 East Esplanade Reserve - is it too popular? Photo: Troy Snook, Manly Daily Update: The "no alcohol after 4pm" trail will remain in place until April, after which it will be reviewed. In the meantime, Good For Manly Councillor, Candy Bingham, has initiated a review of the toilet facility stating the current public toilet is a "scary dungeon"
Council resolved to look at options of upgrading and replacing the existing toilets. ========================================================================================== East Esplanade Reserve – aka “The Office”. A great spot to have a drink and watch the sun go down, or a park that’s overwhelmed with too many people, too much partying and too much rubbish? Getting the balance right is the challenge facing Manly Council as it endeavours to accommodate the needs of picnickers – both locals and visitors - and people living near by. The council’s recent attempt at a compromise - permitting drinking but only until 4pm - has unleashed a storm. After Good For Manly posted the news, our Facebook site had an extraordinary 21,000+ hits and over 200 comments. The message was unanimous - 4pm is too early. People said the “Office” crowd was well-behaved and orderly, and many commented they were happy to bring their children along. They suggested sunset, or a bit later, for “last drinks”, and urged the Council to add more garbage bins and improve toilet facilities. The decision to ban alcohol after 4pm was made by the Council’s Community Safety Committee, and is yet to be ratified by the full Council. It overturns a total ban on alcohol that has been in place at East Esplanade Reserve since 2010. Despite the ban, the harbourfront park has become enormously popular, especially on Fridays after work and on the weekend. Good For Manly Cr Candy Bingham said the Council clearly hadn’t got the balance right yet. “Four pm is too early,” she said. “But I think a ban on alcohol after sunset is appropriate because we don’t want people drinking on into the night. “Rubbish, and its removal, is more of an issue as it’s costing us, the ratepayers, a fortune. Local Police Commander Dave Dacey, has also stated that the recent blitz by police of the area cost $5,000 and such an operation is just not sustainable on a regular basis”. In addition to no alcohol after sunset, she suggested the Council install more garbage bins and empty them more often. Also for the Council to continue regular patrols by night rangers, who would report any unruly behaviour to police. Cr Bingham raised the matter at a recent meeting of Council and it was resolved to refer the matter back to the Community Safety Committee with the recommendation the cut-off time be later. (The Committee met on 11/12/14 and decided to maintain the 4pm time, which will be trialled until after the Easter weekend). In the meantime, following a resolution moved by Clr Bingham, Council will review the public toilet amenity which has been deemed as 'scary' and inadequate. What would you like to see happen?
13 Comments
Amr Marzouk
17/12/2014 11:58:31 pm
leave people alone, just provide more bins and let them enjoy themselves. Live in an apt that looks over the whole area and they are well behaved people who just want to relax and enjoy the sunset and beach.
DON walker
18/12/2014 12:08:31 am
The law states no alcohol consumption or smoking is allowed along East Esplanade, as is clearly sign posted at the western end of East Esplanade near the wharf yet no action is taken by the police when it is clearly obvious that the law is being broken.
ralf
19/12/2014 12:14:59 pm
Don - really, ' the law is being broken" - good heavens, how old and conservative are you ?? greetings from this 72 year old who finds the atmosphere @ East Esplanade verrry nice, no problems, I live nearby. just some more rubbish bins and portable toilets
Evelyn Ciocco
18/12/2014 01:25:54 am
The Office is a wonderful example of our community coming together to use public land. Yes, alcohol should be allowed. The Office is a beautiful example of Australian lifestyle. A few disgruntled people should not impinge on the pleasure of many. Perhaps some signage could be installed to encourage people to take away their own rubbish, explaining that Council is unable to install more bins.
Richard
18/12/2014 01:36:15 am
I think the drinking in itself is not really an issue. The only problem I have as a resident in the area is the unacceptable amounts of trash left behind by people. People should be allowed to enjoy themselves in a reasonable way but to get up after your sunset session and leave all your trash behind is nowhere near good enough. Add more bins and lets see some heavy spot fines for leaving litter.
Steve
18/12/2014 02:16:27 am
People enjoying themselves along East Esplanade is fine with me - provided they don't impinge on the enjoyment of others, including residents. And that includes noise, which is liable to be the biggest problem.
Chris A
19/12/2014 12:42:56 am
I have been going down to East Esplanade and having a few drinks with friends since early 2000.I haved lived in Ashburner st for 8 years and Osbourne rd for 3 years (local enough). It has always been fun but like anything it becomes popular because it is such an amazing spot to chill out over a few beers with mates. Australians love to have fun and that is what makes us such an appealing country Globally. But it seams lately that ozzies are starting to winge more than the english ;)
ralf
19/12/2014 12:09:48 pm
'what to be done' ? easy: leave it as is, put some large rubbish bins nearby, a portable toilet or 2 - and CERTAINLY for longer than
Roger James
19/12/2014 12:46:47 pm
Its not the general populace that is the problem, it is the idiots that abuse the privilege - drinking on the beach (not on the grass), consuming too much alcohol and yelling and carrying on into the night, leaving their bottles (often broken) for kids to cut their feet on, loud music or boisterous activities interfering with other peoples quiet enjoyment. It would be good if the people who decry Councils attempt to mediate come up with an answer to the problems before they criticise.
Chris A
22/12/2014 01:56:37 am
For Sure... The council are stuck between a rock and a hard place. What ever they say will make someone upset. Be good to change the drinking until just after sunset as everyone loves watching the sunset from Manly Cove. Provide more bins and maybe hand out some flyers or have a few people walking around telling people that the stop drink time is at sunset and please dont forget to put your rubbish in the bins. Be happy and friendly, but educational for the ones who are not locals. Many countries around the world just discard their rubbish on the ground because that is what they have always done.
Taso L
22/12/2014 03:28:12 pm
Council needs to find better solutions to controlling the few that spoil it for the vast majority that are there to enjoy the great views and atmosphere. Let's not loose some of the fun & spirit of the Northern Beaches lifestyle. Definitely need more bins, I'd rather have my council rate fees going to this rather than some of the other things that Council is spending our rates on. As for the cut-off for drinking, since sun set times change maybe deciding on something like 8pm might be better rather than an arbitrary time and yes we should have more rangers patrolling with police only called in when needed.
Murray J
2/1/2015 03:39:25 am
Being a resident of Ashburner I have no problem with people enjoying a drink at the end of my street. I had a visitor from Brisbane recently say to me how nice it was to see people actually enjoying some public space. I would love to see the 4pm time shifted to sunset also. It gives us a chance to enjoy the space as the sunsets. The bin problem could easily be addressed. Alcohol is not a problem for so many of us and it's great to see adults enjoying themselves - setting a great example for their kids.
Angela Marino
20/2/2015 06:04:11 am
If Manly Council wishes to ban alcohol on East Esplanade they should lead by example and eliminate alcohol from all functions at Manly Council including the pre drinks before the council meetings that way Manly Council would come up with better strategic planning & decisions Leave a Reply. |
AuthorCandy Bingham, Deputy Mayor & Manly Ward Councillor on Northern Beaches Council. Background in marketing, public relations and community engagement. Author of five business books. Former Lady Mayoress of Sydney. Aka Candy Tymson. ........................................
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