Jasper Road gets green man

Jasper Road has always been a busy road, making it dangerous for residents to walk to the nearby park, train station and primary and secondary schools.

In around 2008, Danita, along with a few other local residents began writing to their local MP and Glen Eira council officials seeking a pedestrian crossing on Jasper Road.

In 2010, after several local meetings and persistent letter writing, Rob Hudson MP and then Minister for Transport Tim Pallas finally agreed to a signalised pedestrian crossing. Residents were thrilled.

Soon afterwards, the newly elected Elizabeth Miller MP replaced Rob Hudson MP and the government changed. Residents were uncertain about whether the Jasper Road pedestrian crossing would be implemented.

Around this crucial time, residents formalised their group and became Ormond & McKinnon Walks (ORMcK). ORMcK aims to increase community awareness about the importance of walkability and to encourage council to take steps to improve walkability in the City of Glen Eira.

Members of the group have a wide variety of skills and expertise, and are well networked within their own local community. They met every 4 - 6 weeks to discuss ways to keep the Jasper Road crossing on their local MP's agenda. Group members met with their new MP on numerous occasions and maintained regular contact by letter, phone and email to ensure their community's campaign did not lose momentum.

The pedestrian crossing was finally given the green light in early 2012 and became operational in June 2012.

• Work constructively with your local MP, regardless of their political persuasion. 
• Be clear and focused about what you want.
• Show that your issue has strong community support (organise a coordinated letter writing campaign, get media attention, collect signatures in a petition etc).
• Be persuasive (present factual information where possible as well as show how the issue affects real people in the community, take photos and videos, take them on a walk in the area if possible).
• Above all, be persistent. 

Moorabin Leader 13 Oct 2010	Moorabin Leader 31 Jan .2012

Apart from taking a leading role in campaigning for the Jasper Road crossing, the group has participated in community consutlations, highlighted various walkability issues to council officers, promoted walkability with a flyer at their local festival, as well as written two detailed submissions:

• Glen Eira Sustainable Transport Strategy
• Council's Draft Community Plan
• Visit ORMcK on Facebook
• Visit ORMcK's WAG page