Bitumen ‘a blooming no brainer’
High-level support for sealing 4wd track WHAT YOU SAID ON FACEBOOK
LEICHHARDT MP Warren Entsch says it is a “no-brainer” to fully seal the Bloomfield Track because there are plenty of other places four-wheel drive enthusiasts can go offroad in the Far North.
Opinion is divided on a bid by two Cape York councils to pave the iconic off-road highway to improve motorist safety and boost tourism.
Cook Shire and Wujal Wujal Aboriginal Shire councils have split the cost of a $30,000 feasibility study to assess sealing the coastal route.
But Douglas Shire Council has opposed the move, saying it would threaten the region’s environmental and tourism values.
Mr Entsch said sealing the track made sense from a social, economic and environmental perspective.
“You drive that track in the dry season, all the forest either side is covered in red dust,” he said. “All that then gets washed off into the (Great Barrier Reef) lagoon.
“And when you’re slipping and sliding up and down the hills in the wet season, it’s the safety perspective as well.
“You’ve got to consider the impact this will have on the Bloomfield and Wujal Wujal communities. It makes sense.”
He said four-wheel drive enthusiasts would still have the CREB Track, which ran parallel to the Bloomfield, for offroading purposes.
“Why should people who live there, in the region, for all of their lives, be disadvantaged No. It would be awful. The reason that place is amazing is because it’s a place that is limited to certain vehicles. Let any tourist on there and it trashes what we love about it. The Daintree needs to be left alone. Cherie Kitto No, no, no, no. Can you imagine the wildlife carnage? Karen Davies It’s an adventure on dirt. Bitumen takes this away. Bernadette Stanley Not everything needs to be easily accessible to humans. This is how places are trashed and ruined by those who are uneducated and just follow the white lines. Mikki Fields Not much left to do, might as well finish it David Williams If it reduces the terrible erosion because someone wants to put it on their bucket list to drive 20km of dirt?” he said.
“There are lots of other places.”
Home Rule Rainforest Lodge manager Gail Anning, whose business is 40km north of the Bloomfield River, said she could see the benefits and drawbacks of sealing the track.
“If could be good, because it could bring us more tourists, and I manage a business that and sediment run-off, yes. Doris Cooper No, there are other routes from Cairns to Cooktown. There is no need to destroy another dirt track that hardly exists in Australia anymore because people don’t want to drive for so long. Grace Whitehorn Forget about all these once-in-alifetime travellers. Ask the locals and base decision on their wishes. Peter Francis They sealed back road to Cooktown years ago, half sealed and bridged Bloomfield, not even close to an adventure 4WD track any more, just seal road to the cape and spend countless amounts of money on why the 4WD tourism has left FNQ Richard Callaway Seal it & make it accessible to all. Merisse Phipps
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relies on tourists,” she said.
“But at the same time, it could totally change the landscape of this place.”
The feasibility study, being compiled by Cairns firm Cummings Economics, is expected to be completed within the next two months.
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