By Jonty Ralphsmith
Greater Dandenong councillor Richard Lim is in charge of the Springvale Central Ward, having worked at his business, Lim’s Pharmacy for over 30 years.
Cr Lim believes the suburb needs a facelift to make it a more attractive stop-over for commuters travelling south towards Port Philip Bay or north towards Glen Waverley, and eventually he wants the suburb itself to lure tourists.
To do so, he has a six-step vision to upgrade Springvale, as stage one of the Springvale Boulevard Project nears completion.
Star Journal would like to emphasise these are the views held by an individual councillor and do not necessarily represent the views of the Greater Dandenong council, and there are no formal plans in place to realise this vision.
1 – Toilets
Cr Lim says toilets a necessity to lure people on to the streets. Too often, Cr Lim has had people walk into his pharmacy on Balmoral Avenue asking if they could use the pharmacy’s toilet as they do not know where else to go.
There is one council-maintained toilet – in the same complex as the multi-level carpark – in Springvale as well as those within the eateries, but Cr Lim says that is not enough.
“There are no shortcuts to better maintaining and adding new toilets,” he said.
Cr Lim proposed vacant land near Lim’s Pharmacy or land near the roundabout where Balmoral St and Buckingham Avenue intersect as potential locations for the toilet.
Council could buy or rent the land, with the toilets to be maintained by private investors, under Cr Lim’s plan.
Springvale North Councillor Sean O’Reilly sees the merit in such a plan, however has not received complaints about toilet shortages. With Covid-19 causing funding shortfalls across the board, Cr O’Reilly therefore does not see it as a priority.
2 – Arcade
Cr Lim said his phone rings hot from people wanting to play music and perform in Springvale.
On Buckingham Avenue between Balmoral St and Windsor Avenue, Cr Lim wants to establish an arcade where they can perform – one way he hopes that Springvale could become more family-friendly.
The arcade would also accommodate food stalls selling different products to existing shops so as to not encroach on their business.
Believing Springvale’s nightlife could be improved, Cr Lim would like to see cars off that section of Buckingham Avenue during the evenings to encourage a relaxed atmosphere, with seats and gardens adding to the visual appeal and capitalising on Springvale’s potential.
There was $70,000 granted to do a feasibility study in the recent council budget for such an arcade which would be complete, Cr Lim hopes, in the next three-four years. Cr Lim would like to see the arcade overseen by a council-run group in an arrangement similar to the Dandenong Market.
3 – Multicultural Place
Events are important for Springvale to become a tourism hotspot, so a venue to host activities is essential.
Cr Lim would like to see a transparent roof put over the top of the area opposite the Springvale Shopping Centre entrance, near Gloria Jeans to add vibrancy to Buckingham Avenue.
A TV screen would also be installed, providing remuneration for the council, which he hopes would fund the place, as businesses would pay to have advertising while free movies are shown to the public or during cultural shows.
Other businesses could sponsor different cultural shows to be performed and entertain the people of Springvale.
While Cr Lim could not say how much it would cost, he believes setting up the area with chairs to watch events would be a successful drawcard.
This is a project he hopes to see completed by the end of 2023.
4 – Multicultural Museum
Cr Lim would like to see a multicultural museum with artefacts from cultures that make up the municipality placed in the Springvale Community Hub.
Voiceovers and different exhibits about the cultures could further enhance the museum experience.
It would increase Springvale’s reputation as a mecca with cultural tapestry from across the globe.
There would be TV screens where local businesses could promote their businesses and a souvenir shop so people could remember their time in Springvale.
Cr Lim admits this would be tricky to practically pull off, given money from all levels of government would be necessary.
At the earliest, he said it would be completed by 2025.
5 – Carpark:
Ideally, Cr Lim would like to see 500 new carparks established imminently in Springvale, understanding the importance of providing easy access to the precinct. Part of the accessibility would be to make the carparks free for users to further incentivise people to come out.
To fund this, Cr Lim would like to see a model implemented similar to what occurs in Glen Waverley where businesses would pay for the upkeep of the carpark, the establishment of which would be financed by a private investor.
Determined to encourage businesses to understand the benefits of such a scheme, Cr Lim said he would speak to owners individually to impart his belief that free parking would feed money into the local economy, and thus the individual businesses would be better off long-term.
Likewise, Cr Lim wants to speak to businesses about upgrading shopfronts so the streets look modern and representative of the diverse cultures, rather than tired and old.
Given the cost of establishing a carpark and the difficult practicalities in creating space, finding an investor and getting locals on board, he understands that it may need to occur later in his vision. By the time it does come to fruition, the increased traffic to Springvale may highlight the need for additional parking spaces.
Currently, there is a multi-level carpark with over 500 spaces on Balmoral Avenue that is designed to accommodate people staying for a longer time to ensure street parking is left vacant for those who will quickly be in and out.
However, the carpark has received many complaints for being too narrow and it is not widely known about according to Cr Lim. Star Journal observed the carpark during trading hours on a weekday, and it was well below capacity and there were clear scrapings from cars.
6 – Gateways
Private investors such as cultural associations and community leaders could raise money for symbols of their own country to be constructed around Springvale.
Such gateways would be established in areas where there is a high concentration of that culture.
The monuments would provide excellent photo opportunities and further cement Springvale as a cultural drawcard.
Cr Lim hopes such a plan would lead to tourism packages being sought after in Springvale.
Such renovations, he believes, will allow Springvale to build on its cultural reputation: people could eat at a multicultural restaurant for breakfast and lunch, visiting a temple, the multicultural museum and arcade in between, according to Cr Lim.
“I hope people will feel excited, like they have been to another country when they go to Springvale. We want to make something so different that people want to come back from other states,” he said.
