This is a very informative comment posted on June 5th from one of our Paluma homeowners, Tony Bligh, which was a ‘comment’ on the post ‘2nd letter to the minister regarding range road permits’. It is very bad news indeed for our business owners in particular as well as ALL residents.
| Folks the following is long because it encompasses a conversation of over an hour I had yesterday with a TMR engineer and one of the department’s communications people. They were endeavouring to explain TMR’s perspective and approach to me, and I spent my time pointing out their inconsistencies, illogicality and failings. It was polite but brutally frank. Jamie’s post brilliantly describes the failures in TMR’s thinking, so I need not go over that again.It will not surprise you to learn that TMR did not want to open the road, and had no intention of doing so. Apparently an edict from the Director-General compelled them to open it now. I was advised that that direction caused a hasty implementation and “limited consultation”. Self-evidently the implementation has been hasty and inept, so I accept that part of the advice. Long experience with TMR causes me to be very, very dubious about the claim that more time would have led to better (any!!) consultation…They appeared genuinely surprised when I told them that many Paluma home owners view our Paluma home as our “real” residence, and a Townsville house as just a place to sleep while we wait to get back up the mountain. It seems that they viewed all “weekenders” as little more than casual tourists, and could not understand the depth of outrage many of us felt at the inequitable permit arrangements.They made it clear that very large portions of the slopes above the road are unstable, and the experts believe that more slips will occur, potentially rendering the road entirely unfixable (my words, but they did not disagree).The good news – and I reiterate that this is entirely based on what they told me – is: 1. The traffic count of users of existing permits has been well within TMR’s (self-) adopted limits. 2. Consequentially, they anticipate issuing more permits “very soon”, but gave no detail about when, or how the recipients will be identified. 3. They have adopted a new process in an attempt to engage contractors to have to full rectification of the road carried out more quickly.The (very) bad news: 4. Permit arrangements are expected to remain in place until full rectification is completed. (They might allow some progressive relaxation as work is completed, but that discussion was unclear). 5. The heritage-listing of the road, coupled with the requirements of the Wet Tropics management Authority, greatly increases the cost of and time required for future works. It also (in TMR’s view) prevents TMR from improving the road and making it more resilient. (I believe that the Paluma community should discuss asap what we want to propose about at least the QLD Heritage listing). 6. TMR would not actually comment on the time required for a full re-opening, but they did not disagree with me when I said that, given the scale of the work and the impediments just described, it would be at least 12 months and probably longer. 7. They were very clear about expecting to close the road to all users during heavy rain periods, and on any other occasion they thought a slip was more likely. While they did not state the following explicitly, it seemed to me that they expect to close the road for (at least) some time during the next wet season, and during any earlier periods of serious rain. (Stock up on your provisions!). 8. The day-time travel restriction is the result of geo-technical advice that states that travel should occur only when drivers can see any slippage of the slopes above the road. That is, the restriction is not really focussing on the visibility of the actual road way. You can form your own views about any driver’s likelihood of driving the range road while also trying to look through the roof of their vehicle and around a blind corner to see the start of a landslide on a slope above the road. For myself, I reckon that if I ever see one, that will give me just enough time to kiss my butt goodbye…Good luck, Tony |
I seriously question the ” fobbing off” by TMR regarding the ridiculous pace of tender,repair designs and ( eventually ) carrying out of slope repair commencing- maybe- in October,at best, …just before the wet season starts We! We all know what that means.
We are not being taken seriously here.
The extent of damage and danger on the range is not in question, but the application of expertise to expediate works is far from acceptable..
Methinks political noise ( more) is required.
TMR’s monitoring traffic flow on Mt.Spec road has to be a joke…the daily average is around half a dozen vehicles going up and down.
More permits is hardly going to cause a problem..including part- timers,2 permits per household, and a system of day-passes for contractors,as no one can get any work done up here as it stands.
Even at that rate,there would be very little traffic to monitor
Come on TMR…do better!
Exactly!
Well said Tony. As part owner of a couple of properties here I can see the property value decrease before our eyes. Who wants to buy anything up here if they are restricted by the time of year, hours to travel on the road and the ability of family, friends or guests to visit. Other points I wish to make are these-
1. We, Rainforest Inn , won’t be able to open completely until contractors etc can travel on the range. Even now some have said ‘when we can travel on the range road’. It’s bad enough to pay extra travel before this happened as we ‘live in Paluma’ than it will be if 6 hours of travel are added. Not sure if insurance will cover this!
2. How many of our residents own a 4 wheel drive to make the back road journey for ever if this predicament will continue for some time and possibly every year. This brings me to my third point.
3. We must get the heritage listing taken off the road (not Little Crystal Creek Bridge) or there won’t be much of a road left or enough time or money to spend on it. Isn’t one, if not the first reason, to get rid of a heritage listing is if it is going to cause harm/danger to lives. Well we can tick that box ! Let them rebuild for safety now and in the future and not have to worry about numbering every stone and putting it back in the exact same place or it will be more than one year before it is open.
I don’t want the road to lose its place in Paluma’s history but surely there must be some give and take. The Paluma and Hidden Valley community whether full or part time and who pay rates and taxes deserve in this day and age access to their property when they want to or need to (if possible) or decent compensation must be made.
We are not just a community of pensioners. There are at least 9 businesses here and even more when the ability to constantly use the range road is not compromised. All owners of houses and land should have their permit now and not be limited to one per household. Most homes these days in Townsville have more than one income residing in their house and that includes those who live in Paluma and Hidden Valley.
If TMR are concerned about our health and safety for goodness sake get things moving and don’t get bogged down in the paperwork. And don’t ask us invasive questions as to why we want to use the road. None of their business! Who on any road gets asked that!
Thank you, Tony Bligh. This is very helpful information to background the illogical and inadequate permit system. As articulated, many ‘permanent’ longterm residents and full-time Townsville City council ratepayers are being prevented from reasonable access to homes, property upkeep and related responsibilities at Paluma. Having a drivers licence exclusively tagged to one’s Paluma address is the criterion for permit eligibility, as rolled out to date. I have been in email communication with TMR to be told this, which is not stated publicly anywhere? This is completely out of touch with contemporary ways of life and work where many people have mixed economies and incomes in the digital age. The Townsville City Council has also been very silent on the situation: while TCC garbage trucks have access via Hidden Valley and carry out collections (now on Saturdays), residents without vehicles suitable for that route cannot get easy access to the very homes or properties being ‘serviced’ in their absence – a residential service that they have already paid for via their council rates and charges.
A general question for folks: does anyone recall when the old bus service to Paluma ended for good? It flourished in the past when individual car ownership was less affordable and many people were able to do day visits or regular trips to and from Townsville. Perhaps it is time to bring back a Paluma minibus service – a commuter minibus registered at a Paluma address … I wonder if that would get a permit for Mt Spec Road in the unfolding scenario.
Watch the slopes, not the road. Got it TMR. Let’s hope it’s not misty in the day.