Meeting Will Map Out Motorcycle Plans

March 27, 2017

A public meeting will be held next week to support this month’s decision by the SBRC to declare the South Burnett the first motorcycle friendly region in Queensland.

The meeting has been called by Murgon businessman Mark Smith, who initially proposed the idea to Council.

It will be held at 7:00pm on Monday, April 3 at Murgon’s Royal Hotel.

Mark, who rides a Harley, said he was keen to advance the project and believes declaring the region “motorcycle friendly” will bring a lot of benefits.

Studies have shown that motorcycle tourists spend an average $160 a day – four times more than the average $40 a day spent by caravanners – because they don’t usually bring provisions with them.

“The people who stand to benefit most are our tourist operators,” Mark said.

“Anyone who runs a cafe, a bakery or a fuel stop, or who offers accommodation stands to really benefit from increased tourism.

“Personally, my own business (Mark Smith’s Menswear) won’t benefit much. But I’d love to see our tourism operators do well out of this.”

Mark said the purpose of the meeting will be to form a Motorcycle Friendly Steering Committee and examine what needs to be done to develop the “motorcycle friendly” concept.

Mark said he went to Crows Nest in early March to attend its launch as a motorcycle friendly town and got a lot of ideas from the visit, which he’ll be happy to share on the night.

“We need to create brochures that outline tours motorcyclists can take through the South Burnett,” Mark said.

“These would be maps that show routes, distances, approximate times and places to stop off for food and fuel along the way.

“The best way to create these is to have motorcyclists actually map these tours out, so basically we’re looking for people who’ll volunteer to do this.”

Mark said he has already received a positive response from the Council, who’d expressed a willingness to assemble tour brochures and distribute them through the region’s Visitor Information Centres and tourist outlets once they had tour itineraries.

The Council is also investigating appropriate signage to identify the region and its towns as motorcycle friendly.

But Mark believes creating special parking areas for motorcycles isn’t necessary.

“I ride with a club and we always park our bikes safely without any problem, so personally I don’t think special parking bays are really necessary,” Mark said.

“Brochures and signage are probably the two most important things we can do right now.”

Anyone who’d like more information is welcome to phone Mark on 0417-608-929.

  Murgon