Retirement village residents say council’s rail trail will bring more crime to their communities
A group of senior citizens are living in fear over a 1km stretch of a $13m rail trail say will become a corridor for crime.
QLD News
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A group of senior citizens is warring with the State Government and Logan City Council over a $13m portion of rail trail they say will be a magnet for criminals and hinder access to essential services.
Residents of Palm Lake Resort Bethania on Goodooga Dr and Palm Lake Resort Waterford on High Rd want the old spur line that dissects the properties relocated.
They say the 1km strip – to form part of the 43km Bethania to Beaudesert Rail Trail Project – would be easy to move and “save almost 1000 vulnerable people from living in fear”.
Rail Trail Diversion Group spokeswoman Tracey Bertomeu said residents did not want strangers walking or riding through their gated communities.
“There have been 20 break-ins in retirement villages in Logan in the last four weeks alone, and we don’t want unsavoury types trail-bike riding or coming in on e-scooters at all hours of the day and night,” Mrs Bertomeu said.
“We’re not saying don’t have a rail trail but take it elsewhere. One resident in her 90s is so scared she says, ‘I just hope I die before this comes through’.
“We are salt of the earth people, we’ve worked hard all our lives and want to live in peace.”
The group has been lobbying both governments – which are splitting the cost – since 2019 about the trail which comes within metres of dwellings.
“The word ‘unique’ is tossed around in this saga as no other rail trail dissects a gated community like ours,” Mrs Bertomeu said.
“We are worried sick about what will happen to our living standards, safety and property values. No social impact study has been done.”
An internal report from a Logan City Infrastructure Committee meeting in June revealed the cost of the 11.5km Bethania to Logan Village trail had blown out from $7m to $13m.
The report attributed part of the increase to “additional works in response to community feedback”.
These include a 1.8m high chain wire fence in response to “the high level of anxiety” being reported by residents “who have pronounced public safety views related to their age”.
More landscaping and closed circuit TV security cameras would be installed, and electronic gates at an existing vehicle crossing to promote “connectivity” between the resorts.
Mrs Bertomeu said the new measures were “cold comfort”.
“Having a fence won’t deter criminals, there are not enough police patrolling as it is, and we still don’t know how ambulances will have access,” she said.
“What if there is a flood or fire and the electronic gate isn’t working – how do we escape?
“We have also asked that if the trail must go ahead that access be restricted to 7am and 7pm but this too has not been addressed.
“We want it diverted to nearby High Road and past Canterbury College on Easterly Street.”
The Courier-Mail put questions to the Department of Transport and Main Roads, including the possibility of moving the trail.
A spokesman said: “Concerns about safety and crime raised by adjoining owners are acknowledged, however reports and studies have repeatedly shown that good trail design and management can mitigate or alleviate those concerns. For example, improved lighting and increased use of disused publicly owned land may deter potential criminal activity.”
The State of Queensland owns the land, leased to the Department of Transport and Main Roads and subleased to Palm Lake Resorts.
Logan City councillor Laurie Koranski said council had consulted extensively with the community and other stakeholders, including cycling and horseriding groups, before finalising the rail trail design.
“I understand council has undertaken more community engagement on this project
than just about any road project in its history,” Ms Koranski said.
She said the community would be able to provide more feedback before construction began in late 2024.
In March this year, Transport and Main Roads Minister Mark Bailey and Waterford MP Shannon Fentiman met Palm Lake Resort residents but Mrs Bertomeu said the group was “still in the dark about whether the meeting amounted to anything”.
She said Logan City Council had been largely dismissive of residents’ concerns.
She said a 2022 council ‘have your say’ survey on the trail was completed by only 719 people – or less than 0.2 per cent of the Logan District population of 363,301.
“How can council say most people want it when so few responded?” she said.
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