How I see it!

Hi,

Below is an email I forwarded to The Minister for Transport recently, and the Mayor, which covers, I believe important issues that affect Palm Beach. I have copied it word for word.

As part of the public (80%), who would prefer a concentration on heavy rail to the Airport and Coolangatta, I wish to make the following points. I am aware that this will be repeated by others, but the local community is hugely concerned about light Rail running through Palm Beach.

1. The area is far too narrow to do so, without affecting the whole population from Burleigh to Tugun. By diverting some traffic through side streets on west side of the Highway, will create a major issue for locals, and will affect the traffic holdups when something happens on the M1, as we cop all the trafic diversion and the two lanes each way are slow enough now. I live by the highway and know.

2. The aboriginal sites that will be affected around Tallebudgera and Jellurgal is a severe slap in the face for indigenous history here, and there is also a gravesite on Bur;leigh Hill which would be affected, as will the local koala population, which I udnerstand is up around 60 koalas now. We don't need more damage to their numbers.

3. The destruction of car parking in the area, and along the highway/ Jefferson Lane, and side streets will severely impact the people asthere is never enough parking, as it is, and during recent years, for residents, it has been diabolical. One reason is that council allow development without due consideration for local needs.

4. There are many pensioners live in the area that rely on a bus service. For many, they are in reach of a stop both ways, but the impact of light rail means they will be a lot furtehr from transport and may well be unable to rwach a stop. The bus service on highway runs every 7 minutes on average, and more than twice as many stops, but doesn'n stop each time, if noeone needs to alight or get on, It is actually quicker than the rail,a s I have checked between Palm Beach and Southport.

5. The only people who benefit are the developers and property owners in the immediate area, but it will place the area way above means for most of the population, and increase rentals as prices are pushed up. The heavy rail would be a far more effective means of transport, because it will help take traffic off the M1, which is a tough run for most in peak times. It will be far more imprtant to have it completed if the Olympic games are held in Brisbane. Keeping in mind also, that the bus servcie runs a regular express into the aiport and drops passengers at the terminal door, whereas the light rail is planned to stop near the service station on highway and passengers will still have 500 metres to reach the departure door.

6. There has been a fairly obvious increase in crime around the light rail stations as is, and this will only exacerbate the issue for us. People will still have cars and increasingly will have nowhere to park> LIght rail will not stop us from driving if we want, and the money would be well spent on extending heavy rail to airport and Coolangatta.

It would be a horrible waste of taxpayers money to introduce more light rail, and extend from Broadbeach, where the bulk of people utilising the service are mostly tourists and business workers.

I hope my writing won't fall on deaf ears as this appears to be an outdated form of transport already.

Thank you

Rex Huntley