Councillor Column

Hi all,

We’ve got so many exciting projects happening at the moment in Division 4.

I’d like to start by thanking everyone who attended the Mullers Lagoon Community workshop on Friday 24 March at the Bowen PCYC.

The session was a valuable conversation which enabled us to collect ideas for the Bowen Masterplan. It also allowed us to see how residents currently use the park, listen to concerns about the Mullers Lagoon area and to get your thoughts on how you would like to see it evolve in the future.

These community consultations are extremely important in enabling Council to consult with the community and take your visions onboard when we create plans for the future. For those who couldn’t make it, you can still have your say on the park’s future via our Online Engagement Portal, Your Say Whitsunday.

Another exciting update is that of the Richmond Road floodway where upgrades to the existing culvert structure are on track, with the road due to reopen to traffic in May.

The new structure has been modelled to cater for 1 in 100-year flows, which should greatly reduce the need to close the road in the future.

The road upgrades should be in their final stages after Easter with the asphalt being laid in late April before line marking can occur in May.

I would like to thank the State Government’s Transport Infrastructure Development Scheme which co-funded these works with Whitsunday Regional Council.

I’d also like to mention the proposed upgrades to the Cape Edgecombe walking trails which have been supported by the Federal Governments Local Roads and Community Infrastructure Grant Program.

We recently met with early-bird walkers at Horseshoe Bay to advertise the upcoming trail upgrades.

Everyone we spoke to was excited to learn about the proposed improvements.  

The works are set for late 2023 and will rebuild unsafe and eroded areas along the track. The project will occur in stages as funding becomes available, with the initial focus areas being Horseshoe Bay, near the Rotary Lookout and Mother Beddock lookout.  

These works will incur partial closures across small sections of the track, but the remainder of the track will remain open.

Finally, this week Council and Collinsville residents have been working together to move on the flying fox population.

Thank you again to everyone who has been involved with these projects and given their valuable time and opinion to help us create a better region for all.

Cheers, Michelle

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