Kenmore South Booth
Wednesday, 26 November 2008 09:55
I conducted an information booth on Kersley Road at Kenmore South on Saturday 15th November.
This was a very valuable experience and an opportunity to meet and discuss the bypass issue with a number of local residents who are aggrieved by my support for the bypass as a solution to the bottleneck in central Kenmore and the congestion of Moggill Road.
I extend my thanks to the seventy or so local residents who attended my information booth and for the good spirit in which they did so. A number of residents are clearly distressed about the issue. With any difficult issue there will always be that range of opinion and emotion. 
Whilst I made it clear that I would support a bypass because of the critical state of local traffic congestion and the need for additional lanes to and from the local area to allow for enhanced public transport, it was important to hear and appreciate some of the legitimate concerns.
Concern about a closure of Gem Road and its impact on local residents is legitimate and requires measures to minimise the impact.
Measures relating to compensation, noise and particle reduction are also important considerations.It has been made clear that a transport reserve has been in place for forty years for the potential use of our entire community but it is important that local residents have an opportunity to have their say and have as many concerns as possible addressed.
Once again, my thanks to those residents who attended. This was a valuable exercise and whilst it is never going to be possible to get universal agreement on what should happen with local transport I believe it is important to face the issues head-on and face criticism head-on if necessary.