Friday, 27 July 2012

dogs walking close to traffic

One of our favorite walking places is Yarra Bend Park. We cross the Darebin Creek and continue onto the Clifton Hill side, a circular walk which leaves us with a short hike alongside traffic in Heidelberg Road, before we enter the Yarra Bend Park once more.

Once upon a time we used to come out to Heidelberg Road on this little path.


The good thing about coming out at this spot was that there was a protective barrier along the edge of Heidelberg Road to keep us safe from the cars.



But, as you can see from the first photo, our preferred path has been blocked off with a fence. So now we have to emerge on to the road further along, and take our chance walking alongside lanes of busy traffic.



It's aggravating that someone in a planning department has made a decision that impacts on our safety, without any consultation about what we prefer. I wrote to the council to explain my concerns, but received the usual noncommittal response. 

However, once we navigate the short scary stretch of street, it's back into the lovely, lovely Yarra Bend park, one of the most dog-friendly places in Melbourne. (You have to be on lead on the hard-surfaced bike paths, but everywhere else is off-lead.)



8 comments:

curator said...

Our Briar does not like traffic one bit. He can't bear to walk along busy streets with cars (or, it must be said, people). I wish we had such a lovely park nearby for walks.

Stewey said...

Yarra Bend park looks like a nice, peaceful place for a walk!
Stewey

proud womon said...

such beautiful surrounds - that particular stretch is dangerously close to traffic though - typical non-sensical planning decisions with no consultation - do they even know the areas involved?

Anonymous said...

Pictures look great!

parlance said...

curator, I know how lucky we are to have this park!

parlance said...

Stewey, it is indeed peaceful in the park. There's something calming in walking with a dog.

parlance said...

proud womon, I suppose I should be satisfied that the council wrote back and said they'd pass on the letter with my concerns. One guess where they filed that!

parlance said...

Cardells, thanks!