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 for accountability, credibility and transparency. Preference will be given to letters of 100 words or less.
- Read the story: Trio of Coast high schools ban e-bikes and e-scooters
Mark Herbertt: I live in fear of hitting a kid on one of those black motorbikes (which is what they are). I’ve had three close calls now with kids appearing in front of my car without slowing, signalling nor, apparently, looking out. Many kids are wearing flip-flops (zero protection), and the few with helmets don’t seem to have them fastened properly? Good on the schools that have banned them.
Suzanne Gardiner: I absolutely agree that these three schools are making a positive move to ban illegal e-bikes and e-scooters from school. There is so much confusion on what is, or is not, the law. Police and parents need support.
Jenni Hesse, Pelican Waters: Best news of the day. Both should be registered, have insurance and the riders have an age limit of 16 years old as I believe is the case in England. Helmets should also be compulsory for any form of e-machines and bicycles. Perhaps all schools will enforce these rules and motorists and pedestrians will be safer too.
Paul Seymour: This is a start to e-bikes, now it needs to go further.
- Read the story: E-bike laws set to be reformed after 8yo’s death
Gary Ryan: Calls to, and by, governments for licensing and registration requirements to curb growing accident rates and increasing use of non-compliant e-bikes and e-scooters will result in more “enquiries, task forces”, with huge funding expenditures and without much real change.
Present regulations restrict both power output and maximum speed. Age limits also apply to e-scooter use. Briefly, some of these regulations cover: driving an unregistered vehicle, driving an uninsured vehicle, unlicensed driving and parental control responsibilities. If the police had enough members for increased presence on road patrols, then interception and actual prosecution of offenders of these current regulations would be a real deterrent.
We don’t need more laws, we need parents to take genuine responsibility in overseeing what e-bikes their children are using them and where and how. Then, lastly more funding for increasing police officer numbers to enforce the laws presently in force.
Tom Regener, Pelican Waters: It has long been accepted that minors do not have the maturity to make key decisions where a higher level of risk exists. Hence minors have restrictions on drinking alcohol, minors can’t drive cars and, most recently, minors under 16 will have restrictions imposed on social media. This is for their safety.
It has to be an accepted fact that power-assisted bikes and scooters present a heightened level of risk and a responsible society has to act in order to protect minors who lack the maturity and judgment to operate within a safe operational profile. It is logical then that we restrict power-assisted vehicles (scooters and e-bikes) to minors over the age of 16 and then only when they have completed a test to demonstrate an understanding of the road rules (read: a learners licence). Only then have we fulfilled a duty of care to minors as well as other road users.
John Robinson, Doonan: If all people who ride e-bikes, e-scooters and bicycles were required by law to wear hi vis tops in pink, green or yellow (as surf sports competitors are), there would be many less accidents.
Gordon Benfer: Most people born prior to 1960 would remember February 14, 1966 when overnight our currency changed from imperial to decimal. Our fearless leaders appeared to be on board and I believe all was well.
Going back a few years now, there was another overnight transition (not quite), but almost seemed like that, which was about the number of push bikes sharing the roads with motor vehicles. The majority had no issues except the mandatory wearing of helmets, which was probably more like 20 per cent compliant (now I am in no way against ways to minimise congestion on suburban roads), however then, out comes e-bikes and e-scooters, thousands at least in south-east Queensland and I suspect all of Australia.
Even local and city councils had them scattered all over the place. At least a lot of our fearless leaders were obviously asleep at the wheel, and there appeared to be very few if any, rules in place. Even now the rules appear more like guidelines, they appear to be able to go where they please, overtake, undertake, ride on the wrong side of the road and on pedestrian footpaths and run red lights etc.
The tyres on these e-scooters were obviously designed for slow speeds, yet they travel up to 80kph, and in some cases, up to 100kph. What I have observed is about 10 per cent wear helmets, there are mostly two riders on the e-scooters and I have observed up to four on the e-bikes with no helmets.
Now there are fatalities and injuries as well. I am aware the police are cracking down as best they can but can only do so much. In the meantime, motorists and also heavy vehicle drivers doing fuel, food and other necessary deliveries continually have to take evasive action to prevent collisions with these e-scooters and e-bikes. Now there is a ‘talk fest’ going on, which generally achieves very little. Wake up fearless leaders, shut the show down for the sake of safety and crashes. Get them all off the road and start again with a better plan.
- Read the story: Firm linked to global mega-projects behind $2.6b ‘tourism city’
Noela Fucher, Kings Beach: For this development to even be considered would require an eight-lane Bruce Highway. The highway becomes gridlocked at numerous times throughout the year. It would be ludicrous to think that this development could accommodate more traffic.
- Read the story: Backpackers’ bid for tourist hot spot rejected
Kenneth Vaughan: Like those on the Gold Coast who say ‘yes’ to increased congestion by saying ‘no’ to the much needed fourth stage of the light rail, are those saying ‘yes’ to the backpackers’ development and saying ‘no’ to light rail to the Sunshine Coast airport saying ‘yes’ to increased congestion as well on the Sunshine Coast?
- Read the story: Residents call for action at ‘hotspot for speeding vehicles’
Margaret Hunter: They make roads very unsafe for pedestrians and other motorists because when turning onto Wurley Drive – there is no way anyone can see any oncoming traffic or pedestrians. It’s an accident waiting to happen.
- Read the story: Early planning underway to ease congestion at ‘key junction’
Jenni Hesse, Pelican Waters:: As a regular user of Pelican Waters Boulevard and that roundabout from all directions, who in the name of God thought up the current traffic light system? The lights indicated ‘on’ on Thursday morning, so everyone stopped until the lights went off. So far so good, but it was still impossible to get onto the roundabout as traffic continued to flow from Caloundra town.
Those lights should have been on at this stage to allow Pelican Waters Boulevard traffic to access the roundabout. This back up was the same from the north. Please, will someone see sense and install proper traffic lights? Imagine the chaos when the new road opens to the Burke Street roundabout to connect Aura to the train station? None of the future improvements will happen in my lifetime, but it would be great to have some logical improvements now. Thanks.
- Read the story: Beachfront hotel plan heads to court after council refusal
Helen Webb, Caloundra: We are not in agreement with such a tall sky scraper on the front row of the esplanade. Developers must keep it to no higher then four storeys in line with other properties. We are situated right next door to this and it will block our and other peoples’ view. Parking will be an issue as well. Not acceptable.
- Polystyrene pollution
Garry Reynolds, Peregian Springs: The pressure is on to build new homes as quickly as possible, but a dangerous downside is toxic polystyrene pollution spreading from building sites.
Polystyrene waffle pods are increasingly used in constructing houses to contain the rising cost of concrete placements and speed up construction. All admirable for builders, our young people and the homeless.
When they blow off-site, the issue goes beyond the visual pollution in our neighbourhoods as the pods contain powerful additives, including flame retardants and plasticisers. These can generate alarming environmental and human health problems when they break into tiny particles.
Like other people in the neighbourhood, when I’m out enjoying our beautiful state of Queensland, I often pick up litter if I see it. But the threat comes from what we don’t see.
Microplastics are almost invisible and linger lethally in the natural environment for years. They are incredibly difficult to remediate.
When they end up in our waterways and are ingested by fish, our community is at risk from eating seafood contaminated with the chemical toxins that break down in the gut of a wide range of aquatic species. The microplastics are not only dangerous in themselves, but absorb notorious nasties such as heavy metals and pesticides.
Children and pregnant women are particularly vulnerable to these chemical cocktails that can leave a legacy of chronic illnesses in babies and ticking time bombs into older age.
As the construction industry continues to grow, so too does its responsibility to prevent further environmental harm and risk to humans.
With frenetic activity on so many sites, regulation is difficult. It is hard to identify the site where the microplastics came from in polluting the food chain, and to rely on penalties as a deterrent.
The solution lies in collaboration between developers, builders, and tradies with local government and state pollution control authorities to address a problem that is not going to go away soon.
Let’s not turn a blind eye to the threat as we try to make up for the housing deficit inherited from decades of neglect and the human cost of homelessness.
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 for accountability, credibility and transparency. Preference will be given to letters of 100 words or less.
