Surprise changes: Parkville Gardens pushes for its own meeting place

Surprises can be welcome or unwelcome. Parkville Gardens has had one of each in recent weeks. 

First, the good news …

Out of the blue Public Transport Victoria (PTV) announced a major upgrade of the 505 bus service between Moonee Ponds and Melbourne University, effective as of July 14. Did they choose Bastille Day in view of the Olympic Games in Paris? Who knows …

Weekday services now run every 20 minutes instead of what often used to be once an hour. At the weekend buses are on a half-hour timetable. 

That’s a terrific improvement, over and above what our former local member Tim Read achieved a few years ago. 

Thank you, PTV. 

There’s also a change of terminus at the university end. Now that Grattan St has been reopened, the terminus has returned to its earlier site just around the corner from Royal Parade.

Locals, please take advantage of this new timetable and patronise the service as much as possible.

The unwelcome surprise was that our good friend Carlo at the Reggio Calabria Club has had to make the tough decision to close his week-night bistro. 

No doubt it’s disappointing for him, but it’s also thrown into disarray our plans to have the Association’s AGM and community Quiz Night and dinner there this month. 

It’s highlighted the fact that Parkville Gardens continues to have no indoor venue at all for community events. We will continue to advocate with the new council for a site of our own, once elections are held in October.

As a result, we have had to engage in some fancy logistical footwork. We will proceed with the AGM but postpone the Quiz Night and Dinner until a more favourable time. 

Plan B is for us to hold the AGM at 7pm on the night of Monday, September 9 at the revamped Western Pavilion in Royal Park. 

The venue is a new one for us – it’s on the south side of Park St not far from the Upfield line crossing. It’s simple and easy to get to and there’s plenty of parking. We hope to find a way of assisting those without transport to get there and back. 

Keep an eye out for more publicity on Facebook, on our two noticeboards, and via a flyer in your letterbox.

We aim to make it a convivial night. We’ll deal with the formalities of the AGM as briefly as possible while making sure there’s ample opportunity for everyone to speak up and share their ideas, concerns and hopes for an even better neighbourhood. 

The rest of the evening will be for informal mixing around, meeting up and enjoying each other’s company over tasty snacks. 

Please come along and make the night a great success. Put 7pm at the Western Pavilion on Monday, September 9 in your calendar now.

One last appeal …

Between now and then, consider putting up your hand to join the committee, especially if you are young and energetic and full of ideas. We meet for an hour once a month except in January and also help to stage our events. An injection of new blood would do us all the world of good. 

If you’d like to know more, contact me at [email protected] or our secretary-treasurer Faye Ryan at [email protected]. We’ll be happy to chat! •