i haven't trawled through the finer details yet but if that's true then i'll be a lot more motivated to offer both the state government and the council my two cents.

in my experience altona has both one of the lowest levels of competition between kiters and other beach users and one of the more considerate and safety-conscious group of kiters compared to other popular melbourne spots. sometimes i think some kiters get too close to the pier, but for the council to push the rigging zone past romawi st seems ridiculous. a brief glance at a map shows that most kiters rig at the safest spot already, near the end of mcbain st.

kiter222, do you know why the council are thinking of pushing the rigging area down the beach? it often seems that there are more families with kids paddling in the shallows and doing other stuff on the beach near romawi st.

i'm not aware of any incidents at altona that would warrant a change. self-regulation seems to be working pretty well there. if it ain't broke, don't fix it say i.

somehow i also have a sense that any council laws may be enforced more strongly than state laws (just a hunch, as victoria has a lot of coastline but the kite spots in altona can be patrolled in a few minutes) so some dialogue with council may be in order.

the original proposal was that from the street (McBain i think) straight out and towards pier was a kiting no go zone.

I put in a submission that the boundary be from Mcbain street to the end of the pier at least so as we could at least tack away from beach.

got a thanks for my submission and that was it till a couple of altered drafts were sent to me but no idea that anything was actually put in place.

Do we know if this has been set in stone?

The new council bylaws have not been approved yet . The council basically doesnt want any kiting near the pier.

The guy i talked to in charge of this area of the new bylaws said the council ( in charge of the beach ) was going to set the designated kiting areas on the beach for rigging up to match the new parks victoria (in charge of the water ) boating zones .

i.e rigging up only allowed on the beach past romawi st to apex park on the end.
On the water a 5 knot zone from pier to romawi and kiting allowed in water from romawi to apex .

Nothing set yet as laws havent been passed and as from above post looks like kvb are already looking into it .

It is great kbv are going to council with a submission but we can all have a say about the new kiting rules by filling in a feedback form on the hobsons council website. www.hobsonsbay.vic.gov.au under revised local laws
( sorry im too old to know how to add a link)

It may help if as well as the kbv submissions they receive some comments from us .
So if you use altona beach to kite tell the council how these regulations are going to affect you .

djdojo said...

awesome, cheers, i'll be writing something today.

i'll be arguing on safety grounds and on the strength of good self-regulation that we should be able to rig and kite from mcbain st west.

what do other altona regulars think?

I'd be pushing for a 'no kiting east of Sargood St' which basically means to keep a 100m clearance from the pier - which most sensible kiters do anyway. Everyone usually rigs and rides from Mcbain St so thats definitely the proposed rigging site (just west from Mcbain St).
How can we go about getting some signage put up at Altona just like the ones at Brighton and St Kilda?
That signage really helps non-locals as well as the general public.

One of the key features or factors to include in your submissions is the issue of PARKING.

if it is noted to the council that the Mcbain street option allows safer parking, less congested street, and safer distance from powerlines and road etc. for kite rigging. then these are issues councils understand.

then argue that the kiting zone need to extend out at an angle to allow kiting away from beach.

also include that the area they are proposing to push us to, is also the area where most injuries have occurred due to the unpredictable shift etc. of the sandbars.

Councils are concerned with the possibility of insurance claims more than anything else and the above issues ring those bells.

It is great that we can all have a unaminous voice on this, keep it up and go on the council site to air your views.

The main reason for the move by council is because they are extending the depth of the beach to facilitate more people using it. so they foresee a lot more bathers and beach users.
I've been dealing with council for well over a year with this and it is no way set in stone, they have said that they will concider extending the beach works to give us a larger beach rigging area after Romawi st.
Parking and kiters close to the road and power lines is a major issue for this rigging area, it needs to be moved back to were we all rigg now anyway. (Mcbain)
safety is the one thing council understands.