It’s with great sadness that I have watched the Helen Street footbridge literally decay before my eyes in recent years.
It was a project inspired, and (partly) paid for, by the community that Byron Council seems to have all but turned its back on maintaining.
This vital piece of infrastructure has provided safe access between the South Golden Beach/Ocean Shores North communities, the (once) general store and the beach.
That humble little footbridge has literally changed the face of our area.
On any given day, I watch many cyclists, scooters, pedestrians, prams and dogs making their way across its now worn and rotten planks. My family and I would do in excess of 30 trips a week across it.
I honestly love seeing groups of kids enjoying the easy cycle to school or a quick/safe trip to a mate’s place across the creek. In this day and age that’s something to cherish.
For those who have lived in the area prior to the construction of the bridge, you will recall that the trek to the beach wasn’t so easy.
You will also remember the perils of bikes, prams etc going around the Kolora Way bend with no footpaths and speeding cars – another fail by Council.
So, if you love your bridge and all that it affords, please jump onto the Byron Shire Council website and click ‘Report it’. Respectfully ask that the relevant assessment and maintenance be undertaken before it becomes completely unusable, like the Byron Creek Suffolk Park bridge that featured in The Echo a week ago.
Perhaps now that Council has put to bed ambitious projects like the fabled boardwalk, they might get on with the job of basic maintenance and repair!
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. 
