Bridge makes sense

I WAS concerned to read in the Cairns Post a couple of weeks ago an editorial and article expressing a number of reasons to oppose the Holloways/ Machans leisure trail bridge. To date the Cairns Post seems only to be supporting a small, vocal minority of opponents.

Council needs to be commended for its extensive community consultation in relation to this project. It has taken on board feedback and made changes to accommodate concerns. Certainly, people do not want to see disturbance to fish habitat and the removal of mangroves and other vegetation and council has been asked to offset losses with new plantings. It is planned to locate the bridge where the sewage pipes cross the creek; an area which has previously been disturbed and where regrowth can occur.

Some of the opposition to the bridge seems to be coming from people who have a “not in my backyard/frontyard” attitude; others wish to “keep the beaches as they are” and prevent other people coming into the communities.

It appears that the State Assessment and Referral Authority has not yet given the final approval for the bridge construction to proceed and it is critical that this infrastructure is approved. Benefits of the project include: a new, safe recreational activity for locals and tourists; opportunity for individuals and families to engage in an activity beneficial to their health; the environmental benefits of a reduction in cars on the Captain Cook Highway; Holloways Beach schoolchildren having the opportunity to attend school in Machans Beach and increase the viability of a small school; jobs being created during a recession with the significant external funding allocated to the council; and increased expenditure in the cafes and small businesses in both communities with people not needing to drive to large shopping centres.

The benefits far outweigh the disadvantages and the views of the majority of people who support the bridge should prevail.

Val Schier, former Cairns mayor