NEWS
The local councillor has questioned whether residents have been properly informed about the rollout of new metered spaces across Fortitude Valley.
And Councillor David Hinchliffe (Central Ward) has also gone into bat for one resident who also claimed the noisy installation of the new meters on a recent Sunday morning had breached council rules.
Cr Hinchliffe in an email to council transport chair Graham Quirk said: “Can you confirm please whether all residents and businesses have been contacted about the now confirmed changes to parking meters in the Valley area as identified on the council website.
“I am receiving emails from residents who live directly next to the metered spaces and who say they have not received anything from the administration about the meter changes. Please advise as soon as possible. Have these been advertised in all the local newspapers or have you sent something directly to residents and businesses?”
Newstead resident Justin Green recently complained via email to Cr Hinchliffe about weekend work being conducted outside his Ella Road home. Mr Green wrote: “I awoke on Sunday morning at 7:48am to the sound of jackhammer outside my apartment. As you can imagine I was less than impressed.
“After observing that the culprit was a Brisbane City Council worker and was jack hammering for the purpose of installing parking meters, I reviewed the noise restrictions page on the Brisbane City Council website, to only discover that the worker was not permitted to undertake such works at any time on a Sunday to the extent the works satisfied an exemption under the The Environmental Protection Act 1994. I therefore rang the complaint line provided to voice my concerns.
“The complaint line informed me that approval had been given to install parking meters on a Sunday (I assume at this time or any time) and this included the use of a jackhammer.
“However I fail to see how under the EPA Actthis would be approved. When I asked the complaint line operator which part of the exemption of the EPA Act the works came under but they were unable to assist.”
In a follow-up email to the council’s new chief executive officer Colin Jensen, Cr Hinchliffe wrote: “The loud and disruptive work involved in installation of parking meters ought not to be carried out on a Sunday morning in a residential street. There is plenty of construction activity which occurs in suburbs during the working week.
“I see no reason why hard-working residents’ quiet enjoyment of their precious weekends should be unduly disturbed by this sort of activity. What adds insult to injury is that there was apparently no advanced notice to residents – or to myself.
“I have been a critic of the installation of parking meters in areas where residents don’t want them and do want permits which exempt them from the meters. It is bad enough to have these meters imposed without locals’ support, but then to have them imposed in this way, aggravates the situation.
“As a new CEO, can I urge you to encourage the agencies of council to adopt a more resident-friendly approach to infrastructure development and to such activities as installation of meters.”
