Caricature of planning diverts from what is really needed
The so-called Woy Woy Waterfront Master Plan is a caricature of planning.
It consists of a series of pretty coloured pictures, showing rather fancifully imagined improvements to the waterfront, but with no explanation of what the plan is supposed to achieve, no programming of the elements of the plan, no budget for the works and no indication of how it responds to contributions made by the community to the previous iteration of the plan.
Was there really a groundswell of support for a Gateway Fountain on Brisbane Water Drive or for a Musical Art Sculpture on Brick Wharf Rd?
My impression was the the community's main interest was in the Pelican Park Playground where the wishes of users have been completely ignored.
Much play is made with the use of "canopy trees", although how canopy trees are to fare in streets that are largely monopolized by overhead wires is left to the imagination.
Similarly, The Boulevarde is now to become a "shared street", but there is no hint as to what this is supposed to mean, assuming it means anything other than what it already is.
Quaintly, the "Town Centre Precinct" bears no relationship to the Town Centre.
In fact, the Town Centre might as well not exist for all the consideration it has received in the preparation of this plan.
Surely, this should have been one of the prime concerns, if the waterfront is to become more than just another area of deserted landscaping.
There isn't even a pedestrian access way from the nearest parking lot, so who is going to be attracted to this remote part of Woy Woy, to enjoy the Promenade and the view of Pelican Island?
This seems more like somebody's vanity project than a serious attempt to improve the attractiveness of the Woy Woy centre: "putting lipstick on a pig" is a phrase that leaps to mind.
Woy Woy centre is an ugly, down-market collection of second-rate shops, with poor parking and no pedestrian amenity worth the name.
So why isn't priority being accorded to a revamp of an area that people use, despite all its drawbacks, so that Woy Woy residents get some real benefit from the use of their funds?
If ever a "shared street" was needed, it is Blackwall Rd, and what happened to the grand vision of Woy Woy as a walker-friendly precinct?
This sort of piddling exercise just about stretches to capacity of Central Coast Council to its limits but only serves to divert attention from what really needs to be done.
SOURCE:
Email, 16 Jun 2022
Bruce Hyland, Woy Woy