LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

Road closure simply compensatory

I fail to understand the City’s proposed closure of Palmer Street at Stanley in East Sydney (‘Palmer St closure on the cards’, The City News, July 5).
After a long campaign by a minority of locals to have many more streets closed, the City East Traffic Study exposed the plan as being extremely bad for traffic flows, achieving little except the re-direction of traffic into already clogged Crown St from Oxford.
A few thought they would benefit. Others would suffer worse congestion and pollution, and those living in nearby suburbs would face long detours to get anywhere, a real problem if you were, say, a pensioner catching a taxi.
The real issue has always been the so-called ‘impacts’ of street prostitution. Stanley and Palmer is one of the more frequent locations for sex workers to pick up clients. It always amazes me how the ‘impacts’ of street prostitution always seem to offend certain people while others including myself and my partner have found the sex workers to be a friendly and welcome presence on the street ‘ if you treat them the same way.
Of course we care nothing for accelerated gentrification, property values or maximising rentals. Rather, we value diversity and prefer a bit of grit and vibrancy, and try not to pass judgement on others’ lives.
As another local recently put it: ‘You wanted to live close to the action, you got it!’
I do not see any traffic or pedestrian problems at that intersection. I can only assume the closure is political compensation to a few who want to shrink our city to their own less tolerant horizons and displace perceived problems onto the next street or suburb.
I’m all for new urbanism and don’t even own a car, but in this car-centred city a lot has to change before the wholesale closure of streets will reap any social benefits.

Michael Gormly,
Woolloomooloo

No Council Favouritism for East Sydney residents

The residents of East Sydney have been left alone to defend themselves for years against the politically motivated, anti-Clover Moore pro-through traffic campaign of combined Kings Cross Labor and Greens, precisely because the Lord Mayor does not want to be seen as favouring her supporters.
The City of Sydney promised East Sydney a Local Area Traffic Management Plan (LATM) to be conducted six months after the Cross City Tunnel opened. The pro-through traffic activists, who incidentally do not live in East Sydney, demanded ‘ and got ‘ an Eastern Sydney Traffic Study that covers five villages. Favoritism for East Sydney’ Give us a break!
The just completed Eastern Sydney Traffic Study is conceptually and technically flawed. It is nothing like an LATM because it combines at least five villages with a bird’s eye view of traffic flow instead of using the perspective of someone living and/or working on the ground in each precinct. There was no attempt therefore to decrease through traffic or to re-direct it onto non-residential streets.
Street prostitution, while illegal outside residences, schools and churches, was never a major part of our Community Strategic Plan. Proper management of through traffic however, would have allowed the street workers to work legally in our predominantly non-residential streets containing the re-directed through traffic and their prospective clients. So everybody wins.
This small, politically well-connected band of pro-through traffic activists has never made it clear what they actually stand for. Do they oppose all closures of local roads to through traffic’ If so, will they campaign to have all 115 existing road closures within 7 km of the GPO re-opened and are they then ready to be chased out of town by angry residents’
We already know that they do not oppose closures in other parts of Sydney. For example, in Chippendale where their champion Greens Councillor Chris Harris lives.
In the meantime, East Sydney is still waiting for a proper Local Area Traffic Management Plan as promised by Council.

Gundo Frenda,
East Sydney

No second chance for T2

Dear Editor,

While ‘T2 nightclub plans a return’ (The City News, July 5) residents are concerned that noise from the night clubs planned ‘outside’ seating will blast into our living rooms in Campbell, Little Oxford, Denham, Bourke and Taylor Streets.
Apartments that will hear the full force of the outside seating will be the Urbis, The Taylor Grand, Vivere, Belgenny, Dorchester, Claridge, Vicino and St Margaret’s Ivy.
Residents object in the strongest terms to the return of T2.
This venue has in the past caused disorder and trouble for Taylor Square residents. Every weekend for two years we were subjected to police raids & patrons drug dealing brawls. Our area being used as a toilet. Without exception the type of patron using this hotel were non residents.
I live close by and saw Taylor Square being abused in many ways. The abusive behavior of the clubs patrons and violent brawls. Numerous police calls. At weekends many police vehicles surrounded the area ‘ the laneways and fire escapes used for all types of drug deals.
The parishioners of the St Sophia & Three Daughters Greek Church were are subjected to sights that were crude and improper.
Let’s hope Council get the point that we want this place turned into something that we can all get pleasure from.
This hotel has had a long history of non-compliance and complaints by the City of Sydney Council. Yet not anything would surprise residents about anything coming out of this night club.

Yours sincerely,
Brian Noad
Nichols Street Community Group