Pyramid Views FEBRUARY 2018

COUNCIL CONVERSATIONS with Brett Moller
FEBRUARY 2017
A big welcome back to Gordonvale and
district Division 1 residents for the 2018
and I hope everyone enjoyed their
Christmas/ New Year break. I am certainly
keen to get started on a number of
projects that I would like to see come to
fruition this year.
I thought I would cover off on the new
car parking charges in the Cairns CBD.
Residents may not be aware that the
meter rates have not increased over
the last four years and there has been
a modest increase this year of 20 cents
from $1.20 to $1.40 per hour. As all
sensible thinking people know nothing
stays the same and whilst product and
service costs increase, Council has to
be mindful of the need to ensure our costs
that need to be increased to match the
increasing costs of living, are reasonable
and affordable to the rate payer. However
there is a broader vision at play in our
parking strategy. This is on the back of
feedback of many employees taking
advantage of car parking CBD spaces
and swapping parks every few hours
to the detriment of the businesses they
work for as customers and clients of the
business are denied access to
parks to be able to transact business.
Increased fines will be a deterrent for
those over staying in a parking bay. This as
well as now introducing regulated parking
on weekends so it is now 8.30am to 6pm
seven days a week will ensure there is
a regular turnover of vehicles providing
much needed spaces for those wanting
to shop and dine in the CBD. Please
note though centre medium parking will
continue to be free, seven days a week.
Some say this is just revenue raising by
Council when what we are trying to do
is to change a culture around the way
people view CBD parking. In fact any
money raised will be reinvested
into improved parking options. Over the
last five years over $8.5M dollars has
been spent on parking, 450 new spaces
created, new machines accepting credit
cards to make it easier, and a major
upgrade to the Lake Street car park that is
still underutilised and has availability. We
are supporting a Smart City technology
approach investigating the ability to find
car parks through sensors, real-time
signage and parking apps, so watch this
space going forward.
It was great to invited to a Mulgrave
Cricket Club old players reunion and
meet current players at the new Walker
Rd Sporting Complex at Edmonton
recently. Council has worked with cricket,
soccer, baseball and softball to create
a wonderful venue so these sports can
grow and service our southern corridor.
Likewise the next stage of the Alley Park
upgrade at Gordonvale will
continue this year with a new club house/
club room to be constructed for the user
group.
The Council depot team have started
building a footpath that will complete the
Gordon and Mill Streets section around
the perimeter of Norman Park, from
funding I allocated from my discretionary
funds, which will compliment the new
playground equipment to go in to the park
in the next few months.
So yes it was good to have the break,
but already your Council is working hard
to deliver improvements for community
benefit and I look forward to continuing
to work with our community to get things
done.
Until next time in 2018, stay safe and
enjoy being part of our local community.
Cr Brett Moller
Division 1
Page 13 - PYRAMID VIEWS, FEBRUARY 2018 “Celebrating and connecting our community”