By Violet Li
Cranbourne locals are angered that a section of Avenue of Honour is being used as a car park, saying it is disrespectful to those who served in the World War.
Local David McCormack, a veteran, noticed Cranbourne Greyhound Racing Club had been using a section of Avenue of Honour opposite the United Petroleum for months.
“You can see the damage along here. You can see the tracks. That used to be all beautiful green grass there. You can see how close they’re getting to the trees. They’re going to kill the trees!” he said.
“These trees have been here since the Second World War. They have been here for 70 years. Each tree is for a soldier. Look at the mess they’ve done. That’s very disrespectful!”
The club said it did not mean to cause any disrespect to the Avenue of Honour, and would prefer to use the southern end for access – as opposed to the northern end.
Mr McCormack said there used to be a car park around the corner but with the Narre Warren-Cranbourne Road Upgrade that had been installing new traffic lights at the South Gippsland Highway intersection, the old car park along with the southern access to the club was closed.
“Why isn’t it a car park anymore? Why waste all this land?” he said.
“There are two ways of looking at it. It’s not the greyhound people’s fault, but it’s not because they’ve got no other choice now.”
Mr McCormack also said he had reported the issue to the City of Casey several times, but nothing happened.
Local Allan Ryan said there were times the cars would even park on the footpath among the Avenue of Honour, and he could not get past in a wheelchair.
“It was lucky the wheel didn’t fall down then. I would’ve hurt myself,” he said.
Cranbourne Greyhound Racing Club chief executive officer Andrew Fennell said they understood some residents were concerned with the parking and access to the training facilities on the South Gippsland Hwy.
“The Cranbourne Greyhound Racing Club, its members and greyhound participants do not mean to cause any disrespect to the Avenue of Honour, nor does anyone want to cause any damage to the surroundings,” he said.
“It is unfortunate and frustrating that our participants have been forced to access the facilities from the northern end and they are mindful of the traffic on the highway, as well as the pedestrian traffic.
“Our preference has always been to retain access at the southern end as it works better for everyone.”
He said the reason they currently accessed the facility from the northern end was because they were contacted by the road contractor and advised that the roadworks would impact access to the southern end.
“We were instructed to use the northern gates until a permanent solution was found. The road project had already started, and they had not consulted the CGRC prior to design and the start of construction,” he said.
“Once we advised them of the issue with access, we were told that the plans could not be changed and that they would work with the club to find a permanent solution for access. Despite many meetings, they have told us to now work with the City of Casey for a permanent solution.
“We have tried many times to contact the City of Casey, who have denied our requests to meet and resolve the issue.
“Vehicle access and parking need to be close to the entry point of the track as we have trainers who can bring up to eight greyhounds at a time and require close access to their vehicles while they train them one by one. It is also an animal welfare issue, as the greyhounds cannot be left in a car or trailer unattended over 100 metres away.”
When contacted, City of Casey’s manager connected communities Callum Pattie said: “Under the Victorian Road Safety Road Rules 2017, it is illegal for unauthorised vehicles to park on a nature strip or footpath.”
“The overall Narre Warren-Cranbourne Road Upgrade roadworks are a Victorian Government road project being undertaken by Major Road Projects Victoria and are expected to end in October.
“Some additional minor works are expected to be completed thereafter, and they are scheduled to finish in November.”
A Major Road Projects Victoria (MRPV) spokesperson said MRPV consulted extensively with nearby residents, stakeholders and businesses throughout works on the Narre Warren-Cranbourne Road Upgrade.
“We will continue to work with the training facility, the Department of Transport and Planning, and the City of Casey to find a suitable permanent arrangement,” they said.
