Dec 8, 2017
This week, Council approved an almost-3,000m2 expansion of Gardiner Reserve, North Melbourne.
This was a key Greens election promise in 2016 – The Greens election campaign was launched in Gardiner Reserve – and there will be shovels in the ground in the first full financial year of this term of Council. Crs Oke and Leppert secured support for this project in the 2017-18 capital works budget.
Just like the Kensington Station park proposed and delivered by The Greens in the previous term of Council, this expanded park will provide essential public open space for a fast-growing population.
At the Future Melbourne Committee meeting on Tuesday, Cr Leppert sought to amend the plans slightly to ensure that new bicycle lanes on Macaulay Rd are physically separated to reduce the risk of ‘dooring’ accidents, which are already at dangerously high levels on this arterial and key cycling commuter route. He also took forward community suggestions to ensure that James ‘Tiger’ Gardiner is properly commemorated with a plaque when the park expansion is completed.
Tiger Gardiner was the lead founder of the North Melbourne Football Club in 1869 and became the Mayor of the Town of North Melbourne in 1894. Gardiner Reserve, like Tiger Gardiner himself, is an important part of the history of the growth of the City of Melbourne. The Greens are delighted to bring new life and a greatly-expanded public open space to this part of the municipality.