Email 1:
Hi Tony,
This is a copy of email I sent to Mark McArdle, re Bellvista Bvld. It sums up how we feel about it. You may forward this to whoever, maybe the Emergency Plan guy could get a copy. I didn’t think he really got a grasp of how bad this road gets at times. I really don’t think he was hearing what we were trying to tell him at the meeting the other night.
Deb O’R.
Mr. McArdle.
As you are the elected representative for our area, I wish to draw your attention to an ongoing, extremely dangerous situation on Bellvista Boulevard.
On Thursday 17/03/2011, A young school boy was almost hit & killed by a truck that was trying to get past a school bus which had pulled up at the corner or Bellcarra Place and Bellvista Boulevard. Only for the quick thinking of the young boy’s brother, and the truck driver braking hard, this child’s life was fortunately saved.
As a parent of a child who used to catch one of these buses to and from our school (1800 plus students), I am most grateful that he is ok, and that the truck driver does not have the death of a young child on his mind for the rest of his life. After all, he probably has kids of his own. We, as a family decided almost 2 years ago, to take our son off this bus, because of the traffic issues on Bellvista Boulevard, and also around both of the popular schools in the area.
We, as long term residents, who have been campaigning for this dangerous road to be improved, think it is about time everyone involved started to do something about this. This road was not built to cope with the traffic it has to carry. The school on the estate (approx 1200 students) was not here when the road was planned or built. We now have families coming to the school from Pelican Waters and other areas. An approximate 15 KM’s round trip, twice a day. This road needs duplicating, at the very least.
Everyday, whether we are local residents, or parents bringing kids into the estate from another area, we line up to get in and out, praying there is no emergency during school drop off times. Should any of the emergency services need to gain access, they can’t, because there is nowhere for the traffic to pullover and let them through. Most days, I can’t even get through our roundabout to get home, because it is blocked by school traffic.
So in summing up, should emergency services needed to get to this child, yesterday, there would have been no hope of that happening, I’m afraid. Urgent action is required to make this road safer for all those who have to use it. Should the estate, or local school need to be evacuated for any emergency situation, authorities would have many casualties on the hands, and it will be too late then to say, I should have done something sooner. As a resident here during the 2006 Fire, I know just how it feels to be locked into an area, and not being able to get out. Every road between Nicklin Way /Caloundra Road Roundabout, and Sugarbag Road was gridlocked, or closed by authorities, and the estate was only half the size then, and the school only had about 1/3 of the amount of students it has today.
With the imminent construction of Bellvista 2, and the addition of more heavy vehicles and trade vehicles, this is a major disaster waiting to happen. It has only been sheer good luck that there hasn’t already been someone killed on this road.
We hope that you will listen to the concerns being raised by the users of this road, and take up the fight to have something done about it.
Regards,
Mrs. Debye O’Reilly.
Email 2:Dear Tony
I totally agree with Deb's comments. I too felt that the URGENCY of the situation must be dealt with as a matter of urgency. The representative at the meeting was just stating in the schedule is says this and in the schedule it says that . Unfortunately he did not consider at anytime that he himself may like to experience the traffic hazard and report back to council himself with a report.
I have thought to video the traffic hazards on a one week basis and send this video into the council myself. Obviously a guardian angel was their with the boys the other day to save them both of what might have been a tragic and devastating outcome.
Do we have to wait for a FATALITY before ACTION IS TAKEN Enough mucking from council representatives and council itself.
Is anyone else interested in videoing certain areas of Bell Vista for submission? Maybe SEEING is BELIEVING!!!!!
I understand that the President and Members of the Bellvista area are doing all they can to engage a quick resolution with continuous emails and letters to council. Can you suggest anything else we can do to help?
Regards
Sussanne Collins
Email 3:
Hello Tony
As a resident of 32 Crater Street, Bellvista, I would like to concur with Deb O'Reilly's issues raised. It concerns me that there is only one entry into and out of Bellvista Estate, with traffic gridlocks constantly occurring. Until another entry is constructed there should not be any further development allowed as Bellvista Blvd can not cope with current traffic demands. I will also be letting any resident know of council's lack of action on these issues raised should an emergency situation arise that causes either a delay in assistance, or death. The allowing of Bellvista's development to this size by council with only one entry should never have been passed in the first instance and now that it has grown to this size a second exit to the West of the estate should be a council priority to take pressure off Bellvista Blvd and allow safer access.
I did note some resident's objection to this at the Bellvista Community Group's AGM, however they were elderly and obviously do not have to enter or exit the estate during peak hours. Their objections are not in the interest of all Bellvista residents.
Yours sincerely
Leisa Trickett
Email 4:
Hi Tony, you might like to pass on this information to others as well just in case you have not heard of this second incident.
On last Friday morning 18 March, Barry and I were heading out of the estate, to Hervey Bay for the week-end, via Nicklin Way and Maroochydore. This was about 8.30 in the morning, give or take 5 minutes. As usual there was the weekday long line-up of cars heading out of the estate, with parents having dropped off their children at the school. On the footpath (on the right-hand side of the road heading up the hill) a student had (seemingly) collapsed and a couple of people had stopped to help him/her until I presume, medical assistance could arrive. Those people's vehicles were creating a traffice hazard on the side of the road as it was, so we didn't stop to help as there was nowhere to pull over safely (there were already at least two vehicles parked on the side of the road creating a traffic hazard) and there were several people about helping the child.
We got about 15-20 minutes up Nicklin Way before Barry realised that he had left several important things at home that he would need for the week-end and so we did a U-turn and returned home. Some 30+ minutes later after we had left the estate we headed down Bellvista Boulevarde and this student was still lying there on the footpath (with adults assisting but still no ambulance). The vehicles on the lefthand side of the road were still blocking the road (understandable of course as there is nowhere else for them to stop unless they had pulled in a fair distance down the road in Bellcarra Place). So all up in my estimation this student would have been laying there for at least 30-45 minutes and therefore the road blocked to a fair degree, for that period of time.
Please feel free to pass this second E-mail record of an incident in Bellvista Boulevard (in a matter of days of the one mentioned below), on to other people. I would be interested to hear if the student is all right as I really felt for them. We just arrived home this afternoon from Hervey Bay but I have been checking the local paper for news of this incident to see how the student is. Unfortunately for us to have stopped would have just compounded the traffic situation but we would certainly had stopped to help, no matter what the road situation, had not other people already gotten there before us. The traffic situation in Bellvista is getting increasingly dangerous and Barry and I support any action that can be taken to rectify the situation.
Bern Johnson
No comments:
Post a Comment