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AROUND PALM BEACH AUGUST 2021

LIGHT RAIL PLANS

The light rail (blue dotted line) will be built along the Gold Coast Highway down to the border. Note the location of stations. And the heavy rail (red dotted line) will be built parallel to the M1 down to Airport. The MI is undergoing widening and improvement down to Thrower Drive, near Princess Palm. The MI improvement is designed to improve connection from north Palm Beach to the MI. Construction on the MI has been underway for a year or two already.

Public consultation regarding the light rail is scheduled for mid-2022 with design development for 2023. So construction is still some considerable time away...and finalisation even longer.

Watch this great video – shows how it is going to be:

https://youtu.be/6EjlAEpB8iE

(above left) Station at Palm Beach Ave. (above) The rail section in front of PP. (far left) Note the station across the road from PP at Thrower Drive, and (left) the new bridge across the estuary.

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NEW SIGN IN PARK

I am sure the sign (left) will be even less effective as the No Dogs sign or the Dogs Must Be On A Leash sign...

CAMPING UNDER THE BRIDGE

Camping under the bridge is as popular as ever. And who can blame them.... a magic spot on the estuary with shower and drinking water facilities just a few meters away. And of course you are sheltered from the elements – and the pigeons no longer hang around there. The only drawback is that it can sometimes be a bit of a wind tunnel.

NEW FACILITY NEXT TO PLAYGROUND

This new foot wash and drinking water facility has been added to the bushwalk end of the playground. A welcome addition for parents using the pirate ship playground with young children......

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ROYAL PALM REMOVES GIANT PALM

Alerted by the noise of a chainsaw and then a very large thump, residents became aware that Royal Palm next door was removing a giant palm in the swimming pool umbrella area.

You can see from the size of part of the trunk (far left) that this was a big palm!

COUNCILCONTINUESITSREPAIRSOFTHEMANGROVEBOARDWALK

MayorTatetookyetanotheropportunitytoputhisnameupfront,signingtheannouncementofaonedayclosure.Onlyonedayofrepairs,sonothingmajor.

Thetimberneedsrepaintingsooneofthesedaysthewalkwillbeclosedforadecentamountoftime.Itactuallyappearsthatamachinehasbeenrunoverthetimberstoremovetheflakingpaintinpreperationfortherepainting.

Some rotting timbers have been replaced along the boardwalk:

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FISHING FOR SOMETHING REALLY BIG

These two guys had a massive lure which they skimmed across the top of the water. It was big enough for a shark. One reeled in the lure, the other had a video camera. While I was present nothing happened of note.... I was rather disappointed that some giant black fin didn’t appear.

THE THREE DAY LOCK DOWN AT THE BEGINNING OF JULY

Always good to see that common sense prevailed when the lock down was announced....

There was a great sign in the TreeTops Shopping Centre: “If you need to buy 40 rolls of toilet paper for a three day lockdown, you really need to see a doctor.”

Whereas some had prepared when they did their bathroom renovations (right) !!

There is no doubt that people are getting fed up with the Health Regulations as there is no, or very minimal, community transmission of the Covid virus in the area.

After the lock down the vaccination centres on the Gold Coast were very busy, as many residents were suddenly motivated to get vaccinated, and the early adopters were coming back for their second jab. I have heard of quite a few who are just waiting for the Pfizer vaccine to become available, which will be available very soon. After getting the many (reasonably mild) side effects from the first Astra jab, I am happy to report that I had no effects after my second Astra jab.

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2021 ELECTRIC SKATES VERSUS PETROL SKATES OF 1961

In a previous Update I featured someone using an electric skate. It was a bit different in 1961 – the salesman on the right had to refuel his motorized roller skates with petrol…..!

GOLD COAST MARATHON

The Gold Coast Marathon scheduled for July 3-4 was cancelled at the last minute due to the unexpected lock down of SE Qld for the three days before the event. Brisbane continued to be locked down on July 3.

A few runners did do some sort of run past our building (21km check-in was near the pirate boat in the park), but it seemed to be

unofficial.

UNINTELLIGABLE GRAFFITI

OK, so who can read this? Either the writer is dyslexic and /or is in serious need of graphic art training and /or it is in a language still to be deciphered by anthropologists. It looks impressive, but it is a complete

mystery......

The Council didn’t waste any time in painting it out....

TESTING WATER QUALITY IN THE ESTUARY

I spotted someone testing water quality in the estuary. They told me that they do it regularly. As we know, the sediment in the water can be extreme after heavy rain in the catchment area. (internet pic)

– AND CHANGE IN ENVIRONMENT There is no doubt that the estuary environment has changed in the last few years. The small yellow and small red crabs have disappeared in the mangrove reserve, being replaced by much smaller bluish salt water crabs. And the shimmering mass of small purple crabs that used to cover the sand near the bridge at certain times of year have not been seen for several years. Also, the sand build up along the estuary edge means the mangroves do not flood as often, and the large sand build up under the

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raised walkway has caused the water run-off to go the other direction and it has undermined the path several times at the other end of the bush walk.

SCHOOL HOLIDAY FISHING

The second week of school holidays saw loads of children fishing along the estuary and from boats. It seems to a hobby that has really become popular.

Below: The first time I have seen someone be successful using a net for fishing.

AND CANOEING IS POPULAR All the family were out

canoeing. (There is a hire shop near the Thrower

Bridge.)

UPGRADE TO ‘PALM BEACH RESORT’

Older owners will remember the ugly pink building next to Royal Palm on Lacey’s Lane.

What a difference a change of paint colour has made to this building. They also upgraded their signage and there is even a lift now!

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NEW HIGH RISES COMING NEAR THE DUNE CAFÉ

The three houses next to the high rise Aleia near to the Dune Café have all been sold...by the same agent. You can write the script...new high rise development is coming. In fact two new towers will be built – the first one nearer to us will be on two of the tree blocks. Their views won’t be as good as Aleia; the blocks do slope at an angle at the beach side and so maybe there might be a chance for one or two to get a partial view of the estuary. Only the higher units will clear Currumbin Sands and get to see the ocean.

At least two of these houses had some pretty extensive renovations done only a couple of years ago – it goes to show the sort of prices that blocks of land can now attract. The owners of the houses will acquire a unit in the first of the two new buildings as part of the purchase price of their blocks.

COUNCIL MECHANISES ITS MAINTENANCE TASKS

Sweeping the paths is now a very quick and efficient process.

EARLY MORNING SCHOOL GROUP ON THE BEACH

At 6.30am a large group of students arrived – followed by relay races into the surf.