See January Edition in Colour Click here

SEE THE DRY BOAT RACE HERE

AND THE TUG o WAR HERE

TAKING THE RIGHT PATH!

Now, some of us like footpaths, and some of us don’t. But none of us would like footpaths all around our community - we don’t live in suburbia, do we?
But we do need some organized system of footpaths so that our young parents pushing prams and our senior citizens who need to use some type of mobility assistance can have smooth, safe surfaces to negotiate to and from home to visit friends, do their shopping or go for a stroll around in good weather. We certainly don’t have that convenience now.
Cr Doull, during his “before the council” address a couple of years ago, pointed to the need for such a footpath system where no-one in Portarlington would need to walk more than 100 metres to link up with a safe and negotiable footpath grid. This, of course, will take time to achieve, and incur considerable costs to householders along the designated route.
The CoGG has put forward a plan to provide footpaths on the west side of Fisher Street between Langdon and Fenwick Streets. Total costs would be $102 295 with ratepayers in Fisher Street having to pay half—$51 147.50. But the east side of Fisher Street is almost all “footpathed”, so west side footpaths would seem almost unnecessary.
HOW ABOUT using the $51 147.50 of our council’s money to “footpath” a little further south (to the “bull paddock” adjacent to the Lions Village), then a little further north right up to Newcombe Street on the east side?
A light path to the from Fisher Street to the rear of the Lions Village, provided from fund raising activities, would then provide completely paved access to the current footpath. Perhaps make the current school crossing a permanent pedestrian crossing (so folks could travel right up to Newcombe Street).
Paved access for Ann Nichol residents, paved access for Lions Village folks and others in the vicinity, utilization of current resources, and no $2 000 - $3 000 impost and Fisher Street residents!