I was interested to read in Issue 109 of Coast Community News that the designer of the Waterside proposal wants citizens to sign on to a petition pushing the project, with only the most general description of what actually is to be developed.
Elsewhere, I read that the proposed development would have apartments (around 650), retail, entertainment, offi ces, etc. To date, I have not found any specifi cations other than there would be three towers of 25 to 38 stories, but nothing on the parking garage design. Now let us assume the there is a need for 1½ cars per apartment [975], then add say fi ve to 10 cars per retail establishment, and 10 cars per offi ce or entertainment venue. Clearly, the total number of parking spaces needed at peak times will be around 1500. Does the design provide for such a large parking garage within the complex? Elsewhere in the same issue, there was an article about the Council Open Space Scheme (COSS) which included a note that one of the main factors driving the COSS is to have a “green skyline” from wherever you are in the Council region. How does that sit with the 38 story proposal? In the same issue, Mr. Airey suggested “bulldozing Gosford” to build a super mall to compete with Erina. The super mall concept could perhaps better be implemented at the racetrack site. The mall concept is what has killed many traditional shopping venues, here and elsewhere in the western world. People will travel to centralised shopping where parking is easy and the choice is varied. Finally, Mr. Caruana wrote about the great CO2 debate and the fi ddling of the data. There is nothing to this matter that is caused or can be controlled by humans. The current global warming cycle [yes it is cyclic] began before the industrial revolution. Even if humans were causing global warming, the contribution to the problem from Australia is nil. The total population of Australia is 30 million; there are a number of cities just in China, each with populations in excess of 40 million. Somehow, we are to believe that the Chinese can burn Australian coal without causing increased emissions of CO2 but Australians cannot. In Guangzhou [pop. 40 million] the streetlights are all turned off after 10 pm to save energy. Why not here?
Letter, 9 June 2015 Tim Bard, Tascott