Traffic lights are an issue
PERHAPS I could be forgiven for suspecting that the adjuster of Toowoomba’s traffic light timing is under orders from the council to impede the traffic as much as possible, in support of a massive funding bid for road improvement.
The certain indicator of bad adjustment is when motorists must sit for many seconds, gazing at an empty junction.
The ideal ‘follow-on’ time to keep a green light should be just five seconds.
Any shorter and cars will be encouraged to tail-gate, any longer and those waiting motorists will become annoyed when a trickle of occasional cars can keep them waiting for an age.
The Alderley-West St fiasco must surely have made it clear that turn right filters are not a perfect answer.
At junctions such as Spring and Ruthven Sts, all four traffic streams are held up waiting for some non-existent car to turn right.
New technology with the use of computer vision will promise a great improvement in future traffic control, but please for now can we have the lights adjusted to make the best of what we have got?
JOHN BILLINGSLEY, Middle Ridge
PROTECT OUR COUNTRY
HAVE we, as a society, sunken to a level of a total focus on money and possession of material things?
Do we no longer wish to be recognised as being a proud Australian race, caring for our fellow Aussies, and our very unique, very old landscape?
Have we lowered ourselves to a point, where not only do we have to keep up with the Joneses, but we have to display that we are better than “them”? Not in my world and section of Australia on which I stand.
Foremost family comes first. My country and Australian landscape protection comes second.
To that end, health and well-being is then paramount. For the life of me, I just cannot believe that we true Australians, do not wish to protect everything for which we and our forebearers fought and suffered for in past years.
I implore all genuine Aussies, to unite against the destruction and financial rape of our lands, our heritage.
Redirect energies toward protecting our lands and waterways, toward leaving a strong legacy for our grandchildren and their grandchildren.
We Australians do not have to adopt other countries and cultures,
HAVE WE LOWERED OURSELVES TO A POINT, WHERE NOT ONLY DO WE HAVE TO KEEP UP WITH THE JONESES, BUT WE HAVE TO DISPLAY THAT WE ARE BETTER THAN “THEM”? NOT IN MY WORLD AND SECTION OF AUSTRALIA ON WHICH I STAND.
we create our own.
We do not have to bow to the wishes and greed of the world.
We are a proud nation of survivors. Step back and re-group.
Stop ripping the guts out of our country by greedy companies, only interested in protecting shareholders on and off, our shores.
BOB FOWKE, Regency Downs
WATER PLAN
IT HAS been recently announced that the Somerset and Lockyer Valley Councils are to put their “combined weight behind the latest push for long-term water security in the two regions”.
Apparently their aim is to pump water from the Wivenhoe Dam, plus Western Corridor recycled water, through a to be constructed pipeline to the “Lockyer’s water sources”.
What exactly does that last bit mean?
The players in this scheme to milk the already long-suffering taxpayers of Australia, have even given themselves a name.
They are calling it “The Lockyer Valley and Somerset Water Collaborative”.
They are even already referring it as a project, with a former mediocre Minister of the Beattie Government as it’s Chair and Project Manager.
Somerset Mayor Graeme Lehmann and Lockyer Valley Mayor Tanya Milligan have both failed to make any mention of where the money will be coming from to pay for all of this largess.
Mayor Milligan spouted that “the community has been plugging for it for probably 30 or 40 years”.
Who told her that one, the Lockyer Valley’s 30 or so major irrigators?
During an April LVRC meeting, the last item on the agenda was about holding talks with Queensland Urban Utilities to discuss accessing the water from Wivenhoe Dam and the Western Corridor Recycled Water Scheme.
The citizens sitting in the public gallery were told to leave because the council wanted to discuss the issue in closed forum. So much for Mayor Milligan’s claims about community involvement.
Prior to last year’s state election, the One Nation candidate for Lockyer Jim Savage said he wanted to pump water from Wivenhoe dam and reticulate it to every farm in the Lockyer.
When I asked him where the money was coming from to fund such an irresponsible scheme. He replied; 30, 30, 30.
When I asked him what that meant, he said 30% from the Federal Government, 30% from the State Government and 30% from “the farmers”. Good luck with the latter!
Are we to assume that the remaining 10% will be raised by these two gentlemen conducting chook raffles?
If such a crazy scheme goes ahead, what happens when there is no water available from these sources?
Will the cockies start screaming for compensation because they can’t water their crops?
Enough is enough, Australia cannot afford such irresponsible economic madness.
GRAHAM WESSLING, Gatton