THE number of Colac bypass options for Colac Otway Shire councillors to consider has halved but the councillors are unaware why council officers have taken two bypass options off the table.
Councillors bypassed on bypass options
Colac Otway Shire mayor Lynn Russell wants to know why council officers have dropped two Colac bypass options.
4 Responses to “Councillors bypassed on bypass options”
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If you draw a gentle curve across the lake from the north of Kennys Lane in the West and the north of the railway crossing in the East, you’d end up with the new Southern Lake Colac having a north to south distance greater than Bullen Merri, and East to West some three times (or more). The Southern Lake would have less evaporation losses, less turbidity, and generally fill a lot quicker, be a lot easier to manage (than the currently unmanaged mess we have), would bring recreation back to the lake a LOT sooner.
Rather than focus purely on truck going around, the focus should be on an integrated package that brings lifestyle, recreational and environmental benefits.
Recreation:
– ability to control depth of lake
– water sports including rowing, sailing and skiing BACK SOONER rather than potentially NEVER.
– include cycling/walking track around southern lake: approximately 7 km
Environment:
– less losses to evaporation
– less turbidity due to greater water depth and reduced wind wave action
– potential to include fixed depth polishing ponds for treated sewage effluent, providing nutrient removal and also greater bird habitat
Transport:
Shortest km route
Saving environment due to less fuel usage by industry, less stop and start.
An integrated forward looking plan for the future can bring a variety of REAL benefits. The head in the sand attitude of no bypass is just doomsday for Colac waiting to happen. We’ll never get the highway re-routed and funs to fix the lake and provide recreational facilities UNLESS we plan, taking in the big picture
HUH! I though the By-pass idea had been taken outta local hands… :-/ Anyway, I still think it should go to the north myself. It will cut Colac off from coastal traffic the most it goes to the south and that wouldn’t be any good for the town. 🙁
Jo, although we might not need a bypass today, we eventually will. With the highway duplication coming to Colac probably within the next ten years, Colac will become a real bottleneck. It’s far better to plan for it, and have the highway works properly aligned to start off with, rather than wait till it’s completely broken before fixing.
Seriously? This is STILL going? We don’t want a bypass, we don’t need a bypass, and Colac can’t AFFORD a bypass. Why doesn’t the council understand that? Or is there an agenda in all this they aren’t making public?