Geelong council has begun public engagement over big changes to a major Ocean Grove intersection and car park, prompting both approval and concerns from the community.
This week the City of Greater Geelong (CoGG) opened an online engagement portal for the proposed sale of two lots of land on The Parade and The Terrace.
The sale of a council car park and a small grassed reserve would facilitate plans to square up the intersection of Hodgson Street and The Parade.
At the council meeting on February 25, where the engagement period was officially given the nod, councillor Elise Wilkinson encouraged feedback from residents on the popular thoroughfare.
“This particular corner has received a lot of attention over the last couple of weeks… there’s a lot of talk about what’s happening, what’s going on,” Cr Wilkinson said.
“So this, I know, will attract a lot of community engagement, as the community in Ocean Grove is very passionate, and very rightly, about their beautiful landscape and areas.”
The change to the section of road is part of the Ocean Grove Township Urban Design Framework (UDF) 2014, which has seen very little progress since its adoption a decade ago.
Ocean Grove Community Association (OGCA) president Andy McKoy said while social media reactions to the proposal were split “about 50-50” between positive and negative, the proposed work was “a good thing for the community”.
“OGCA supports the sale of the land, as it is the first step to completing the planned changes to the Hodgson/Parade intersection,” Mr McKoy said.
“It’s just one very small part of a very big project. OGCA welcomes progressing the Ocean Grove UDF… and this is significant. There are issues, however, to be resolved by CoGG as the development progresses.”
OGCA’s concerns mainly revolve around details about the impacts of the intersection change on traffic, replacement of the parking and green spaces, and the reinvestment of money made on the land sales.
“Car parks are a huge issue; the car parks gained should equal the car parks lost, there should be no net loss,” Mr McKoy said.
“The other thing is, the (current) parking area to be sold is unlimited parking, presumably for the people who work in the shops. If all the (new) underground parking is two-hour limited, they haven’t got a park.
“OGCA would like the provision of a town square area that’s mentioned in the UDF. A green space would be good… and potentially should be equal to the green space being lost in the park that’s being sold.
“And, in the council’s words, the market value of the land is to be ‘reinvested into embellishing the public realm’. That’s not very specific.”
Cr Wilkinson said the money from sales would go back into Ocean Grove.
The community engagement period is open at yoursay.geelongaustralia.com.au/proposed-land-sale-ocean-grove until 5pm on March 31.
