CR PAUL SPOONER, Deputy Mayor of Byron Shire Council, has called for urgent action to fix Byron Shire’s pothole problem.
Cr Spooner said “We all know that Byron Shire has a serious pothole problem. One thing that unites all sections of our wonderful community, including locals and visitors alike, is frustration at the state of our Shire’s roads.”
“The potholes of Byron Shire are some of the worst in the region. The Greens have not presented a serious plan in their twelve years in power to fix our roads and let’s be frank they are a mess. Residents repeatedly tell me stories of the same pothole being fixed 3 or even 4 times. Some residents even resort to fixing the potholes themselves due to lack of Council action.
“If elected Mayor I, along with my Labor team, will implement a 10 year Road Recovery Plan for our roads.
Cr Spooner’s plan will include:
- A comprehensive 10-year renewal program to upgrade our roads.
- The smarter use of resources so that average roads don’t become bad roads.
- Better repair strategies so that we aren’t continually fixing the same problems after every storm.
- Continued lobbying of the NSW and Federal Government to ensure they understand the importance of good roads to maintaining our agriculture and tourism industries, as well as the lives of locals.
Cr Spooner said, “We have had 12 years of nothing but talk. A lot of big ideas with no follow through. It’s time to start getting things done and we are asking for your support to make that happen.”
Out of 150 odd councils in NSW, we are in the top 30 for the amount we pay in rates. The majority of voters live in the north of the shire, yet it seems we get little money spent on infrastructure and maintenance compared to Byron Bay itself. I wonder how that might affect voting this year?
Yes shame we don’t get more from tourist as our rate base is so small. I am sure there other roads I don’t travel but Massinger street and Myocum road are major areas where proper road surfaces have or are still in the process of completion. There has been a lot of progress during the current term of council !