The Rail Trail Project. $13,000,000 dollars. That’s 13,000 times a thousand dollars.
When you say $13 million it just rolls off the tongue doesn’t it?
Is this the sum that State Government and Logan City is proposing to spend on vital infrastructure that the community desperately needs?
No!.. the Infrastructure Committee has advised in local media…it’s to be spent on a Rail Trail part of which will be going through two lifestyle villages inhabited by nearly 1000 elderly pensioners.
This is really a ridiculous amount of money to be thrown at a perceived problem that doesn’t exist.
A lot of money to spend on a piece of infrastructure which has the support of only 1.42% of the population of the whole community who live in Logan.
A ridiculous amount of money to spend on a project, which ,on the face of it, has the potential to destroy the security, dreams and that sense of well-being that the elderly of Bethania and Waterford deserve.
Many have served this wonderful country and have contributed to it all of their working lives and this is the treatment they get?
Over the last few years our villages have already experienced the face of the youth violence and the crime wave that our society is currently experiencing.
In the last few years we have experienced car theft, caravan theft and break ins.
To date no one has been held to account for any of these crimes.
During this Rail Trail saga so far, the State Government and Logan City Council do not appear to be listening to our concerns.
There are so many unanswered questions such as toileting arrangements, trail maintenance arrangements and active policing arrangements etc. regarding this project that have not been answered so far.
The ongoing maintenance cost to the community of this project have never even been mentioned.
Every map and statement released to the public by Logan City Council showing the Rail Trail, seems to downplay the obvious anxiety and stress being placed upon the elderly in the Palm Lake Resorts of Bethania and Waterford which boarder each other.
This trail as proposed, will go between the two villages who share many of their facilities with each other.
The latest map from LCC shows our proposed section of the trail as a dot.
From day one we have been asking for this trail to be diverted around our villages as we believe it will give even greater uninvited access to our villages and escape routes for perpetrators but this seems to have been ignored.
We have been told that the required impact studies will not be completed…yet,
$13,000,000Â will be spent on it. If the latter is true… that’s “over the top”.
To add to that, we actually had a recent meeting with two State Government ministers, Shannon Fentiman and Mark Baily who actually stated that there is no crime in Logan.
How out of touch are they?
From the very first meeting with the proposers of this project we have put forth our concerns and requested that the rail trail be diverted around our villages.
Let me repeat myself…we are not opposing the Rail Trail we just want it to be diverted around our villages.
But, our concerns seem to have been ignored.
The commercial hubs of our suburbs of Bethania and Beenleigh also seems to be in line for radical changes.
The cost for the Rail Trail alone as shown in our local newspaper is $13,000,000
but what it will finally end up at is anybody’s guess.
I am proposing that this whole situation be brought to the attention of the relevant authorities with view to conducting a public enquiry into the current situation.
I am also aware that many readers will say “well this matter doesn’t affect me so why worry?”
To our knowledge this is the first time in Australia that a Rail Trail will be built, going through a community such as ours and will set a precedent for Local Councils and governments to continue this trend.
Maybe this type of situation could happen to you at any time. So, everyone should be very concerned.
This whole sage high lights the lack of care and concern that the authorities have for the elderly and vulnerable of our community.
Am I concerned…you bet I am!
My caravan was one of those taken by someone who was armed with a knife..(the heavy ropes on the caravan cover were slashed) and the police did not even attend.
I am sure our concerns will be reflected at the ballot box when we are called on to vote in the next twelve months.
Vic Williams
Palm Lake Resort
Bethania
