Is it impossible to consider a Byron Bay with car-free zones? Couldn’t this amazing place filled with forward thinking people explore the possibility of a place with an alternative transport system?
There are small cities of the world that already operate completely car free – why couldn’t we?
The incoming traffic to Byron will only get worse and worse and worse. Given that there is one road into the place and one road out, surely it’s plainly apparent that a paradigm shift in thinking is required. There is a limit to how many lanes can be added to the Jonson Street roundabout!
Couldn’t we have buses continually looping the town and beaches dropping off and picking up? Lots of them so that every 15 minutes you were on your way. Buses that could easily and swiftly accommodate shopping, suitcases and surfboards. Perhaps each bus could afford a ‘host’ who could say g’day and lend a hand to open the undercarriage and put a surfboard on a rack, or some shopping bags in a safe store?
Couldn’t we have some bike kire stations (as they now do in Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane) so that tourists and visitors can choose to pick up some wheels on Kingsley Street and drop them off at Main Beach?
Imagine a Byron Bay with some bike lanes, way fewer cars and friendly and plentiful local transport. It’s not a pipedream, it’s so achievable with some will. I have a dream… do we have the will?
Mell Coppin, Byron Bay
For four decades The Echo has printed the stories some people loved, some people hated, and some pretended not to read. If you want us to keep telling the truth, the real truth, not the sugar-coated version. We’ll need your support to keep the presses rolling. 
