Silent threat
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Pedestrians are being forgotten with new regulations for e-scooters. If the rider chooses to not wear a helmet and travel at high speeds then they injure or kill themselves, that is their choice. But a pedestrian cannot control the situation. Every time I go for a walk with my dog I could be injured, or my dog killed.
I live at Kawana Island and the pathway along the canal is extremely popular for bikes and e-scooters. E-scooters are silent so you don’t hear them coming, they don’t slow down when passing and they don’t give you a warning in advance (such as a bell) so that we can move to one side and move our dog over to the inside. My walks are now a mixture of anxiety and fear. I have been called “bitch” and other names you can’t print because I yell out to them to “please ring your bell”.
Recently I was walking on the newly opened path from Bokarina to Buddina and a large group of about 20 e-scooters travelling at very high speeds nearly hit us and we had to take evasive action to avoid being hit and basically we had to give up the path so they could use it as a velodrome. They just don’t care about the safety of walkers, the police need to patrol these paths.
Gwenda Stewart, Kawana Island
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Safety sense lacking
I’m 70 and have been using e-scooters for the past three-plus years, with helmet worn and limits adhered too. I was gobsmacked while driving our car at Currumundi, there was a mother on her bike on the footpath with an under-age child on an e-scooter on the bike lane heading towards us. If I honked my car horn who knows what a startling noise could cause. I’m annoyed at irresponsible parents as there seems to be so many around nowadays.
Neil Herbert
Too much negativity
I have done more than 3000km in three years since owning my e-scooter. I have always worn a helmet, used my bell and ridden with care, awareness and consideration of others. Often I have had to dismount as some pedestrians and some others on personal mobility devices do not “share” the pathways with courtesy.
On my e-scooter I’m not polluting the environment, adding to the clog-up of vehicles on our roads or car parking. E-scootering has given me hours of joy, fitness, appreciation of our coastal environment and brief conversations with new people who inquire when they see an elder “out there”!
Please stop the negativity that is created in reporting on e-scooters, it is out of proportion to the percentage of incidents of other human activities. The rules that came in on November 1 – which must have been created by people who have never ridden an e-scooter – include an increase of fines for people going 1-13km/h over the 12km/h speed limit. That effects the safety of all as the rider slows down and then has to take their eyes off what is happening around them (e-scooters don’t have cruise control) to see if the scooter isn’t doing 13km/h in an area where pedestrians and other PMD are sharing the path.
I’m grateful every day for the joy, fun and delight I have from riding my e-scooter. We need more acceptance, courtesy, heart and tolerance, not more laws and fines.
Darcy Do, Golden Beach
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Waste of money
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I am a resident living on Hovard Rd and have not been consulted by (councillor) Winston Johnston or council. Very few other residents have been consulted either. What the council says is incorrect. The road closure barely affects the residents as we all still have access. A large majority of residents don’t want the council to spend $5m-plus on fixing a minor road. There is potential for other parts of the road to collapse and an investment of that magnitude is unwarranted. Unfortunately, no one is listening to the locals.
Graeme Wilcox, Bald Knob
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Where are the police?
It is well-known that Caloundra is a police-free town. You never see a police officer or car in the town. In 2008, I drove a taxi in and around Caloundra for 10 months and only saw a police car five times. You can break all the rules you want and not get caught … things were just as bad even when we still had a police station in town.
Colin Mcallister, Caloundra West
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Missed opportunity to honour heritage
I live in Rosemount, where development is speeding along at a cracking pace. I feel pain as I see another scar tree pushed and cut down, another rock carving destroyed. The pace of destruction has amplified since I made my submission to the Senate Inquiry into the destruction of Juukon Gorge two years ago. I fear it will be too late if and when governments take action, as the pace of development on the Sunshine Coast hastens.
I believe our community will regret the missed opportunity to understand and honour their Kabi Kabi cultural heritage. All our grandchildren will have lost the wonder and connection with tens of thousands of years of humans in this land.
The Sunshine Coast’s abundant resources enabled dense populations of Kabi Kabi families to live engaged with their land. There were settlements and complex social structures connected with this sacred land. In the wake of the British invasion, scar trees, ceremonial grounds, kitchens, trading places and rock carvings were left as part of what was perceived as ‘vacant land’.
My ancestors came in the 18th century to Botany Bay, pushed out of England by misery. My settler ancestors took every opportunity to survive in Australia’s strange environment and had no energy to understand the archeological and cultural evidence of the first inhabitants who had been usurped from their land.
Today we have a different world view, and the capacity to learn, understand and care for our land.
When I moved to the bushy hills 10 minutes west of Maroochydore, my quick and easy conveyance search looked at roads, rail, flood, titles, power and so on. Months after moving in I discovered an ‘Aboriginal kitchen’ while removing weeds. Once I became aware of the complex rock carvings, I started to see scar trees, other carvings and tools on every property around me. I learnt from the elders about the settlements that were here, and of the dispossession and disruption to land connection. I became aware of birthing, education and burial places from tens of thousands of years ago. And I have witnessed their destruction.
Sadly the voice of the ‘traditional owners’ is lost in the excitement of new settlers’ dreams formed from our modern culture.
My neighbours who got rid of the scar trees and the sacred carvings were blissfully unaware of the destruction being caused as bulldozers and chainsaws made way for their new homes.
Juukon Gorge was a spectacular awakening to the impacts of such carelessness. Australians were outraged and yet unaware that every day another piece of cultural heritage is lost in every region. Despite the 2021 Senate Inquiry and its recommendation to better protect cultural heritage everywhere in Australia, little has changed.
I believe that this Australia Day is the time to reflect on what we can do to raise awareness and to pledge that we take responsibility to find a way forward where our cultural dream for a new house can co-exist with the cultural dreamings of the past 65,000 years. That is when we are living the platitude of ‘paying respects to our traditional owners past, present and emerging’. Let’s start now.
Deborah Moseley, Rosemount
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Recreational vehicles on suburban streets
Read the article and couldn’t agree more with Tim Dwyer.
Although I live in a suburban street in Manly in Brisbane the problem of this happening couldn’t be more dangerous.
Councils come out and inspect these monstrosities and notify the owners to fix it. This doesn’t fix the sight problem for potential serious accidents. They put covers on boats 7.5 metres long on street corners, its bloody ridiculous that this has been allowed to happen.
Caravans of similar size add to the problem. Why are they allowed suburban street parking? They DON’T transport passengers and block street viewing of residents backing or driving out of their properties.
Our particular problem was a boat on one side of our driveway and a caravan on the other side 15 metres from a busy street T junction. Our line of sight of vehicles rounding the corner was non existent. Discussed issue with offenders who were reluctant to agree a problem existed. Council viewed one in breach and the other within guidelines. Both had the serious potential of causing nasty accidents and should have been viewed accordingly.
Right behind you Tim
Jack James, Manly, Brisbane.
Do you have an opinion to share? Submit a Letter to the Editor at Sunshine Coast News via: news@sunshinecoastnews.com.au. You must include your name and suburb.
