Byron Shire Echo May 13, 2008 11
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Heritage joke With one large box building Woolworths will make a joke of the proposed ‘Byron Shire Community-Based Heritage Study’ for Mullumbimby. On the east side of the proposed building the concrete wall will be 84.6m long and 8.2m high, typical dimensions for a building in the proposed conservation area in Mullumbimby. The second point that doesn’t make sense is that the proposed building will be moved 50m to the north, further away from the town centre.This only makes sense if Woolworths is thinking of expanding to the north at some time in the future. I’m pleased they have allowed for a taxi rank in the proposed plans just to get to the shop from the town centre! Luis Cristia
Mullumbimby
Resonance I will probably get struck by lightning for saying this, but watching the Pope on TV during his recent US visit did make me chuckle. Here was the leader of the Catholic church, dressed in a glaring white suit, speaking broken English with a broad German accent. It was like watching Gregory Peck as Dr Josef Mengele in the 1978 classic – The Boys from Brazil! Hugh Downie
Federal
Back at the bypass The Byron bypass as currently proposed is not going to make the slightest difference to the gridlock on Ewingsdale Road and Shirley Street at peak periods. The problem with traffic flow lies in the almost right angle turn of the road and its narrowing when it turns from Shirley Street into town. No widening of Shirley Street, which would involve the destruction of the Norfolk pines either by removal or a slow death due to the disturbance of the root systems, or any other measure Now is the time to
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Getting the runaround
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Late last year I emailed the NSW Minister for Transport Mr Watkins asking what progress if any had been made regarding the reinstating of our Casino-Murwillumbah railway service. After a month or so with no answer I emailed our Federal MP Justine Elliot thinking she would have some info on the subject as she had made the reopening of the service an election promise. I received an answer from her office advising that she could not help because it was a state government matter and that I should contact my local state member, Don Page. I contacted Don Page and received a reply that my
request had been forwarded to the Minister for Transport Mr Watkins. Mr Watkins’s offsider replied acknowledging receipt of my letter and advised that ‘Your concerns have been referred to the Director General of the Minister of Transport for a response’. I then emailed Anthony Albanese, Federal Minister for Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development and Local Government, asking for any information on the re-opening of the service. The answer was that it was a state matter, I answered ‘If transport, regional development and local government matters (which seemed to me that our community and
area would come within that category) are not included in his portfolio, what does he do’? No answer yet. A few days ago I received another reply from Don Page that ‘Herewith is a copy of a letter received from the office of the Minister for Transport acknowledging my representation on your behalf.’ The copy says ‘The Hon. John Watkins MP has acknowledged receipt of your correspondence on behalf of Ms Peggy Balfour’. I have a suspicion that someone with a Sir Humphrey Appleby persona has been contracted to handle all government correspondence.
is going to alter this intractable problem. It is said that there needs to be a bypass for those wishing to travel between Suffolk Park and the Industrial Estate.The current proposal will not provide even this if there is still gridlock on Shirley Street as there inevitably will be – especially for anyone wanting to travel north to south. Recently Ed Ahern was quoted as saying that 70%–80% of traffic simply wish to pass through Byron on their way somewhere else. This is in total contradiction of any survey I’ve heard about, all of which indicate the situation is rather the reverse, with that proportion of cars actually wanting to come to Byron. As for opening the other railway crossing and running traffic up beside the Plaza that would only move congestion to an area where it is less easily controlled apart from closing off an important pedestrian access. A bypass by all means but the current proposal is an on-the-cheap Mickey Mouse one. Only a bypass from besides the garage in Shirley Street to Cemetery Road has any hope of succeeding, but admittedly, hugely expensive in terms of cost and environmental damage.
get to work at our then River Thai Restaurant at the old Brunswick River bridge. Back then we battled with two major traffic bottlenecks (Byron and Ewingsdale turnoff). The St Helena ‘freeway’ (dirt road) was therefore more often then not our only escape, literally for years. Luckily we survived that ordeal as we had a good number of near misses on that rather dangerous road. Not in our wildest dreams would we have anticipated that 11 years later we still debate an issue that needed resolution over 20 years ago. Needless to say that a proper Byron Traffic Management Plan with appropriate infrastructure (including a real bypass) is long overdue. It is time to realise that illfated political experiments have created a lot of mayhem causing massive damage and that if we are sincere about moving forward sensibly and pragmatically, we need to move in a different direction. Byron’s experience is not unique. It is rather common that movements and parties that originate on single issues may be quite impressive in opposition but fail miserably in a governing role. And by doing so, they not only stuff up everything, they also harm their own causes. It may be wise to put our best thinking caps on to soon elect a team that realistically can deliver, especially if you have a family, friends, an asset, a business, a job and/
or a real feel in and for Byron and beyond.
David Gilet
Byron Bay ■ Eleven years ago we surrendered to Byron’s then traffic nightmare, sold up at Suffolk Park and moved to Ocean Shores, in order to
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Peggy Balfour
Mullumbimby
Rene Thalmann
Ocean Shores ■ Bangalow was bypassed many years ago, yet traffic levels have continued to increase reaching critical levels at times. There are now moves afoot for a car park to be built (ironically) on railway land as well as a second by-pass. Traffic levels in Brunswick and Mullumbimby CBDs have increased in recent years following the opening of Pacific Highway upgrades and the Brunswick bypass. Murwillumbah was bypassed four years ago and the traffic in the CBD is at near gridlock most of the time. There are two separate proposals for multi-storey car parks to be built to cater for the extra vehicles. Yes, transport infrastructure is critical to our social, economic and environmental wellbeing, so why is the continued overleaf
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Between Dark and Dark A memoir by David Lovejoy $22.95
The Cannabis Cookbook A subversion by Eve Sinton $20
Jason Smythe – Hair of the Dog Cartoons by Geraldine Searles $15
RAILS
THE RAILWAY FRIENDLY BAR, BYRON BAY 6685 7662 THE FAMOUS RAILS kitchen Wednesday 14th 6.30pm
SUFFRIN WILLY LEE Thursday 15th 6.30pm
ROMANIACS Friday 16th 7pm
FATTER THAN NUSRAT Saturday 17th 6.30pm
SIMON PHILLIPS Sunday 18th 6.30pm
PERCH CREEK FAMILY JUG BAND WITH SLEEPY HOLLOW Monday 19th 6.30pm
ROO Tuesday 20th 6.30pm
CHRIS ARONSTEN