Victorian government releases its noise policy

The Victorian government's long-awaited noise policy has finally been released—download it from the Department of Transport website.

It's great to have something in place for future rail projects; no word yet how it will be applied to the Regional Rail Link project. We hope the government decides to look after Footscray.

Fordham Reserve reinstatement, meeting & working group

The Regional Rail Link surveyed local residents about their hopes for Fordham Reserve. The results are in!

We are concerned about the poor state of the footpath, the lack of shade over the playground, rubbish and lack of waste bins, and night-time security. We want improvements to the footpaths, a barbecue area and shelter, additional seating or gathering spaces, and retaining the open space - though perhaps with additional plantings to screen the railway corridor. (NB the survey results do not seem to say much about our thoughts regarding the actual fence or barrier between the park and the railway corridor).

There's a RRL meeting planned for Wednesday 24 April (tomorrow!) at he the Angliss Neighbourhood House, 6.30-8pm. They'll display the survey results and provide an opportunity for discussion.

The RRL wants to establish a small working group to further develop plans for Fordham Reserve. If you're interested in being a part of this group, email info@rrlfdp.com.au or call the Community Information Line on 1800 107 925.

In the news

There's been a bit of media coverage about the removal of our noticeboard at Fordham Reserve, in the Star (Noticeboard removed without notice) and the Maribyrnong Weekly (Regional Rail Link: Footscray residents back to the drawing board).

RRL project spokesmen Tim Holmes has gone on the record as saying the RRL was "open" to the idea of a community noticeboard at Fordham Reserve but that "actual permission was neither granted or revoked".

Funny, we thought the park belonged to Footscray, not the RRL. We're certainly the ones with long-term interest in the park's appearance and amenity. And we still don't really understand why they felt the need to remove it, especially as they think the idea of a community noticeboard is "great".