Blocked path may reopen

A FOOTPATH blocked off due to anti-social behaviour may be reopened after Cairns Regional Council consulted a fitness app criticised for revealing sensitive US military movements.

The path linking Leanne Cl to Hussey Park in Woree was closed in early 2016 after complaints about one household’s extra-curricular activities.

A report to today’s planning committee meeting says those concerns have since been resolved and recommends the walkway’s reinstatement.

“Data from Strava heat mapping indicates that the public has been going down Leanne Cl to then turn around as the public access is closed,” it continues.

Strava, a popular exercisetracking app, has made headlines over the danger it could pose to militaries worldwide.

An Australian university student was the first person to go public about the potential threat after noticing the app mapped the regular running routes taken by United States army personnel at bases in the Middle East.

The discovery forced the US military to revisit its security policies.

Strava released a statement saying it was committed to working with military and government officials, and recommended personnel update their privacy settings.

The app clearly has uses for town planners, and council officers are making the most of it.

“It is understood that local residents would prefer to see the pathway to remain closed,” the report states.

“However, wider community consultation now would likely result in the community wanting the pathway reopened.

“It is difficult to ascertain whether the wider community would have been supportive of closing this pathway in the first place.”

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