Byron Shire Council has recently given their blessing to the proposal for running a train shuttle from Bayshore Drive into the old station in Byron Bay. This proposal is part of the North Byron Beach resort.
The concept of a shuttle train sounds like a really good idea to get people out of their cars. The trouble I believe is there are many issues that have not been looked at or given enough review.
Some of the issues are:
- What will be the impact on the traffic at Lawson Street when the road is closed 20 times a day (report says minimum of 10 trips a day on the weekend)?
- Have the pollution issues been measured? This includes noise pollution for the residents along the line and the soot from the diesel engine.
- Has a study been done to determine how many people would use the train?
- If the Rail Trail goes ahead and the train is using the existing track a new path will be required. Will the developers pay for the additional cost of the new path and bridge?
- What other options were looked at such as solar powered buses, electric carts etc?
I believe these issues need to be satisfactorily resolved before the proposal is approved by the state government.
Greg Byrnes, Lennox Head
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