Ask Julia

Thursday 7 July 2011

Dear Julia

How much did the Esplanade upgrade cost and why was it designed to force people to walk on the road to gain access to Four Mile Beach rather than having a main entrance at the end of Macrossan Street?

From: Toni Bennett, Port Douglas.

Response from Division 10 Councilor, Julia Leu

The concrete formal pathways on the Esplanade are more about providing equal access to the beach for people with a disability as there is now a new access to the beach ramp at the Life Savers Hut and access to the picnic area at the southern end of the Esplanade.

This is all linked to where the Access parking is located adjacent to the Surf Club. Once we sort out a couple of issues with DERM there will be an all weather water proof wheel chair available at the Life Savers Hut which has been paid for from my divisional funds.

People don't have to walk on the road to get to the beach - just walk on the grassed areas at the Macrossan Street end and onto the beach.

During the consultation phase, the community told us very clearly that they wanted minimal hard or concrete surfaces and as much grassed and landscaped areas as possible. That's why we went with the particular soft road surface.

It was important to keep the laid back atmosphere and character but take the opportunity to make some genuine improvements, such as better landscaping, fix up the longstanding drainage iproblems, reduce erosion and improve safety.

The feedback to me personally has been fabulous and once the new plants have a real chance to flourish it will look even better. The total cost is expected to be $850,000.

The need for this upgrade has been around for a long time with a few failed attempts in the past. I'm really pleased that this has now been achieved and all those involved need to be congratulated.

Have you got a question to ask one of our elected representatives?

Simply click on the image of the politician you'd like a response from and ask away. Your question will be emailed to us at The Newsport and we will seek an answer from that pollie on your behalf.

Once we hear back we'll post your question and the answer in a dedicated page of The Newsport just like this one.

Please ensure you provide your full name and town of residence, as these details will be posted on the website with your question.

To make this whole exercise worthwhile, make sure your questions are topical and preferably affect the community as a whole (why your dog only eats cat food probably won't make the grade).

And remember, our elected reps can be contacted through their offices directly if you'd prefer. We just like to share and share alike.