I’m a local resident and am concerned about the lack of parking for the proposed development over 5,7,9 Melba st Downer. As Melba st is a no parking area, owners with more than 1 car, or guests will be required to park in streets available. I am concerned that owners or guests to the proposed development will park in Blacket st, where street parking is already overcrowded. It will also increase traffic down Blacket st, which is already very busy and unsafe due to high density street parking and lack of room to get down the street. I believe the proposed DA application will significantly impact local residents in the following ways:
1. An increase in street traffic in Blacket st, resulting in less parking available for Blacket st residents
2. An increase in traffic driving up and down Blacket st, in an already over crowded st, increasing the likelihood of vehicle collisions
3. An increase in traffic at the Blacket st/Melba street intersections, which are already very busy and unsafe intersections for vehicles and pedestrians.
4. Although zoned for high density dwellings, too many high density dwellings do not fit in with the surrounding properties, detracting from the rich history of the suburb and area, which contribute to making the area desirable to live. Some of the history I refer to is; the Dickson Library which is a top 10 in the world for the era’s architecture, and applied for heritage listing, Award winning Architecture of the many duplexes in Blacket and Swindon st, the site of the old CSIRO, and heritage listed gum trees.
The aforementioned issues could decrease the value of properties for local residents, and this kind of high density dwellings does not fit into the area. I therefore think the DA needs to be amended to include more parking for guests, and the government to consider a significant upgrade to the intersection of Blacket st/Melba st intersection if the building is to go ahead.
Thank you for considering my comments.