I always enjoy Jeff Corbett’s articles; particularly last weekend’s dealing with the foibles of Newcastle drivers (“Driving rest of us crazy”, Herald 10/3). Spot on as usual, but there was one fleeting comment that has me worried. Jeff mentioned about checking to the right at roundabouts, but this is not the entire story. The two cardinal rules concerning roundabouts are to give way to any vehicle already on the roundabout and indicate left prior to exiting. Both are largely ignored, but it is the former that is of special importance.
Give way to the right went out with buttoned-up boots. If you are about to enter a roundabout you must allow any vehicle which is already partly on or beyond the “give way” line to pass in front of your vehicle. That is the law.
Maybe if people abided by it, traffic would flow more smoothly and Jeff would be less ruffled.
Ray Dinneen, Newcastle
MANY TYPES OF SERENITY
SO John Fear (Letters 15/3) wants to reclaim “the serenity” in Newcastle East cafes and free their suburb from people talking business at cafes. I agree. I too would like to reclaim serenity from those who think that just because they live in a suburb they can dictate what other people can and can’t do in local cafes in that suburb.
Newcastle has a bright, big and grand future. These suburbs and the vocal minority they generate seem to think that they should have the same peace and quiet as if they were living in a little coastal town like Catherine Hill Bay. Newcastle East, The Hill, Wickham and surrounding suburbs are the central business district of the second biggest city in NSW.
I hate to break it to the residents of these areas, but people conducting business in cafes in these suburbs is kind of the whole point of a CBD! Really, how dare two individual citizens conduct business in a café and disrupt your utopian morning ritual to enjoy a cup of coffee in total silence, peace and quiet.
Newcastle is evolving into a world class Regional City, and rightly so. Young people are staying in the city because they are gaining employment from innovating enterprises. The tourism industry is thriving and vision is being cast for our future. Businesses are being started, money is being invested and Newcastle is gaining recognition on the national stage. Yes, this means that people are finally conducting business in cafes again. That is serenity to me.
James Thomson, Waratah West
WHAT COMMUTERS WANT
WHAT matters to commuters like me is the time taken to travel from home to work. If public transport existed that was frequent, faster than driving and affordable – I would definitely use it. More facilities to park and ride public transport are badly needed. I travel on the Hunter Expressway from Newcastle to Cessnock on a regular basis.
Parking facilities on the major on-ramps at Kurri Kurri and Weston and on the most eastern roundabout on the Link Road, with an express bus into Newcastle CBD on a dedicated bus lane, would be highly popular.
A large interchange and car park at Jesmond could serve the University, the John Hunter Hospital and our major regional shopping centres. To make this work, an extra bus-only lane would be needed on the link road to the Showground. This plan would be expensive but it would make public transport really work
Martin Conner, Merewether
A STING IN THE CITY
WE refer to your article warning of the alarming consequences of mozzie bites (“Swamped by mozzies after ‘perfect storm’”, Herald 14/3).
It also encourages residents to take precautions such as emptying uncovered stocks of fresh water from backyards.
In a vacant block of land in Watt Street, there is presently a swamp. It was created by a developer who excavated for the foundations for an apartment block several years ago and then stopped work.
It is an ideal breeding ground for mosquitoes right in the heart of Newcastle's CBD. We have reported the swamp and the prevalence of mosquitos to Newcastle City Council several times, starting in April last year and continuing until December when we gave up as no remedial action had been taken by the developer.
To be fair to the council officers, they say they did visit the site and did try to get action from the developer but had no success.
This seems to be another example of where the real power is - not with the council but with the developer. Meanwhile, we are bearing the evidence of mozzie bites and risking the dreaded Ross River and Barmah Forest viruses despite taking all available precautions.
Chris and Helen Welbourne, Newcastle
MILEAGE COULD HAVE VARIED
ON A recent visit for an appointment in the Newcastle CBD I could not help but notice, after I had finally found a parking space, the work being done in Hunter Street between Darby and Scott streets.
If I did not know that the light rail line was being laid there I would have thought that a tunnel (to Stockton possibly?) was being dug. It seems to me very unfortunate that a light rail system could have been up and running by now using the old rail corridor, and the millions being spent on digging up Hunter Street used instead to construct a loop extension to Newcastle beaches and/or to service the many new motels and apartments popping up in Newcastle.
I’m not a betting man, but I would love to have a bet on some utility organisation needing to dig a trench across Hunter Street within a few months of the new light rail line being opened, such that occurs when a pot-holed road is resurfaced.
Bruce William Jones, East Maitland
GET BEHIND POSITIVES, BILL
BILL Shorten can be quoted as saying he is confident Australia is doing all it can to be exempt from trade tariffs from the USA.
Just imagine the outcome if Bill had just used one extra would, by saying he is confident and "pleased" to be saying Australia is doing all it can.
One little word can say so much, one extra word to be seen as a truly respected alternative leader, one word to show he thinks more of the job, than himself.
Unfortunately politics don't do the opposition any favours, from either side, thus we get what we deserve.
