SUBMITTING LETTERS

I ATTENDED the Sydney Olympics in 2000 and the transport problems they had were going to be much bigger than what we are facing here on the Gold Coast. The wonderful Sydney solution was “Park and ride”.

They had buses and drivers coming in from Melbourne and country areas for the two weeks of the games. My family went to the opening ceremony, swimming, athletics, show jumping, tennis and rowing from Cronulla, miles from the venues. There were buses going in every direction but there were no hold ups.

The atmosphere on the buses was wonderful. We had all parked at the designated carpark area (usually a football oval close to accommodation) and were safely dropped off only a short walk from the stadium gates.

Everyone was happy and chatting to the person next to them.

Naturally the reverse happened at intervals after the events concluded. There was no charge when you had tickets to an event on that day.

Why can’t we at the Gold Coast learn from Sydney’s transport lesson? MICHAEL JOHNSTON, SORRENTO

CONGRATULATIONS to local mum Donna Naylor (GCB 20/1) for pointing out that there was panic about traffic in Sydney before the 2000 Olympics, but ‘it was all fine’.

Here is a Gold Coaster who is looking so much forward to the excitement of the two weeks of the Games that she’s even telling her friends to take a chill pill about the traffic.

I lived in Sydney at the time and Donna is absolutely right. It was actually fun getting around because the buzz was just so great. DON KELLY, CURRUMBIN

AT any one time, there may be over 600 special dogs and puppies being trained to be a Guide Dog in communities throughout the nation.

To help identify these special dogs, Guide Dogs Australia with our partner ADVANCETM has unveiled a fresh new look for our Guide Dog coats to make our dogs-in-training more easily recognised.

We’re asking everyone in the community to look out for our dogs wearing the new bright orange coats and give them space so they can learn their important job.

Whether a Guide Dog is walking, sitting or sleeping in its coat or harness, it should not be patted, fed or distracted. These coats also show that the dog is legally allowed to go anywhere their handler can, to assist with training.

I thank everyone in advance for helping our Guide Dogs on their journey and for your ongoing support as we continue to change lives. MICHAEL KIGHTLEY, CEO GUIDE DOGS QUEENSLAND