Work continues on seawall and pedestrian safety

HELLO to all Borough of Queenscliffe residents, ratepayers and visitors. We all wound our clocks forward for daylight savings a few nights ago which means one thing – spring is in full bloom and the holiday season is not too far around the corner.

I have been out and about recently, popping in to a couple of local businesses in Queenscliff which had been listed as coronavirus exposure sites in the week prior – you might have seen a photo on Council’s Facebook page.

It’s important to know that the Department of Health works with exposed businesses to conduct a risk assessment and deep clean before reopening.

Both the Scandinavian Ice Cream Shop and Oh My Buddha Clothing are now safely reopened to the public, and I encourage you to visit and support not only them but all our local businesses in the Borough.

To keep up with the latest exposure sites around our region, or to book a vaccination, visit coronavirus.vic.gov.au and follow the links.

Borough wins bet with Buloke

Speaking of vaccinations, I had a Zoom chat with my old friend Mayor Warren of the Buloke Shire to crown a winner of our good-natured wager over which LGA would reach 80% double vaccinations first.

While the Borough of Queenscliffe came out on top, with our local double-vax rate currently sitting at approximately 83%, we both agreed that the real winners were the residents of both our areas, who have turned out in the droves to get the jab and protect themselves, their families, friends and communities.

Buloke has now had over 91% of residents receive a first dose, so they are well on their way to reaching our heights. I look forward to catching up with Mayor Warren in person for a meal in Buloke when restrictions ease further.

Erosion works on Point Lonsdale seawall

You may notice some signage go up around Point Lonsdale front beach soon as Council and the Department of Environment, Land, Water & Planning prepare to complete urgent repair works on a section of sea wall along the foreshore.

Persistent storm events over a number of years have seen heavy seas smash against the wall with significant force, and this can compromise the integrity of the wall.

While the damage doesn’t pose an immediate threat to public safety, Council will be reconstructing and renewing the affected area to maintain the wall’s integrity and ensure it remains safe for public use.

I’d like to thank the community in advance for their patience while we complete these works, which are likely to take a number of months.

The work will be completed in sections so that we can minimise disruption and continue to allow locals and visitors use of our wonderful beach.

These renewal works have been made possible thanks to funding support from DELWP.

Pedestrian safety works continuing

It’s been hard to miss one side of King Street being dug up over the past couple of weeks as the Department of Transport has been completing works to install a new traffic refuge adjacent the Queenscliff General Store Café.

This will allow pedestrians to cross this often busy road in stages, making for a safer journey on foot.

Once finished, works will begin on a similar traffic refuge on Flinders Street near Cottage by the Sea.

These works form part of Council’s pedestrian safety blitz, which you can read more about by visiting boq.news/pedestrians.

Sporting successes

As one season ends another begins. The AFL Grand Final that took place the other weekend saw a drought-breaking victory for Melbourne and I’d like to congratulate all our local long-suffering Demons fans on their team winning the premiership.

I know that we have a lot of family ties with the MFC in the Borough so it was certainly nice to see them prevail over in Perth.

Now that footy’s over, cricket is back, and locally the Queenscliff Cricket Club is operating its first ever women’s cricket team!

A significant achievement for the club and another sign that women’s sport is booming in our region.

The team has already had a number of training sessions and are looking forward to getting started in the summer.

As always, feel free to get in touch with me if you have anything to ask or share regarding our beautiful Borough.

Kind regards,
Cr Ross Ebbels
Borough of Queenscliffe