Heart of Frankston Campaign

School Students Have Their Say! 

How to make Frankston a better place

As a young person living in Frankston, there are many aspects of the city that I like, and that I dislike. I have a vision of how our city should be, to advantage the youths of Frankston, but also have the facilities, opportunities and events for the older citizens too. With all the combined, this will make Frankston and the outlying suburbs (Karingal, Langwarrin, Frankston North and South) more appealing to tourists and residents and ultimately will make Frankston a more safer, happier and comforting place to live.

First of all, the design of everything could be improved. The way Frankston is set out at the moment satisfies the population needs pretty well. But thinking about the future and how the look of Frankston could be improved, this might not particularly satisfy the future generations. Renovating old places could be a good way to start. Cleaning up the streets of graffiti, litter, the obvious sights of drug use (needles) and unwanted and unused facilities would create a more calmer and approachable environment for the residents now and in the future.

Community Facilities in Frankston serve a wide range of people with problems. Whether it be Frankston hospital and surrounding suburban doctors or dental health, physiotherapy, centerlink, Medicare, RACV, the youth centre, police force, SES, fire department or Chisholm, they're very accessible, and are there for the public use. In the future, perhaps these services could all be in one place, instead of scattered all over Frankston. Perhaps looking at combining places like centerlink, Medicare, RACV and other useful facilities in one place. Also, maybe the idea of incorporating a centre for opportunity, where youths or others can go and find out about programs running, jobs available or other community cased activities, that are beneficial and are preferably cheap, if not free.

The housing in Frankston should be more accessible. By accessible, I mean more appealing, more available and a wider variety to choose from. They should be modern but cheap, and perhaps renovating run down areas to give a more inviting vibe to neighbourhoods and residential areas, especially Frankston North. More apartments and high rise living would promote more of a business feeling in the Frankston district.

Shopping in Frankston is pretty amazing. Bayside shopping centre may be in Frankston, therefore giving it a bad name but, I think it's better than the likes of Southland, Chadstone and fountain gate. It gives out community something to be proud of and serves every need you could want. Whether it be clothing, hair and makeup or medical needs, it has everything, and any changes made to it would be a waste of time, effort and money. Frankston could however have more markets with fresh and affordable produce that local businesses, farmers and designers could benefit from. A bigger market would attract a lot of attention, and its easily accessed, especially with the amount of transport available to and from the city centre.

Transport to and from Frankston at the moment, especially with buses, is really great. For the future however and with a growing population, more services will be needed, and are already needed, especially on weekends. The smart buses area a really good convenience and more should operate, going to Karingal, Langwarrin and Cranbourne as well as the one that already covers Carrum Downs, Seaford and Frankston North. A more express and direct train to the city, instead of the average one hour train ride to Flinders. That would be nice.

Finally the entertainment aspect in Frankston, especially for the younger people needs to be improved. This along with transport is the most critical issues at the moment. I'm a 16 year old living in Frankston, I don't skate or ride, and rarely go shopping. Bayside shopping centre is great but, when you have no money, there really aren't many facilities where youths can go. In Frankston, there are quite a few abandoned or discarded buildings on the Nepean Highway. These buildings are perfect places to open safe and useable areas for the youths of Frankston to shine. Perhaps renovating places into areas where local bands can perform, an underage club that serves non-alcoholic beverages, or just a place where people can go and hang out and feel like they're safe. Age limits should also be in place with 12- 19 as the limits. Younger people are influence by their older peers, and typically this is how addicts and the reckless "rats" of Frankston come about. This will take time to phase out but with age limits, supervision and these safe sort of "sanctuaries" situated over Frankston, it would truly solve a lot of further drug, alcohol and violence issues for the future.

I love Frankston, I really do. It's a shame that it has such a harsh reputation. Obviously there are areas that can be improved and in the future, I'm sure it will become a place where its residents and growing population would be proud to call home.

By Hannah Boyes