By JOLENE OGLE
GET on your bike to keep those “dreaded” traffic lights away, that’s the message from Noosa mayor Noel Playford.
“The inevitability is, if we keep having more and more cars, we’re going to have to spend a lot of money on intersections. We’ll end up having signalised intersections and traffic lights that we don’t want,” mayor Playford said.
Mayor Playford’s comments come amid a joint announcement with Member for Noosa Glen Elmes of a further $1.1 million funding for Noosa’s cycle ways with additional lanes, signage and an expansion of the network planned for the region.
The planned works are jointly funded by the State Government and Noosa Council, and are part of a bid to get more people cycling in the region.
Mayor Playford said safer cycle ways, better signage and an extended network, means there was no excuse to not enjoy a ride through Noosa.
“It’s a great way to take in the biosphere,” he said.
Member for Noosa Glen Elmes said the planned upgrades were the fourth lot of funding for Noosa region’s cycle ways, with more than $5 million already invested.
Mr Elmes said the planned works would make cycling in Noosa even safer and “hassle-free” for locals and visitors, making it another appealing aspect of Noosa.
“Cycling is a part of the Noosa identity,” he said.
“We have a reputation as a community that values its environment and values a healthy lifestyle. To extend these cycle ways, adds to that and it adds to the drawing power of people coming to live in Noosa, or to visit for a weekend or a long weekend.”
Mr Elmes said the extension and improvements of the network weren’t in response to the reported bubbling tensions between motorists and cyclists.
“I think Noosa, as is generally the case, was well ahead of its time,” he said.
“A long time ago bicycle lanes were being put in in Noosa, long before stories about friction between motorists and cyclists. This is a community that is used to it. It was all in place.
“What we’ve been doing is adding to the network and making it safer. But this is something that was decided in Noosa a long time ago, the rest of Australia, as usual, is catching up.”
Mr Elmes said more funding would be invested in the Noosa cycle ways as it became available.
