Article: Community group targets 'eyesore'

[ozbob]

From the Sunshine Coast Daily click here!

Community group targets 'eyesore'

Community group targets 'eyesore'

Peter Gardiner | 14th February 2012

THE new voice in Noosa hinterland - the Cooroy Area Residents Association - came into being last Thursday night and has its sight sent on dismantling the town's "launching pad".

Interim president and former Noosa councillor Ray Kelly said among the host of issues raised by the gathering of 48 people at the Cooroy CWA was finding a more practical and visually appealing alternative to the railway foot crossing.

Mr Kelly said this, and convincing Sunshine Coast council of a better use for the Carpenters Lane industrial estate, were two of the hot topics.

These issues, along with better footpaths and finding some room for caravan tourists in town, were areas to be pursued once the new organisation becomes properly incorporated.

Mr Kelly said most locals referred to the rail overpass as the launching pad and wanted the eyesore gone, replaced by a better system of getting across the rail tracks that divide the town in a way that is also more friendly to people with disabilities.

He said one option considered in the past had been a tunnel near the state school, but he said the general feeling was that an "at grade" crossing with locking safety gates was the best and most financially feasible option.

However Mr Kelly said despite local rail workers considering it the best solution, Queensland Rail was not in favour, saying there were potential safety dangers.

That is despite the fact trains do not stay in the station for long and approaching rail traffic is slowed by a having made the steep ascent from the south and from the north by a bend.

Mr Kelly said residents wanted to see the Carpenters La land set aside as a business park, seeing any possible light industry as being more suited to the old timber mill site outside of town.

He said council had originally backed the Carpenters La estate before the mill closed down.

There will be a further residents' meeting in March and those interested in joining can call Mr Kelly on 5447 7314 or Cliff Dawson on 5472 0321.

Before the meeting, Mr Kelly had vowed not to accept a committee position, but was persuaded to take on the temporary role to get the lobby group off the ground.

[petey3801]

By what I have heard, it's actually illegal (or going to become so) to build new level crossings in QLD, so I think they'll be out of luck with that idea...

[Stillwater]

As with everything else on the Sunshine Coast Line, the government's preferred consultants for its upgrading and repair is Jack and Jill Pty Ltd.  The Jack and Jill philosophy is that the answer to every calamitous situation is the application of vinegar and brown paper, or plywood and bitumen as the case may be.  The result is something that would make Heath Robinson proud, and QR too, it would seem.

There are some important considerations here:

The surface of the Cooroy pedestrian overpass is the same as that for the temporary platforms on the SCL – plywood with a bitumen coating.  It is subject to the same wear and tear, and maintenance issues, as the temporary platforms.

The overbridge dates from the 1980s and no longer complies with DDA guidelines and legislation.  It is a non-conforming piece of transport infrastructure.

Replacement of the existing footbridge with a modern-day equivalent that complies with all relevant legislation is likely to cost $1.35 million, although this sum is far less than the cost of a pedestrian tunnel alternative, rejected by QR and likely to cost $3.2 million.

No action is likely until early next year when the Department of Transport and Main Roads will meet with QR to discuss the Transport Services Contract (Rail Infrastructure) for the period beyond 30 June 2013.

Most would have reservations about an at-grade pedestrian crossing controlled by gates.  Freight trains pass at speed through Cooroy, and visibility of trains passing around curves north and south of the station is poor.  At Cooroy, there is a situation where the overbridge is the only point where cyclists and pedestrians can cross the railway tracks that divide the town.  The primary school is on one side of the tracks and the high school is on the other.  A significant number of kids walking or cycling to either of these schools is forced to use the overbridge and would be forced to use an at-grade crossing if that were the replacement.

An earlier plan put forward by the local chamber of commerce was that Cooroy station be placed in a trench through town, allowing roads to pass above at ground level.  This would re-open a road between Maple and Elm Streets.  That would seem costly and impractical. 

A proper study of alternatives is required, as part of a traffic and pedestrian movement study for Cooroy, but QR would be dragged kicking and screaming to do that given the many other things it has on its plate.  Negotiation of the next Transport Services Contract for the NCL provides a glimmer of hope that this issue will receive some proper consideration.