Dear Mayor,
I am writing this letter to bring to your
attention a life and death issue relevant to any parent in the Pine Rivers
Shire region with a son or daughter between 16 and 25 years of age.
Despite our numerous approaches and suggestions
to Council over the past 18 months and reassurances from yourself and other
Councillors, we appear to be no closer to the return of motor racing to
Lakeside.
Recently, Lakeside Motor Racing Enthusiasts,
Inc. conducted a meeting in the pits of Lakeside International Raceway with
over 200 people in attendance. Whilst participants made it clear that the
sport of motor racing in
Queensland
has been unfairly punished and local business owners had been financially
damaged, a far more urgent issue came to the fore.
The Pine Rivers Shire Council’s current policy
of selectively excluding motor racing from
Lakeside
leaves young drivers north of the
Brisbane
River,
without a safe alternative to racing or 'hooning' on the streets. The most at
risk group are simply not driving 1½ hours to the nearest option at
Ipswich.
There can be no doubt regarding the
proliferation of hooning in the Pine Shire, as nightly we are subjected to
high revving engines and the screetching of tyres. Furthermore, a drive around
the streets of the Shire will bear witness to the uncontrolled level of
hooning as displayed by the tyre burnout marks on our roads.
LMRE supports the State Government’s
anti-hooning legislation and the tireless efforts of the Queensland Police to
prevent the life-threatening actions of those who are too inexperienced to
comprehend the consequences.
However, the legislation alone is not the
magical solution to a problem that has existed since automobiles were
invented, and therefore, a carrot must also be used in conjunction with the
stick for the best result.
We suggest the same common sense approach that
sees governing bodies providing skateboarders with specialized facilities
applied to motor vehicles. We regularly speak with members of law enforcement,
who previously actively encouraged youth to “take it to a race track”, but are
now without this logical resource.
The Council has publicly stated on many
occasions that
Lakeside
was purchased for all the people in the community, but the reality is that the
group that needs the facility the most is the only one locked out.
To summarize, LMRE believes that the PRSC’s
current attitude of denying the public from using
Lakeside
for its intended purpose of motor racing is:
-
Contributing to the practice of street racing
or ‘hooning’.
-
Breaches Council’s duty of care to young
drivers, their families and ratepayers.
-
In opposition to the broader community’s
desire to reduce the road toll.
-
Morally questionable.
Young drivers are the group most likely to
suffer a fatal car crash and LMRE members are determined to see this existing
resource made available to provide a safe alternative.
I beseech you to put aside the prejudices which
appear to exist in Council and direct that
Lakeside
be returned to its rightful use sooner rather than later.
Yours in motor racing,
Ian Milton
President
Lakeside Motor Racing Enthusiasts, Inc.
