THERE IS only one viable option for the Byron Bay Bypass. Run it right up the existing railway land to come out near the railway crossing at Old Bangalow Road.
Dreams of rail trails are, and should remain, just that. Dreams.
Truly green, environmentally aware people, including politically green people, should be horrified at running the Byron Bay Bypass through environmentally sensitive wetlands when a run up the old railway will do the job better.
Historically sensitive people should be aghast at wrecking the Butler Street area when there’s a perfectly good, and less costly, option available – using the existing railway land.
Voice of Byron’s Editor/Admin was asked last weekend why VoB doesn’t state its own position on Byron issues.
My reply was simple, if a bit trite.
“We prefer to raise issues and let everyone air there opinions.”
The ensuing conversation with friends of 55+ years reminded me of times, over the decades we owned The Byron News, that we went to bat for the locals over important issues for the town.
Saving the Hospital, Saving the Rec Grounds from having the public school relocated there… and a host of important local issues between 1972 and when we sold The Byron Shire News in 1993.
Moreover, I was reminded of our environmental stand. Not politically Green, but genuine environmental concerns. Not trendy Green, but supported by true environmentalists like the late Cr Anhudi Wentworth.
We were the first publication to print on recycled paper. The Byron News “Proud to be Green” campaign included 1000 t-shirts raising thousands of dollars for Greenpeace. It included tree-planting before it was even a thing in the world at large.
Which brings us to the question today: “How can Green Council politicians vote to rampage through a sensitive wetlands area as if there’s no choice in the matter?”
“How can Council ignore the best Bypass option, and run roughshod over the wishes of so many who are against the current Bypass option?
Let’s hope some sense can come out of today’s Council meeting…
Without train service; transport desperately needed, not too far into the future, I can see a 4 lane road being built into Byron Bay. I reckon that will be ‘a-happening’. Also, for easy rail travel, what is the most woeful issue or rather, the joke of the century, is Lismore City but devoid of train services. If the people who fought, built & rode on the trains could know now what ‘modern’ times have done to their hard won train service – built with hard labour and sweat, they would be in a state of shock & horrified that such decisions had been taken in ‘our modern age’ to stop what they had laboured so hard to build to connect communities. Even more so as their railway was bringing in $20m per annum, with costs of $11m! Now, the ‘modern’ politicians say – no way are you going to get a connecting train for our communities across the fastest growing region of NSW outside Sydney stated at Cabarita Headland at the declaring of Tweed Heads a CITY! Rail coming to Coolangatta & being supported by the same NSW current government, Geoff Provest wanting rail to come into Tweed, we are told – you get a bike, walking, horse, segway, motor scooter track! Now, that is ‘modern’ transport, I don’t think. Jillian Spring
The bypass should start at melaleuca drive near Ozi go and come out behind red devil park