During the time local government had elected councillors, Mr Craig Doyle was a Gosford City Councillor.
Mr Doyle often raised the issue of parking unavailability, especially in the greater Gosford precinct area. Mr Doyle raised this issue at Council meetings and with the media. I have not detected the same level of interest from Administrator, Mr Ian Reynolds. The parking crisis is not recent, it is only expanding faster, with the character changes to Gosford. Iguana Joe’s approval on the Brisbane Water estuary created lengthy debate on transport to and from the site, including alternatives. Anyone familiar with the location will know there is limited parking available with road safety paramount. Did the approval set a precedent for future developments in the area? There is more interest in “cranes in the sky” (Mr, Paul Anderson) than there is in basic infrastructure and quality of life for residents. Parking is bad now as the Gosford greater precinct expands radically. I predict the issue will be addressed similarly to some suburbs in Sydney, i.e. parking meters, tow away zones, resident zones and so on.
Not only did former CEO Mr Anderson comment on building cranes, he also said he thought it was safe to say that cranes were coming to the skies over Gosford along with the world class city the Central Coast deserves. Except now, planners have failed to accept the world class city concept, which presents the question, what will happen when the cranes are removed? Parking in Adcock Park? Increased sales in Erina Fair? Seawall cafes? Wind tunnels? Regret. The comment on radical expansion is not limited to terrestrial development as history has shown (refer to DA No. 6609/99) – Proposed boat harbour marina/tourist development and ferry service on Part Reserve 56146 and on Lot 12 DP868080 No 14, Dane Dr, Gosford. What is the future for the estuary? More tourist development or ferry proposals? The same thing is happening at Koolewong. Development pressure is exerted North, South, East and West in an ever increasing radius, as reported in the Coast Community News. Objective reporting is applauded. Seeing cranes in the sky is an indication of more problems as the character of Gosford changes to high rise, creating inevitable parking and traffi c management problems. The consequences of a high rise building boom have not been seriously considered at the approval stage.
Letter, Aug 30, 2016 Norman Harris, Umina