Aiming to get bigger by design
Segways on move in Canberra
SEGWAY riders are now able to be used on Canberra’s footpaths thanks to a Gold Coast businessman.
Burleigh Heads-based Segway Sales Australia director Brett Walton successfully lobbied the government and legislation came into effect at the start of this month in the ACT, following Queensland’s lead.
Mr Walton said it meant locals could use the green-powered alternative to avoid peak hour congestion.
“Research shows the average Australian is spending more time every year commuting to work and most are only going short distances,” he said.
“Segways are a gamechanger for those willing to opt for a safe and environmentally friendly short-distance transport alternative.”
Mr Walton said Segway users would be subject to the same road rules as pedestrians.
And like cyclists, anyone using a Segway will need to wear an approved helmet.
“It is also required that lights and reflectors are used at night and in bad weather,” Mr Walton said. TONY Dowthwaite Lighting Design – which has worked on some of the Gold Coast’s most iconic projects – this week enters a bright new phase.
The company has merged with Point of View Lighting Design, which has studios in Melbourne and Sydney, to enable it to take on larger projects and grow its market share.
Ash Dowthwaite will assume a role as director of the new PoV-TDLD company while his father, Tony, who founded the company in 1999, enters semi-retirement.
The new era follows a celebrated history, which has seen the company tackle some of the Gold Coast’s most ambitious projects from Chevron Renaissance and Circle on Cavill through to Q1, Soul and Pacific Fair.
Tony began the company working from his home’s garage in Broadbeach Waters.
His background included work for electrical and mechanical building services consultants, most notable, 17 years at Norman Disney and Young.
His interest in the artistic FOUNDED: BASE: Surfers Paradise STAFF: Three BUSINESS: Lighting design for residential and commercial projects PROJECTS: Pacific Fair, Soul, Jewel, Elements Byron Bay, Hilton Surfers Paradise, Q1 WEBSITE: Pov-tdld.com.au
applications for lighting saw him set up NDY’s lighting consultancy division, called NDYLight.
Tony ran the company from the Gold Coast until NDY decided to pull the plug in the late 1990s and move to Brisbane.
“I did not want to leave the Gold Coast so that was the catalyst for starting my own company,” he said.
“That was right at the beginning of an upswing in the building industry when Raptis Group and Sunland and others were very active.”
Ash said he was living at home and studying science at Griffith University when he decided to help his father with the business, particularly regarding the use of computer programs.
The company’s first major job was for Raptis Group’s Chevron Renaissance project in 1999. The practice soon gained a steady flow of jobs, many of which came from contacts Tony forged during his NDY days.
He said the work on the Soul tower – a blue neon light strip that runs down the side of the 77-storey building – was his proudest achievement. “That came from a 10-second concept drawing,” he said. “The architectural form lent itself to an iconic beachfront image.”
The company has also worked on many projects overseas in the Philippines, Mauritius and Fiji.
Tony said the approach from PoV came at a time when he was looking to take a step back from the business and let Ash take the reins. Ash said the move puts the company in a strong position to grow.
“It is an opportunity to get the whole group involved in some large Queensland projects and take a stranglehold on the market,” he said.
Ash said Tony would stay as an employee for a few years at least and be there to call on for advice for some time.