Welcome to our week in review. The weekend of 4/5 November 2023 was to be a huge weekend jam-packed with activities. Unfortunately, the weather did not cooperate. All events still went ahead, but attendance was lower than the previous year.
Lane Cove Food and Wine Festival
From about 12.30 pm onwards, the rain stopped, and more people started arriving at the Food and Wine Festival. Those who attended enjoyed the event. Mark the first weekend of November 2024 in your diary for next year’s event.
Greenwich Village Arts Trail
The Greenwich Village Arts Trail went ahead, and when ITC was on the trail on Saturday afternoon, we spotted quite a few people wandering around Greenwich on foot with the trail map. Again, put the first weekend of November 2024 in your diary so you don’t miss next year’s trail.
The Diddy Day
The Diddy Day went ahead with jumping castles, Brett Lee (flogging his beer brand) paella and more.
Wet Weekend Incidents
As always happens on a wet weekend, there were some road accidents. The most severe accident reported was on the corner of Parklands and Nundah Street Lane Cove North.
A roving reporter noted that the construction site on Canberra Avenue did not have adequate sediment control (see our photos below). For several years, numerous councils have conducted a sediment control blitz called Get the Site Right. Lane Cove Council has advised that it will participate in next year’s Get the Site Right programme – read more here. ITC has attended council meetings on several occasions and noted that there must be more compliance checks at the large building sites.
Lane Cove Scores High on the Livability Census
Lane Cove Council scored 79 for livability in the recent Australian Livability Census, making it one of the most livable places in Australia. Placescore conducted the survey. The score is derived from answers from people who live in Lane Cove, so it is a good reflection of what people living in Lane Cove think of their suburb.
You may have noticed some media reports that Lane Cove is classified as the second most livable place in Australia and number one in NSW (and we all think that). The Lane Cove Council also reported this statistic. However, Place Score did not survey residents in every Local Government Area – so the survey does not statistically prove rankings against all other LGAs.
New EV Chargers on Lane Cove Power Poles
The Lane Cove Council released the statement below about their new EV chargers on power poles in Lane Cove. Although the statement noted that the chargers were up and running, you will see from our cover photo that the Little Street charger is still in the testing stage.
“Today marks a powerful acceleration in Lane Cove’s electric vehicle (EV) charging journey. In an Australian first, street-side power poles have been turned into charging stations for electric vehicles and the first seven chargers are now up and running on local streets in Lane Cove.
Earlier today, Federal Minister for Climate Change and Energy Chris Bowen officially powered up the first of Intellihub’s EV Streetside Charging project in Wolli Creek. Five of the Intellihub chargers also went live on power poles here in Lane Cove and St Leonards with two more being installed soon. The 22 kilowatt chargers connect directly to the overhead electricity network, with energy use being matched with 100 percent accredited GreenPower. The Australian Renewable Energy Agency is supporting the project through its Advancing Renewables Program with Lane Cove technically being the first to have the infrastructure installed under the initiative.
In addition, the council has been working with other infrastructure providers to roll out revolutionary access to EV charging on existing power poles across the local government area. This includes two Ausgrid user-pays kerbside chargers, bringing the total number of on-street chargers in the area to nine. When adding this to the chargers contained within the council’s existing off-street car parks, by the end of the month there will be 30 chargers installed for local residents within the 10.5 square kilometres of the Lane Cove local government area.
The new on-street chargers are available at parking spots close to and/or at the following addresses:
- 20 Phoenix Street, Lane Cove
- 11 Little Street, Lane Cove
- Cnr Oxley and Nicholson Streets, St Leonards
- 15-21 Mindarie Street, Lane Cove North
- 2-4 Pinaroo Place, Lane Cove North
- 72 Christie Street, St Leonards (available soon)
- 21 Sirius Road, Lane Cove West (available soon)
- 54 Gordon Crescent, Lane Cove North (Ausgrid)
- 13-15 Greenwich Road, Greenwich (Ausgrid)
Upon parking in one of the designated spaces, motorists use the relevant App associated with the charging device. EV owners can then plug in their own charging cables to their car and the unit affixed to the street pole before following the steps on their App to start charging.
Having on-street charging available in areas of where there is medium and high-density housing, or close to shopping and recreational facilities, means that charging facilities are available where they are most needed by our residents.
Council will continue to work alongside infrastructure providers to identify opportunities to expand the EV network in Lane Cove.”
Lane Cove North’s Mystery Sound is Back
On Lane Cove Chat by ITC, Lane Cove North residents asked if anyone knew what was making a “whoop whoop” sound at night. This question looked familiar to ITC. A few years ago, we were asked the same question, and we discovered Tawny Frogmouths were making the noise. Please read our article here.
Be Careful How You Dispose of Waste
A Roving Reporter saw this plastic in Stringybark Creek. Unfortunately, she could not reach it to remove it. She noted that even the wildlife was looking sadly at the plastic.
Lane Cove Locals in the News
The Daily Telegraph published a story about a Lane Cove local, Matthew Valerio, pleading guilty to hitting a parking ranger in Enmore. You can read the article here (it is paywalled). ITC spoke to a person who went to school with Matthew Valerio and said this behaviour was out of character with the person they knew.
Business Owner Alert
Do you want to rent an office or warehouse space close to where you live? If you live in Lane Cove, you might want to consider the options at 16 Mars Road Parkview in the Lane Cove West Business Park. There are short-term leases available for some tenancies and also hi-tech suites and warehouse spaces. Read more here.
Snake Time in Lane Cove
In Lane Cove, we all live approximately 500 m from bushland, and bushland means snakes. The Blackman Park resident snake (whom some call Jeff and others call Robert) is out and about. There used to be a sign letting people know about the resident snake (see below). ITC understand that the sign may have been removed and now there are posters.
Lane Cove Locals Incorrectly Fined Are Having their Fines Cancelled
ITC is pleased to advise that since we published our article on Lane Cove Council issuing incorrect fines, we have been contacted by a few locals who have had their fines cancelled.
If you think you have been incorrectly fined when parking in a Lane Cove Council Car Park – please read our article here
North Shore Newest Ambulance Station
The North Shore is to have another ambulance station. The PCYC has been purchased on Miltary Road and will become an ambulance station. Details about the new station are below and the station will provide support to the superstation at Artarmon (pictured below). The State Government still owns the ambulance building on Centennial Avenue Lane Cove – history of this building here https://bit.ly/40uoLbt
Announcement from NSW Health:
“The Lower North Shore community is a step closer to a new purpose-built ambulance station following the purchase of a site on Falcon Street, North Sydney.
Health Minister Ryan Park said the NSW government has purchased the site from Police Citizens Youth Clubs (PCYC) NSW, marking a significant milestone in delivering a vital health service that will serve communities across North Sydney and Cremorne.
“The new North Sydney Ambulance Station will support local paramedics in providing the best emergency medical care now and in the future,” Mr Park said.
“Health Infrastructure and NSW Ambulance carried out a thorough evaluation of the site to ensure the location best meets the needs of the local community and our emergency ambulance operations and paramedic staff.
“This new North Sydney Ambulance Station will bolster emergency care on the Lower North Shore and provide a first-class workplace for local paramedics.
“It will also improve network coverage supporting existing stations including the ambulance stations at Artarmon, Lane Cove and Balgowlah.
“Our paramedics will have a purpose-built station to help them deliver the best possible emergency and mobile medical care when and where it’s needed.”
The site was identified following a comprehensive service planning process using best practice modelling software which maps Triple Zero calls.
The site, which has good access to the major road network, is ideally suited to form part of the ambulance station network and the emergency ambulance response times in the North Sydney area.
New Ambulance stations are located at places which optimise ambulance response performance and meet the future health needs of the community.
NSW Ambulance uses sophisticated, international standard computer-aided Triple Zero call answering and dispatch systems.
Consultation with the community and the local residents about the new ambulance station will be carried out in the coming months. The next step for the project includes design development, prior to seeking planning approval for the new station.
Health Infrastructure will be working with PCYC NSW to facilitate a suitable handover time of the site with PCYC North Sydney.
Construction and operational timeframes will be determined as the project progresses.
The station is being delivered as part of the NSW Government’s $488.8 million NSW Ambulance Infrastructure Program.
The Program will deliver new ambulance stations and supporting infrastructure across Sydney, Newcastle and Wollongong over the coming years, boosting frontline emergency ambulance care.”
Lane Cove Events
Remembrance Day
You’re invited to join the Lane Cove RSL Sub Branch and the Lane Cove Council for a special Remembrance Day Service in the Lane Cove Plaza at 10:45 a.m. As tribute is paid to all those who sacrificed their lives in service to their country,
The Little Mermaid
The Lane Cove Theatre Company’s production of The Little Mermaid starts this weekend. It will be a great time for the whole family. More information about The Little Mermaid is here.
Support your child’s literacy – Lane Cove Library 15 November 2023 | 01:30 pm to 02:30 pm
Do you have a child between 0-5 years old? Would you like to develop their language skills? Speech pathologists work with children and families to build the foundations on which literacy skills develop and help support a healthy transition into literacy.
Meet local speech pathologists, read the Speech Pathology Australia’s Book of the Year 2023 winning books, and find out more about how you can support your child’s language and literacy development at home.
Free event. Bookings essential.
Sydney Speech Clinic – Our Week in Review Sponsor
Sydney Speech Clinic sponsors our week in review. Located in state-of-the-art premises in Little Street Lane Cove, they provide speech and OT services for children, teenagers and adults.
They have term-time group therapy programmes to help your child (from young to teen).
Group sessions promote peer learning in an interactive, motivating and supportive group environment.
Their group programs are designed to supplement the learning a child is already doing (e.g. at school, at home, or in 1-on-1 speech pathology) by building on existing skills. Most importantly, these groups encourage the children in the group to learn from one another. Sydney Speech Clinic often finds that children thrive in this group setting and come out of the program feeling confident and empowered to apply the new skills that they have learnt. Group programs offer a reliable and affordable way of maximising your child’s exposure to learning.
All of their programs are evidence-based, and carefully planned and facilitated by qualified speech pathologists and/or occupational therapists.
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