With the ever-progressing expansions of the Sunshine Coast, which is seeing scores of houses seemingly popping up everywhere, the need for good roads is vital.
The new connector under construction, to provide a new highway access from Aura, has drawn some opinions about what it will mean for the road network.
There are also more comments about car parking and dredging.
Do you have an opinion to share? Submit a Letter to the Editor with your name and suburb at Sunshine Coast News via: news@sunshinecoastnews.com.au
Here are their latest reader opinions:
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New highway connector
Adding yet to the disaster that is the Caloundra Road/Kawana Way roundabout.
With more traffic coming from the Aura side, inhibiting the flow from the Bruce highway, on their left, expect loud and angry complaints about the carpark on Caloundra Road.
Read the story: Work continues on 7km stretch of road that will connect Caloundra to highway via emerging city
The soil should be turned now on an overpass at this roundabout to avoid the mayhem and inconvenience which will eschew from delaying its construction
R.W. Houston, Beerwah
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Traffic answer
It’s a shame for Queenslanders that the early approval process for this development was taken out of our local government’s hands by the state government and, as such, vital major works as this had no deadlines for completion.
The end result here was Qld Govt contributing half the cost, so that the project could be started and our traffic chaos in this area may be hopefully eased.
G. Ryan, Caloundra
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Dredging harbour entrance
Extend the rock wall and ruin Mooloolaba Beach. There are numerous examples of how extending harbour or river entrances leads to disaster for the northern side of these river mouths.
1: Tweed rock wall see Kirra beach void of sand.
2: Southport Broadwater resulting from stabilising the entrance, 24 hour pumping of sand from South to Northern side to save the northern beaches, sand island inside the Broadwater.
3: NSW, lake Macquarie Entrance.
4: NSW, Narrabean Lake entrance.
Read the story: Modified plan: hopes dredging trial will improve safety at Mooloolaba Harbour entrance
Interrupt natures natural flow of sand north will cause trouble.
Colin Boyle, Marcoola
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Parking fines
I just have a response to one of the letters (Car Parking Crackdown)Â dated the 23rd November, about parking fines being revenue raising and there not being enough parking in Nambour.
A few points consider.
The author says that “Nambour has been lacking parking for many years”, but can I suggest that you look at the problem from a different angle. The problem is not that there aren’t enough car parks; the problem is that too many people drive, and our governments have not been able to provide adequate alternatives to driving.
See previous letters column – Your say: is the strict policing of car parking just a revenue raiser?
You mention the council finding “solutions” to parking issues. What would you suggest is the appropriate solution? Do we evict some people from their houses and replace their houses with parking spaces, in the middle of a housing crisis? Do we evict business and demolish the buildings to create multi-story car parks, removing jobs and tax revenue?
Do we turn green space into bitumen surface parking, worsening the urban heat island effect and taking away public spaces?
If we did build a multi-story car park, should it be free? That would cost the council a lot of money that could be used for much more positive uses.
We can’t just manifest car parks out of nowhere, there is always a trade-off, often with significant consequences. Also, providing more car parking will only further encourage driving, making traffic and pollution worse.
Read the recent story: No escape from fines: Council lauds high-tech car park monitoring
Providing free parking in our urban centres literally takes away space that could be used for far more society building things like houses, commercial and cultural space. Free parking might be free to the user but isn’t free to society.
Mike Stephens, Maroochydore
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Unfair fine?
I had the unfortunate experience to be fined when beautifying the nature strip because the car and trailer I was unloading mulch from, whilst not on the road and not on the footpath either, and myself present for all of 20 minutes, copped $104 fine for keeping the street beautiful saying it’s because I was next to a yellow line.
Just plain revenue raising and no consideration for circumstances because absolutely no parking elsewhere.
It has totally changed my view on how council managers their street parking.
John Elcock, Little Mountain
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