Letters to The Editor Examples
The announcement of the duplication of the Houghton Highway is a welcome one for Redcliffe. It provides short term relief for the current safety and congestion problems. One hopes that it is no more than a coincidence that the announcement was made at a time when Ray Hollis is facing a political crisis. The relief will only be short term because the truth is that bigger better roads bring bigger better traffic. This bridge will be congested soon after its construction. The Pacific Motorway provides ample evidence of this. With the rising price of oil and oil's impending exhaustion, the government needs to pursue a longer term plan to provide energy efficient and safe transport for Redcliffe. The sooner they build the Petrie to Kippa Ring Railway the better off the residents of Redcliffe will be. When oil runs out non-road transport systems will be crucial to "oilproof" our economy and society. Kind regards Terry Shaw 33 Dohles Rocks Rd Kallangur Q4503 32855674 0412578948 Where's Our Railway appreciates the PRP coverage of the public meetings on the weekend of the 25th and 26th June . We like to give credit to all those that support our campaign for the Petrie to Kippa Ring Railway . The article listed politicians that attended did not mention that Mayor Allan Sutherland of Redcliffe and Mayor Yvonne Chapman of Pine Rivers and Dean Wells MLA for Murrumba all apologies for not being able to attend. Also the meeting was attended by Senator Andrew Bartlett of the Australian Democrats who was listed as a member of that party. We thank the Pine Rivers Press for their continuing interest in this issue and hope that we are able to acknowledge the support of more of our Council and State Representatives.
Kind regards Terry Shaw Where's Our Railway 33 Dohles Rocks Rd Kallangur Q4503 ph 32855674 The editor has it right (PRP 25 May) that all levels of government have to improve our transport capabilities to cope with growth and that this is especially important for areas like Pine Rivers Shire and Redcliffe where a high proportion of the workforce leave the area to work every day. It is this reality that makes it astounding that our Council representatives and State MP's are not vigorously pushing for important transport projects like the Petrie to Kippa Ring Railway which will provide much needed relief to the roads in this area. It is the most economically and environmentally responsible option. Or maybe what most people believe about them is true. Come on pollies come on, come on.
Anyone interested in campaigning for the Petrie to Kippa Ring Railway can contact me on 32855674 or 0412578948 and join our newly formed group Where's Our Railway. Kind regards Terry Shaw 33 Dohles Rocks Rd Kallangur Q4503 Ph 32855674 or 0412578948
Mayor Allan Sutherland has it half right. Anzac Avenue through Rothwell does need to be upgraded to better deal with morning and afternoon peaks. He is also right that 200 odd million for a bus way would be a waste of money. Queensland Transport's own figures say so. He is dead wrong if he thinks that widening Anzac Avenue will solve the problem for anything more than the short term. Bigger roads bring bigger traffic. The M1 motorway is expensive proof of this planning maxim. Mind you it is understandable to pay attention to whatever is annoying you at the moment rather than taking the longer term view. It is also true to say that Mayor Sullivan's Council and earlier councils that he was a member of have contributed to the problem by allowing the schools developed along Anzac Avenue to access Anzac Avenue directly rather than developing better parking facilities and pickup areas for parents and buses off the main road. They have further contributed to this by approving the Bunnings development and the road works for this are exacerbating the problem in the short term. Redcliffe only has two and both are choking. The Houghton Highway needs to be duplicated and Anzac Avenue needs to be upgraded. But to prepare for the future, especially one where the end of oil will limit the continued use of private vehicles , Redcliffe needs an effective mass transit system as a third outlet for the high number of workers who leave the city every day to work. The most sensible , environmentally responsible and economically responsible way to do this is to build the Petrie to Kippa Ring Railway. The newly formed Where's Our Railway group will be campaigning for this and we would welcome Mayor Sutherland's participation. Anyone interested in joining the group can contact me on 07-32855674 or 0412578948.
Kind regards Terry Shaw Where's Our Railway 33 Dohles Rocks Rd Kallangur ph 32855674 or 0412578948
Paul Kaye (NT 22 April) makes an eminently sensible point . We will run out of oil, possibly as soon as 2025 if current consumption trends continue. The big problem is not fuel for vehicles. The problem is that we will lose the enormous array of technologies we use every day that we can only produce with oil. Everything from cosmetics to drugs to plastic and even bitumen for our roads comes from oil. Sending a resource upon which so much of our technology depends, as fumes out of the back of a car is self destructive for more reasons than one. Our governments consistently favour resource wasteful options especially in transport. The most energy efficient land transport system is rail and yet even when given a choice, governments choose to support the most profligate option, cars. This is despite the fact that railways are cheaper to build, run and maintain than roads. The recent announcement of the duplication of the Houghton Highway is a good example of this. The State Government could have built the Petrie to Kippa Ring Railway at much lower cost to alleviate traffic pressure. The preference was to take the short term and more resource consumptive option. It's time that governments Australia realise that they need to make significant changes in the next 20-25 years particularly in transport. With the coming end of oil, we need to "oilproof" Australia if we are to avoid catastrophic effects on our economy and society.
Kind regards Terry Shaw 33 Dohles Rocks Rd Kallangur Q4503 32755674 0412578948
The transport Minister Mr Paul Lucas talked about the 32 % rise in public transport patronage in the Pine Rivers and Caboolture Areas since the advent of integrated bus/ rail ticketing on 1 July 2004. This is a good thing and shows that people are prepared to use public transport if it is convenient. Easy bus/rail changes are obviously an important factor for travellers. When travellers preference for Bus rail links is appreciated, it is difficult to understand why the Translink Draft Plan for this area concentrates almost entirely on bus infrastructure. The Petrie to Kippa ring Rail corridor is marked for preservation only. Putting more buses on the Petrie to Kippa Ring section of Anzac Avenue and upgrading the park and ride at Petrie are at best band -aids and at worst completely foolhardy. Why encourage more people to travel to Petrie when surely the best solution to reduce both stress on the Petrie Park and Ride and on Anzac Avenue is to provide the energy and cost efficient rail link through the area? Why not keep the growing population of the Griffin and Mango Hill areas off Anzac Avenue completely? This corridor is one of the fastest growing areas in Australia. Anzac Avenue has restrictions on upgrading and a complete bottleneck through Kallangur and Rothwell. Redcliffe's population
density is increasing as more units are built and there is already a killing strain on the Houghton Highway that has seen a variety of stopgap traffic management solutions which can not work because the only option is upgrading the Houghton Highway. Providing the Petrie To Kippa Ring Rail link for Redcliffe commuters can provide real relief. Kind regards Terry Shaw 33 Dohles Rocks Rd Kallangur Q4503 ph 32865674 The Premier's announcement that the Gold Coast Railway is to be extended is great news for the future of the Gold Coast. It should also be great news for this area as it indicates that the Government has recognised the value of rail in reducing pressure on the roads which should bring the Petrie to Kippa Ring Railway closer to fruition. After my last letter to the editor on this issue, Mr Wells wrote to me advising that he had been advocating for the PKR since his election in 1986, 19 years ago. He also said that there were many competing projects for government funding. I'd like to thank him for being the only local member who thought this issue worthy of any response. After 19 years he needs some help from the local community and the other local members. So what's the difference between the Gold Coast and here that makes the government think it is more important? In terms of bang for your buck our railway would be better value. I tend to think that the Government's holding every seat in this area has a lot to do with it. Seats have changed hands on the Gold Coast at every election. We are paying the price of loyalty. Kind regards Terry Shaw 33 Dohles Rock Rd Kallangur Q4503 Ph 32855674 The Beattie Government has recognised that Queensland and in particular South East Queensland cannot continue to deal with the population growth in the old way if the area is to remain liveable. In particular the number of vehicles on our roads has to be dealt with. Last week Mr Mackenroth announced that Queensland had a billion dollar budget surplus. Since the Beattie Government recognises the problem and has money spare that could be used to address it, why aren't our exclusively ALP MLA's calling for the Petrie to Kippa Ring Rail line to be built? Its route runs directly through one of Queenslands fastest growing residential areas and the land is already government owned and accepted by the community for the purpose. Redcliffe's population density is increasing as more units are built. The Petrie - Kippa Ring railway costs much less than the redevelopment of Lang Park and causes less traffic congestion. On the last estimate, it would only cost about twice what was spent on the pedestrian bridge to Southbank and serve far more purpose. Mr Beattie says they want to build another one of these, political headaches and all. I can assure Mr Beattie that extending the railway would provide him with far more political benefits than headaches. After all the pollie promises about building the railway over the last hundred years or so, being the premier that did it would ensure his place in history. Last time the Government looked at it, they said it would not be built because they said they didn't have the money. Now they have the money. Now they officially recognise the need to provide alternatives to private car transport. All that seems to be lacking is the will of our local members
to do their job and obtain an investment that will provide a lasting benefit to the Pine Rivers, Deception Bay and Redcliffe Communities. If Mrs Lavarch, Mr Hayward and Mr Wells can't do it now when nothing other than a decision by their own party stands in its way , they don't deserve to be in office. Of course they could always make the assumption that the public is too apathetic to throw them out and these seats remaining as a block for the ALP can be taken for granted. I think that might be a dangerous assumption. Kind regards Terry Shaw ph 32855674 33 Dohles Rocks Rd Kallangur Q4503