It may have been a throw away line at a recent Maitland City Council meeting but Cr Peter Garnham’s comment about Maitland’s city gateways looking like the back end of a dairy, but it has certainly sparked widespread community interest.
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His story has prompted both outrage and positive suggestions from Mercury readers keen to have a say on how council should spend its money and what they would like to see at our city’s entrances.
While some say council should stop wasting money on pet projects and cosmetic changes, other believe the entrances at some locations are appalling and agree with Cr Garnham.
He raised the issue of the city’s gateways during debate on a housing sub-division proposal for Belmore Road, Lorn, which was approved. Cr Garnham told the meeting that Maitland looks like the back end of a dairy farm and developments such as the Lorn sub-division would make our entry points much more appealing.
Cr Garnham said the old Welcome to Maitland entry signs located at Heritage Gardens near Thornton, Maitland Hospital roundabout, Ministers’ Park near Maitland Visitors’ Centre and outside the Grand Junction Hotel in Church Street, either needed restoring or bulldozing.
Pictures of Maitland rugby league great Merv Wright and internationally acclaimed boxing legend Les Darcy, a giant pumpkin and electronic signs promoting what’s on in the city, are just three of many suggestions to come forward.
Other readers have said money would be better spent fixing roads, planting more trees at entry points, restoring “ugly cemeteries”, fixing the fountain outside Maitland Library and restoring unkempt buildings.
Either way, love it or hate it, the call has gone out and the responses continue to roll in.
If Cr Garnham is successful in his quest to obtain new city gateways, the finished products should be what the people of Maitland want.
Clearly his story has created a great deal of debate from passionate residents who want to see only the best for our city.
Councillors should listen to these requests and be heartened knowing that so many people want to have input and create a healthy debate on how they want to see our entry points developed.
It should be the constituents, the ratepayers and the people who choose to live in this wonderful city who have the final say.
