BICYCLE ROAD ROUTE THREAT - Beaumaris Conservation Society

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	SUMMARY OF BICYCLE ROAD ROUTE THREAT: Incursion into foreshore reserve if bicycle road is not confined to the road reserve
	Related pages are below. Click for Wikimapia view of Foreshore Reserve, and a SLIDESHOW VIEW of Beach Park from Beach Road.
2013	INVITATION DECLINED: BCS Inc. officers declined to attend Council’s concrete bicycle road opening, recently all bushland. A video of that opening shows the 2,400 square metres of concrete that has replaced the 2,400 square metres of coastal bushland that grew there until 2013, instead of traffic lanes being adjusted to include the bicycle road, as BCS Inc. urged. This concrete strip is 0.5 m wider than the 10 km strip north to Brighton, and edged by unnecessarily obtrusive fencing, unlike that to the north.
*	Murray Thompson MLA’s video on the value of the cliff top walking track seaward of the bicycle road. The narrowing of the bushland strip to lay the concrete bicycle road has exposed that track to views of large houses, and to increased road noise. The remaining, previously sheltered, trees in the narrowed bushland are now more more exposed to damage by strong winds.
*	VIDEO of the cleared swathe of Beaumaris foreshore bushland that is now concreted. Be sure to view it in FULL SCREEN. To see the trees before they were cleared, see the SLIDESHOW VIEW.
2012	VCAT ALLOWS FORESHORE BUSHLAND CLEARING: BCS Inc.’s appeal against the clearing was disallowed by VCAT.
*	MEDIATION: In August 2012, BCS Inc. and Council officers met at VCAT to explore points of agreement on the bicycle road permit.
*	MEETING APPROVES APPEAL: On 31 May 2012, a BCS Inc. General Meeting endorsed the appeal against the bicycle road permit.
*	APPEAL TO VCAT: In May 2012, BCS Inc. asked VCAT to review Bayside Council’s grant to itself of the bicycle road permit below.
*	BICYCLE ROAD PERMIT: In April 2012, Council voted, by 3 votes to 2, to grant itself a permit to clear Beaumaris foreshore bushland.
*	NEWSPAPER ARTICLE: In March 2012, the Melbourne Times showed BCS Inc. Committee members near the many threatened trees.
*	OBJECTION TO PLANNING APPLICATION FOR BICYCLE ROAD: BCS Inc. urges residents to object. See BCS Inc. letter here.
2011	Victorian Environment Assessment Council’s Report on its Melbourne Metropolitan Public Land study says Beaumaris Bay Fossil Site is Melbourne’s only Geological Site of International Significance. Its Recommendation E4 is for a 3-hectare nature reserve for most of the foreshore reserve. Will the State Government treat that Nature Reserve seriously, and require VicRoads to abandon the little-used central turning lane to give space on the road reserve to save the 3.5-metre swathe at the roadside edge from clear-felling & concreting?
*	PARLIAMENTARY SECRETARY FOR TRANSPORT WALKS ROUTE: Edward O’Donohue MLC viewed the route with BCS Inc. officers.
*	LABOR MLC WALKS ROUTE: John Lenders, Labor Southern Metropolitan MLC and frontbencher, viewed the route with BCS Inc. officers.
*	LIBERAL MLC WALKS ROUTE & SPEAKS IN HOUSE: Georgie Crozier, Liberals’ newest MLC viewed the route & spoke on it in Parliament, following which she arranged a discussion with the Minister for Environment and Climate Change.
*	FORESHORE TREES SAVED? Bayside Council’s May vote seeks removal of a little-used Beach Rd centre lane, citing a new Transport Law
*	COUNCIL INFORMATION SESSION 2011-04-06: Bayside City Council invited citizens to Beaumaris Motor Yacht Squadron Ltd clubhouse to explain its statement on its bicycle road extension plans and discuss VicRoads drawings for 2-lane and 4-lane Beach Rd sections.
2010	BETTER LAYOUT OF BEACH RD LANES: Letter to Roads Minister on median strip replacing centre lane, to give space for cyclists. See also Austroads’s 2011 Cycling Aspects of Austroads Guides.
*	SANDRINGHAM MLA’S VIDEO ON BEACH RD CYCLING: Click here to see Murray Thompson MLA’s views on Beach Rd cycling issues.
*	COURT FINDS BICYCLE ROAD HAZARDOUS: The County Court awarded damages against Bayside City Council for its dangerous design.
2009	CLIFF TOP ROUTE REJECTED: Bayside City Council to pursue ‘back-of-kerb’ route (P.11), not cliff top route for bicycle road extension.
2008	VICROADS DRAWING IS OF CONCERN: VicRoads cross-section could increase Beach Rd width, but it does accept a ‘back-of-kerb’ option.
*	BICYCLE ROAD PETITION NOW IN PARLIAMENT: Legislative Council Hansard of 2008-07-30 (Page 2753) records Andrea Coote MLC tabling a petition of 599 signatures.
*	GREENS MLC’s SPEECH TO PARLIAMENT: Southern Metropolitan MLC Sue Pennicuik’s speech explains how road edge space can save Beach Park, and asks Minister to meet BCS Inc.
*	FOUR BICYCLE ROAD OPTIONS FOR PUBLIC COMMENT: Bayside City Council will canvass 4 options, from the sound on-road option to the 2 bad bisecting options.
*	BCS INC. LETTER TO ROADS MINISTER: A letter to Hon. Tim Pallas asks him to walk along the edge of Beach Road with BCS Inc. officers to show him how Beach Park can be saved.
*	BICYCLE ROAD PLAN WORSENS: A Bayside Council staff report (Item 4.1) to General Committee on Tuesday 2008-06-17 proposed bisecting Beach Park with a 2.5 metre concrete bicycle road. VicRoads and its Minister will apparently not provide room on the road reserve. The route alignment map shows how it would substantially replace the existing walking track with concrete. BCS Inc. urges adherence to the back-of-kerb road (11H) in the Foreshore Master Plan.
*	POSSIBLE LAYOUT OF BEACH ROAD WITH BICYCLE ROAD ON THE ROAD: How bicycle road could fit on road space, & photos of truck catastrophes prompting 2-lane section
*	DISMAL LEAD BY KINGSTON & NILLUMBIK: Kingston Council’s new bicycle road meandering in its foreshore bush is a warning to Bayside, as is news of the Eltham death in The Age.
2007	COMMENTS TO STAFF FROM MEETING AFTER WALK: BCS Inc. reminds Council staff of the 2 Master Plan priorities below, & seeks detailed plan of lanes for Beach Rd.
*	POINTS MADE AFTER SEEING THE ‘MEANDERING’ ROUTE: Representatives of interest groups, including BCS Inc, walked along proposed route with Council staff
*	STAFF REPORT TO COUNCIL FOR “MEANDERING” ROUTE: This October 2007 report (Page 22) cited $1.1 cost of the concrete bicycle road extension & a “meandering” route.
*	PHOTOS OF 8 ROAD EDGE SITES NEEDING SPECIAL TREATMENT: Dismounting zones or a split path could reduce impact here if VicRoads refuses room on Beach Rd
*	LEAFLET FOR RESIDENTS NEAR THE EXTENSION: The leaflet is the first page. It explains threats to the foreshore reserve. It suggests actions that can be taken.
*	PHOTOS OF MPs THAT WALKED THE ROUTE: Photos of the 5 MPs (A Robb, M Thompson, E Thornley, S Pennicuik & A Coote) that took up BCS Inc’s offer to be shown the route
2001	THE 2 EXTENSION OPTIONS IN MASTER PLAN: Bayside Council’s Foreshore Master Plan (Map 4 Action 11H) gives only 2 options – on the road, or at its edge.
1999	BEAUMARIS BAY FOSSIL SITE ON REGISTER OF NATIONAL ESTATE: Nominated by Bayside Council last century, this site, whose ID is 18053, includes all the cliff top reserve.
*	GOVERNMENT’S “VEGETATION GAIN APPROACH” FOR BUSHLAND: State policy is to avoid loss of indigenous bushland, and to mandate NET GAIN if loss is not to be avoided.
*	1951 LANDS DEPT. AERIAL PHOTO OF FORESHORE: Zooming in on this high resolution photo shows a 2-lane Beach Road, wide grassed verge, & fragmented reserve.
*	JOINING KINGSTON BICYCLE ROAD AT CHARMAN RD: PPCC Inc. has concerns about siting of Kingston’s bicycle road, which will join Bayside’s at Charman Road.
*	PORT PHILLIP CONSERVATION COUNCIL INC. ROAD WIDTH table: Beach Road bitumen widths from Brighton to Mordialloc show Beach Rd is 1 metre wider east of Cromer Rd.
*	PORT PHILLIP CONSERVATION COUNCIL INC. POLICY STATEMENT NO. 8: “Bicycle Roads around Port Phillip” – This statement warns against fragmenting bushland areas. Many of the indigenous plants in the threatened bushland appear in Columns A-E on the list here.
1983	The 1983 Annual General Meeting of BCS Inc. expressed its opposition to use of the foreshore for a proposed bicycle road.

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