Jill Loorham, Castlemaine
Although I am not a Woodend resident, or for that matter, a tourist passing through, I sympathise and concur entirely with the letter written by Jennie Morrison (‘They’re dreamin’, Opinions, March 26), which questions the building of a three-metre-wide bitumen bicycle path on the Avenue of Honour’s western side, in Woodend.
I am a recreational cyclist but would never agree to this proposal. The trees themselves should be ‘honoured’, which means they should be protected from any thoughtless ‘new broom’ building works that could cause damage to the root systems or the canopy of the trees.
Thoughtless ‘development’ will always be thoughtless… and this is a good example of a group of people wanting something having not given proper consideration to what is already in-situ.
Why not lower the speed limit on the existing road, to include bicycle lanes WITHIN the current bitumen parameters?
Why not lower the speed limit to force motorists to slow down?
I will raise my glass and say ‘Cheers’ to new ‘developments’ that cherish and celebrate what is good about a place and plan accordingly to protect such places.
If we are serious about dealing with two dreads of our society – climate change and obesity – here is a chance to demonstrate a better way to accomplish a goal. But will the people with power such as VicRoads, RACV, lead-footed drivers and municipal councillors dare to think differently from the way they have thought up until now?
I throw down my gauntlet as I suggest that a different way to accomplish the same goal is not as hard as anyone may think.
