Cultivate" features colored illustrations and details of soil and climate requirements and e x p e c t e d growth patterns for 250 species of Australian wildflowers, flowering shrubs and flowering trees.

"Gardening with Australian Plants: Shrubs" by Thistle Y. Harris and D.L. Jones and B. Gray's "Australian Climbing Plants" provide similar assistance to the gardener who wishes to grow colorful, hardy plants with a little care and a minimum of fuss.

gardening films including "Capability Brown", "Bonsai", "Ikebana" and "Ask an Australian About Flora and Fauna, St Kilda Library is at 150 Carlisle St, opposite the Town Hall, All St Kilda residents can join the library; it is not necessary to be a ratepayer and there is no charge to join or borrow books.

The library is open Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Friday, 11 a.m.—9 p.m.; Saturday 10 a.m.5 p.m.; Sunday 2 p.m.-5 p.m.; closed Wednesday.

Mini-garden St Kilda residents with limited garden space will be interested in the library's many books on indoor plants and gardening in containers.

Leslie John's "Plants in Tubs, Pots, Boxes and Baskets" is full of practical advice. A recent acquisition to the library's c o l l e c t i o n is E l v i n McDonald's "Miniature Gardens which discusses terrariums, an increasingly popular gift and common in Australian households.

Small gardens have not been overlooked in the library's landscape gardening collection, where many lavishly illustrated books record the glory of historical gardens of immense size and beauty.

"The Great Gardens of Australia" by Howard T a n n e r r e v e a l s the beauty of Australian gardens. Rob Hillier, the author of "Let's Buy a Terrace House" devotes himself to the problems of designing gardens for small inner-city residences in "Let's Have a Small Garden".

Anne Houghton Heyning provides photographs and landscape designs in " G a r d e n Designs for Small Spaces."

The library holds a variety of the American Sunset books with titles including "Garden Pools, Fountains and Waterfalls", "Bonsai", "Pruning H a n d b o o k " and "Vegetable Gardening".

As a part of the Garden Festival the library will mount a display of gardening books in the Blessington Street Gardens on October 8.

On Sunday, November 5 at 2.30 p.m. the library will screen a program of

Five-year-old Gillian Allan tries out the 1st. class comfort of a St Kilda Express carriage in Elwood Park.

St. Kilda's Garden Week

ELWOOD PARK, in Ormond F O f p l a y Esplanade, will soon be once again , . 3 ' in full use for sports and passive recreation.

parKing . and planting

Work has been carried out over the past few months to completely reorganise activities at the park.

The new concept was designed with help from the State Department of Youth, Sport and Recreation.

DURING the past 12 The design, prepared by St Kilda months St Kilda Council's engineering department, Council's parks and makes provision for a complete underrecreation depart- ground watering and includes three ment has carried out renovated sports grounds, and a revised the following pro- car park layout with provision for trees jects: and landscaping.

• The redevelop- The entire open space area has also ment of the Renfrey been top-dressed.

Gardens, Stage 1; Designs are now being undertaken for • Underground a multi-purpose sporting pavilion which watering system in will service the whole of the sports area.

Bearer entitled to a free tree. Blessington Street Blessington St Gar- The pavilion has a unique design in that Gardens, Sunday October 8, from 12 noon. dens; it has to be usable by a wide variety of (First 500 only.)

• The development groups while blending in with the of the reclaimed of the area.

FREE TREES area adjoining Point aesthetics Work should be completed by mid-1979 are being given Ormond; and the council will then be able to offer away to St Kilda • Establishment of facilities to local sporting bodies which wind breaks and re- are second to none in the metropolitan residents.

One tree will be given placing , - ti-tree , _. , north area. to each of the first 500 of Elwood Park; residents who cut out the Provision of playST KILDA has 57V2 hectares of coupon (above) and pre- ground equipment it at the gate when public gardens and sporting sent at a number of centhey attend the Garden grounds.

Festival in Blessington St tres; gardens on Sunday, Oct- • Landscaping the The city employs a staff of 37 to main8. car parking areas in tain these areas and these people work ober St Kilda Council, whose the Village Belle PROPERTIES are being bought under the direction of Mr George Young.parks and gardens staff Mr Young is the city's superintendent have cultivated the trees, centres; throughout St Kilda for developof parks and gardens, a job he has held hopes they will be planted • Planting about ment as small, open landscaped in private gardens and 3500 trees throughfor the past 13 years. areas.

He has a Diploma of Agriculture and add to the overall beaut- out the city The city engineer, Mr Martin VerhoeO f continually uses his staff to maintain and i f i A a a ° e f t t h d ^ S n g how ' Establishment ven, recommended the move to St Kilda planter tubs in the upgrade garden and sporting areas. to plant and care for the Council's superintendent of street hort-trees will be given to all Ripponlea shopping Council which has bought land for five iculture and projects is Mr Jos Duiven- those r e c e i v i n g free centre and the Ten- such parks in the past three years. trees. nyson St shopping The most recent acquisition was in voorden.

The offer is limited to centre; Pakington St where, with the co-operaHe was appointed in 1977 and is a gradone tree per family and tion of the Board of Works, three build• Underground uate of Burnley Horticultural College and only available to those watering system in ings are being bought for removal and the a qualified municipal recreation officer. visiting the festival. properties landscaped.

Brighton Rd ; Mr Duivenvoorden's responsibilities The site was chosen to allow pedest• First stage of the include the beautification of all the city's landscaping in the rians to walk from north St Kilda to the streets and shopping centres as well as landscaping traffic islands and round- Published by the St Kilda Fitzroy St shopping city library without using major roads, as City Council in the inter- centre* well as providing an important open abouts. ests of better Local Govt pprkpanino f He is also responsible for the design ernment in St Kilda and l a n d s c a p i n g no t aa space in one of the densest part of St and original construction of new lands- printed by Brownhall number of round- Kilda.

Negotiations are now taking place on caping projects.

Printing, Mulgrave. abouts including Glenhuntly and Or- more areas in other parts of the munBoth men will be at the Garden FestimondRds. icipality. val to give hints on gardening techniques.

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Experts head city's team

Land buy for 'mini' parks