MARCOOLA ESPLANADE -
HISTORY
THE FACTS:
The land on the eastern side of this section of Marcoola
Esplanade is designated as ROAD RESERVE and extends all the way down to the High
Water Mark, and as such, falls under the jurisdiction of the
Maroochy Shire Council.
When Council sealed this section of road in 1984, they
saved money by making it narrower (only 5.8m instead of the normal 8.0m) as it
only serviced four houses.
Council then erected the Present Fence along the eastern
side of this road, replacing the old Tea-Tree Fence which was riddled with white
ants. It was actually erected a couple of metres inside the old
fence line, supposedly also to save money by not having to place extra fill on a
footpath. - So its present location is entirely
arbitrary.
But now Council maintain they can NOT move this fence
back into the dune area without the explicit permission of the E.P.A. and they have
been waiting for a letter from E.P.A. to this effect.
But even though the E.P.A. told us that they'd have no
objection to the fence relocation, they've had no correspondence from
Council concerning this matter and they refuse to issue a permit until they
receive an official request from Council.
(Like two Bureaucracies playing the CHICKEN and the
EGG game - eh?)
Now Council say they will have to RE-apply for
permission to move the fence, which will take time, and this is why they've had
to resort to the TEMPORARY measure of putting the
bikeway along our roadway.
(So- How do you re-apply without having
applied in the first place?)
Now we are being told that this Temporary situation
will continue until funding becomes available, sometime next year, provided our
new Division 6 Councillor Fahey can be persuaded to divert them from other
important works in his Yandina Area.
Everybody agrees that this Temporary (but DANGEROUS)
situation is UNACCEPTABLE.
FURTHERMORE;
At the time of sealing this section of roadway, the
owner of No.3 (The then M.S.C. Plumbing Inspector, Mr. Don
McDonald) had already constructed a concrete kerb in front of his
house, and graded it away in each direction from the centre of his
driveway.
So, even though the Master Plan indicated all
the drainage should flow north into a stormwater drain, Council saved the cost
of 1.8m of kerbing by changing the road and kerbing grade to flow south
from the centre of this driveway to drain into the dunes, thereby creating the
drainage problem which still persists today.
THE SOLUTION:
Modify the Bikeway/Roadway interface to stop cyclists
from spilling onto the road.
Put the Bikeway back onto the Footpath in front of the
existing fence as originally proposed by Wayne.
Place Bollards (Mudjimba Style - see below) along the
edge of the road to restrict access of vehicles, and plant shrubs between them
to provide at least a vestige of privacy for the residents.
Paint a YELLOW Line along the length of the eastern side
of the Street to indicate NO PARKING, and place NO PARKING Signs at each
end.
BOLLARDS - Mudjimba
Style
CLICK the PIC for Enlarged View.
MORE COST SAVING MEASURES to appeal to
M.S.C.
1. Forget about fixing the Drainage Problem at the
end of the street.
We've lived with it for the past 23 years now and
don't give a rats anymore.
2. Replace the NO THROUGH ROAD Sign at the Ramona
Street corner to reduce the number of cars turning in our
driveways.
3. Use the money saved by NOT; Moving the fence and
Widening the road or Providing parking bays etc.
towards resuming the land which would be in the
Runway End Safety Zone for RWY.11/29
