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: Bridge design revealed but timeframes still unclear
Lida de Lange, Nambour: A new bridge is way overdue so please don’t wait with construction of the new one. When the old bridge was closed for maintenance, the detour took traffic on a huge route that added many kilometres to the journey, and at peak hour an extra half hour or more stuck in traffic queues made the journey very frustrating. The road surface between the bridge and the Nambour turnoff roundabout needs urgent attention as the bitumen has corrugations. I really feel this area has been seriously neglected so hope the necessary improvements will be made soon, especially the building of the new bridge. It’s a miracle the old one hasn’t collapsed yet.
Norm Crow: A new bridge should be built high enough to allow marine access to the river, this would take marine traffic away from Noosa and Maroochydore.
- Read the story: Petition backs festival site as public consultation opens
Maureen Riggs: Personally, I think this is a ridiculous place for a festival site. It’s too close to urbanisation, highways and integral Ramsar wetlands. Also, we already have the best festival grounds in Australia turning events on throughout the years, such as Woodford Folk Festival. The government would do far better to provide additional support there than embark on a totally new development.
- Read the story: Refresh of renowned shared street almost complete
Gary Taylor, Bli Bli: The pavement marking is nothing but a waste of money. The current disabled parking spaces are difficult to identify and the line marking does not conform to the required Australian standard.
- Read the story: E-bike laws set to be reformed after 8yo’s death
Robyn Deane, Nambour: To all those parents out shopping for Christmas gifts for their children, please think very carefully before buying e-bikes or e-scooters. Are your children really mature enough to handle these mobile missiles? Do your young ones fully understand the road rules? Are they really able to judge what other vehicles on the road will do? Will they always wear their helmets? Peer group pressure is very hard to resist for young ones if they are teased and called a sissy for wearing them, or dared to go faster, etc.
Do you really want to be faced with life-changing consequences affecting hundreds of families due to accidents by young people using these e-devices? My thoughts go to the families of the victim and the 15-year-old charged under ‘adult crime, adult time’ law after the recent fatality at Mountain Creek. What sort of Christmas will they be having this year? The saddest one ever I imagine.
Peg Anderson, Golden Beach: May I suggest that the makers and distributors/sellers of e-bikes take some responsibility by funding a ‘task force’ to ensure the rules, even as they stand, are followed by the people who buy their vehicles? A bit over-the-top I know, but it seems buyers need education on what the rules actually are to start with. I could elaborate on this ‘task force’ but compulsory registration and insurance would likely preclude its necessity, hopefully.
Clearly money is being made in this seemingly out-of-control business and some of it could be directed to the safety of their clients for a start, and to the safety and well-being of the general public as well. Who remembers the old: “Look to the right, look to the left, and look to the right again?” Wouldn’t work today. You might be skittled in the process, even on a footpath – or especially on a footpath!
- Hold the red
Garry Reynolds, Peregian Springs: As Queensland races toward a record road toll, we are approaching a dangerous time of the year on our roads. The Christmas rush exaggerates a driver’s mindset where traffic lights seem to take longer to change to green when they are in a hurry. They become trapped in a dangerous illusion that lengthens the perception of duration, feeding their impatience and edging them towards the precipice of road rage and rash decisions that can prove fatal.
We see it in the fraction of a second between the lights turning green and the driver behind beeping because someone hasn’t got off the mark fast enough. Science says that when a driver is late, their heart rate rises and their mind ruminates over perceived lost time, and that other drivers are conspiring to impede them.
Distracted drivers cause gnashing of teeth when they ‘short stop’ well before the lights. This prevents sensors from detecting vehicles at the red and delays the green light for people in the lengthening queue, stoking impatience. Among the most dangerous drivers are those who illegally treat the amber as ‘the other green’ and accelerate through to beat the red.
To reduce high-speed fatalities at intersections, a technology called ‘Hold the Red’ has been adopted in Queensland. When its radar predicts a driver is about to run a red light, the opposing red lights are extended, reducing the chance of another vehicle entering the intersection. Technology aside, it would help if we took a mental chill pill before we get behind the wheel so we can all celebrate Christmas.
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.
