| crag newsletter - april 2001 |
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Good News At Last (crag 0101) Ya kiddin’ |
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No we're not. It has finally happened. Work on the Lower Prospect Canal Reserve HAS commenced! What is happening? Work has begun at two points. Firstly, the erection of a chain wire fence has commenced at Gipps Road heading east and secondly, work that will allow the filling of the sedimentation channels at the Guildford end of the canal has also commenced. The chain wire fence will be erected for the full length of the canal while the construction works are in progress. This is a Workcover requirement as all building/construction sites must be secured to help prevent accidents. The fence will more than likely render the maintenance track usuable for the duration of the construction period. This shouldn't be an issue for residents, as we have pointed out before that it is illegal and dangerous to use the canal reserve until it is officially opened. The dangers will be heightened while work is underway, so please keep children away from the site during construction. If you have any issues regarding the construction work you should contact the NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service, Metropolitan Regional Parks Unit as follows: Chris McCormack Operations Manager Level 1, 10 Valentine Avenue Parramatta NSW 2150 Phone: 9895 7440 Is it celebration time? Well, yes and no. As a community, we should be proud that our persistence has paid off. That the land appears to be protected and work has commenced. This IS a great achievement, one we should celebrate. One that we believe the government will want to celebrate in the coming weeks. However, we should save the big celebration for the day that the Lower Prospect Canal Reserve is officially opened and we can all use it. Until that time we still need to be vigilant to ensure that ongoing funds are committed to finishing the work. We can't really get too excited if we end up with only half a reserve. But, in the meantime let's be happy and jubilant that long awaited progress is being made. How Long???????? It's been a long time. A very long time. CRAG was formed on Father's Day 1994. Time does move fast, so its good to see the work commence after nearly 7 years, well, actually 2,417 days - but who's counting? Let's hope that the momentum is now strong enough to see the job through to a speedy conclusion, so that we call all enjoy OUR new reserve. Boral Estate We have written to the RTA to ascertain their plans for the Canal Reserve when the Prospect Highway is extended through the Boral quarry to Widemere Street at Wetherill Park. Our concern is that putting a highway through may mean the RTA intends to destroy a section of the Canal structure and/or sever the bike/walking track prematurely. We hope to have an RTA response for the next newsletter. If you are concerned about the Boral development you should contact one of the members of GRAND, the local community group that has been setup to protect the interests of local residents. GRAND contacts are Lesley Neuhaus on 9636 2962 or Gai Imer on 0409 919 674. For more details regarding GRAND's activities, see the WEB site at: www.grand.jacketts.com CRAG now has a new, shorter, easier to remember Internet address: www.crag.jacketts.com (the old address still works). |
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