Seasonal difficulties

I get down to the station and it's either cloudy and too dark or the sun is out and shining into my camera. And I'm usually hurrying for the train coz the bus I catch now gets there just in time for a train. So, no pics. And then there's no smell to report so what do I have to report?? Not much. As everyone who goes to the station can see the building works progresses pretty regularly even if we don't understand what the builders are doing. I'm sure they do. In the lift we were making jokes about how they're making a rickety looking carpark and only very small things can park in the ground floor and only very light on the wooden flooring of the second level. Yeah yeah yeah, we know, but it's more fun our way!

And another conversation - the cops have booked cars blocking others in and taken photos. I was talking to a person who had called them early in the piece.

Oh yeah!

Of course, it's too dark to take photos after work now! Maybe, if I'm not running for the train in the morning, I'll take pics on the way to work instead. By the atmospheric light of the lamps this evening it didn't look like much had changed, but who can tell?

Stench

I'm on leave for a few days, I'll be back at the station, checking out the carpark, after easter. In the meantime, driving along Glossop on the stretch between Debrincat and Forrester guess what I smelled? The stench is back!!

No photos

Still more holes and piles of dirt. Not really photogenic. I mean, once you taken pics of holes and dirt it's not really interesting to take more... Of course I might have missed something - you could tell me...

Holes

Nothing for yesterday coz I got a lift home - all the way from the city! So I wasn't interested in the station at all.

They've been drilling lots of holes. I was watching the fellows getting ready the other morning and I wish I had my camera out - one of them was climbing up the ridges of the drill! I can take video with this camera too, now that would have been something to put on here.

Oh yeah, at least one person was parked inside the bus turning area today - wonder how long before we see the cops down there again.







I haven't forgotten the stench, I just haven't smelled it for a while.

Overview

They have drilled more holes, you can't really see them because these pics are too small. They make a good mess too don't they?

The new driveway

Well I guess it's not a bus stop! Wrong about that.

Ok, now it's being entertaining

These pics are from this morning - none from yesterday because I decided to go watch 2 Australia versus Japan softball games last night. Excellent stuff. Meant getting off the train at Rooty Hill. Australia won the first game 1-0 and Japan won the second 2-1.

This morning we can see that they've been drilling holes and they've fixed up the footpath for the new position of the bus stop. And it makes being on the platform heading for work so much more interesting when there's big tows doing their thing in the carpark.

Did anyone else notice the tree is gone? I didn't. Sad, after thinking I'd see it when it was gone I then didn't see the vacant space for 2 days.

That's a big one!

Nice to see things moving.

Activity

Well, they have been active.

Woo hoo!

The blog lives!!!

There really is new work happening and so new stuff for the blog.

Nothing!

This building is going to be the death of this blog! You have to have something new to put on a blog. That's the nature of the thing. I can't even be bothered posting the pics I took - nothing changed.

Although I did see before we drove off --- there's rubbish in the big white bin! I couldn't bring myself to photograph it though....

Another pile

Well there's a new neat pile - on the right of the pic behind the yellow box thingy. And just in front of the box thingy is the drill bits! I hadn't noticed them before.

The big white bin is gone

It was in front of the yellow pile on the right.

Made them too busy to play with the Tonka Toys obviously.




Walked down Forrester, the smell is back very mildly. Must be the beginning of the new batch.

Too busy to play?

I am so sure nothing moved today that I'm not bothering with a pic. And all those good Tonka toys sitting there going to waste! Pity.

Tonka toys!!!

Maybe the big boys have been bored!

More piles

We have new piles, on the right, and in the mid left there's concrete dividers on the concrete divider!!!

Nothing.

I'm not bothering with a pic today, I can't see any changes.

And there's no smell either. That's a nice change.

I suppose we don't know what sort of constraints the builders have. There must be some reason in how it's (not) progressing. If anyone knows any details you can post a comment here. We'd all love to know what's going on.

The new pile

And the big bin has moved down the carpark. Btw, for anyone who has read the report the one tree that is to be removed is the one just near the red circle.



Still no smell, quite nice really.

Still no stench,

very pleasant, but there is a little bit of progress - there's new piles of stuff!



And with my proper camera we can see the orange blob is something to do with power. The writing on the front of the box says: "Pass leads up through hole"!! I guess the fellas working down there know what that means!

The orange blob

Off my daughters phone camera again, my camera has flat batteries! It never gives me any warning, just shows a red battery and switches off. I have spare batteries but I'm not carrying my camera bag.....

Anyway, we can't figure out what it is but there's an orange blob in the middle of the car park now. The zoom on my camera probably could have shown us......

Walked down Forrester and there's no stench. Lovely.

Missed opportunity!

I left my camera at home. And there's been progress! The shopping trolley is gone, but no, seriously, all the light poles have been taken down. They're lying along the grass footpath.

Walking up Forrester today, the smell was there but not very strong. Maybe they've finished processing that load of smelly product. Maybe we'll get a break for a few days before they start the next batch.

Later: thanks to a phone camera:

Well something happened

Can you pick what is different?



The shopping trolley has been moved!

The stench is still blowing across Forrester, thankfully I wasn't walking this time.

Parked in

Oh yeah, there were police in the dirt car park yesterday, and a couple of people talking to them who looked as if they were parked in. I wonder how many people were booked?

Progress!

Oh look there is some progress - they put those barriers around the loose dirt areas to try to stop it running into the drains.

I like the shopping trolley sitting there. It's been there since before they closed the car park. I wonder how long it will stay there? I like the idea that after the car park is built we'll walk inside and find the shopping trolley still there.



The wind has shifted and is taking the stench across Forrester again.

Burnt plastic and turning buses

Today the only thing I could smell was burnt plastic. Not quite so sickening, but probably more toxic.

The car park hasn't changed much but they've painted a bus turning area on the road:

There you go!

See, they did fill in the holes!

The stench came straight across the station this afternoon. No escaping it.

Camera and computer talking

My camera and computer are talking again. These are yesterdays pics, I didn't take any today because I didn't think I'd get my equipment taking to each other. Pity, today there's something different to see - they filled in the holes they dug! Wow.

The stench made itself know as we drove down Forrester. Things may change in the car park, but not with the stench.

Only stench

My computer won't recognise my camera! No pictures today. That's ok though because it doesn't look much different to yesterday.....

Walked up Forrester to my daughters car and found the stench - it's still there. Walking through it is like adding insult to injury!

Another quiet and stench free day

Surprise surprise!

Gee they got busy over the weekend!

On the smell side I didn't smell anything today.

Parking and driving through the stench

What does this sign mean? It almost looks as if the car park is only open certain hours, but maybe it means infringement notices will only be issued at certain hours. I haven't been down there at these hours to see if the carpark is open.

Conversation with someone on the station: they said they'd rung Penrith Council about the timed parking opposite the station near the Plaza and they were told they weren't going to change the signs saying it's timed parking but they also aren't going to patrol it. Would you believe it???


The smell was up across Forrester again. Thankfully I was in a car this time! If the weather stays cool I can keep the windows up!!

Low activity

Todays image. I didn't smell the stench when we drove down Forrester.

Todays question, from a couple of people: If they've used up that much space with the site office buildings where are they going when they start building on the next bit?

Walking through the stench

From page 6 of the official report:

"TIDC will communicate to commuters about the alternative locations for and local routes to this parking.

Whilst commuters that are familiar with St Mary’s may be able to find alternative parking themselves, TIDC proposes diversions (and communication of diversions) to facilitate those people who require assistance and to provide an organised approach to traffic movements to minimise impacts on surrounding roads."

What? Sorry? Was anyone communicated with?

Bringing in my other favorite subject - what fun walking up Forrester to the parked car - at least if you're driving past the stench you're going fast enough to get past it without breathing too much in but walking up means your are totally drenched in it. I think that's called rubbing salt in the wounds......

Stench and construction zone

ok, I haven't been here for a while, and I haven't smelled anything at the station for ages, maybe the wind direction had changed and took it away from where I usually traveled. Then late last week it was blowing across Forrester into the industrial area. Beware driving with your windows down - in the warm weather it's a total trap!

In the meantime, I hope you're not one of the commuters who usually uses the car park. Unless you're very early you'll need to park the car away and walk. The full report is here: http://www.tidc.nsw.gov.au/Our-Projects/Current-Projects/Commuter-Car-Park-Program/St-Marys/Determination-Report/default.aspx and it gives a huge amount of detail including plans and 'artist's impression' images and somewhere in those is a map showing where all the untimed parking in the area is. There are four parts and they're all important.

Today pic:


I'll try to document the changes.

Interesting thing about the report, they mentioned in there somewhere that communicating with the commuters about the location of the untimed parking would be a good idea..........