Jennifer Pittorino
Friends of Footscray Park is asking Maribyrnong council to stop works on the walking track on the Western Lawn at Footscray Park, which began without community consultation.
Footscray Park has long been a topic of discussion in the community.
Residents worked hard to keep the park a public space in 2019, following a proposal to turn a section of Footscray Park into a private soccer training facility.
After previously working well with council, resident Gemma Cafarella said residents are feeling uneasy about the inclusion of a new walking track which has not been approved in council’s master plan for the improvement of Footscray Park.
“Instead of going ahead with the proposal for the academy, council has rightly decided to invest some money in improving the surface of the lawn itself so it is available for community use, “ she said.
“Instead of redoing the surface, council has gone much further and have decided to put in a walking track which was never the subject of any consultation.
“It is not listed in the master plan which highlights a lot of things which are really great, which they are not actioning.”
Ms Cafarella said the master plan lists planting and landscaping which council seems to not be taking action on.
For many reasons, residents feel a compacted gravel walking path is problematic for the area.
“It really reduces the extent to which it’s a natural surface area,” she said.
“One of the really important things about having green spaces is how useful it is to combat rising temperatures and capture carbon.
“It is a relatively high impact thing to do which does not have great environmental credentials.”
Without any community consultation, residents are not aware of the shape of the walking track which Ms Cafarella believes is a problem.
“There is an argument that it might limit the ways space can be used in the future,” she said.
“I do think it’s important that soccer and other square playing fields can be accommodated informally for everyday people in that area.”
At the end of 2019, Ms Cafarella said residents were forced to concede that council’s consultation process has done its job.
“This is now an instance where they have gone ahead with something that hasn’t been consulted on,“ she said.
“They’ve spent money on putting it in place, but they don’t seem to have actually put this to the counsellors or the public to see whether it’s something that people want or don’t want.“
Maribyrnong council chief executive Celia Haddock said a granitic sand track is being installed around the Lawn to create a high functioning area for the community.
“It will provide accessibility to park users, and create an alternative route and additional space for passive users while community events are occurring.”
