A far cry from the Killing King William Road message out there, as reported in my last blog post. Those in the know, know council is actually transforming King William Road.
Our community asked us to do something about the troubles being experienced in King William Road. They asked us to save the street.
The street was in trouble. This therefore was our prime motivator for doing what we are doing.
In addition, we learnt a few years ago (after conducting some core testing) that the structure of the road needed repair. This was something we could not avoid. It was something we simply had to do.
Repairing the road we therefore saw as a great opportunity to address the concerns of our community. And from day one, when Design King William was born, our communities’ views were the paramount contributor to the solution we found.
Claims by a few that we did not consult them are simply not true. Our consultation was extensive. Indeed, so well done and so extensive, the City of Unley was commended for our engagement. We received a 2018 Form Innovation Award.
The project commenced with seeking the views of traders and residents alike on what they wanted out of a redeveloped street. Inspired by their responses, we then asked them both about their preferred road surface, what kerbs and footpaths they wanted, the extent of landscaping and on street parking.
Then, armed with this information, we put a proposed design before them. A design incorporating what they had been telling us. We had overwhelming approval from them for this design.
Subsequent to winning the award and Council unanimously approving the design we continued the consultation with Traders.
This consultation covered how and when we would carry out the redevelopment. What time of year. Whether we would work day and night. Whether we would stage it or not. How we would stage it.
The program we are currently conducting is a direct result of that lengthy and ongoing engagement.
We are doing what they asked for. We are transforming King William Road. In addition, we are also doing it at the time of their preference, and in the manner they asked us to do it.
I have to question anyone therefore (who claims to represent our community) and who disagrees with my observations. Where they were when we were engaging in extensive consultation with our community. As someone actually elected to represent our community, I have not heard from any who have been paraded this week by the current media announcements bemoaning what we are doing.
I think Unley Council deserves to be congratulated for having had the guts to progress the revitalising of KWR. I think BMD and Council are going above and beyond to minimise the inevitable disruption that such a comprehensive redevelopment causes. Let’s get behind the KWR precinct during this transition. The outcome will certainly be worth the current upset.