July 24, 2023
An exhaustive two-year community consultation process to develop new designs for Wondai’s roundabout and lower Scott Street will end within a few months.
At July’s general meeting last Wednesday, South Burnett councillors resolved to make a series of amendments to designs for the upgrade – which were released earlier this month – and then conduct a final round of consultations with affected businesses before releasing them to the broader Wondai community.
Amendments to the latest design will include adding bike racks; examining different footpath colours; removing two traffic islands and a level crossing; and incorporating some recognition of traditional owners.
Deputy Mayor Gavin Jones said he was very much in favour of community consultations, but at the end of the day Councillors had to arrive at a decision because that’s what they were paid to do.
He noted that Council had hoped to start work on the upgrade in October, but it now seemed unlikely any work would begin until next January or February.
He warned that this delay, and any other delays caused by extra community consultations, risked pushing the cost beyond its $700,000 budget.
Cr Kathy Duff said she was all in favour of community consultations but she thought the problems Council had run into collecting the community’s views was due to the way the consultation process had been carried out.
She said some questions asked in early rounds of the process would elicit “Yes” responses from most people, and a more rigorous approach might be a better way to gather feedback in future.
Councillors voted unanimously to approve the latest round of amendments.
Staff will bring the final designs back to September’s general meeting for approval.
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