Re Saturdays Mercury and " On your bike Lord Mayor and ride out of town" and other comments regarding our Lord Mayor. I believe most of these people are on the wrong track (bike). The Lord Mayor sits at the head of the table due to his re-election even though the Labor Party threw everything at him (including lots of Labor money and corflutes) and he still beat them.
Around the table are a mix of councillors who make the decisions. To blame Gordon for all that you say is wrong is down to all the elected councillors. If some of the councillors had their way we would have dangerous bike lanes and rainbow crossings all over the place.
I believe Gordon to be a man of principles and a well liked man if you know him. Gordon has played a big part in a lot of our lives - from hatches, matches and dispatches in his role as a minister of The Uniting Church.
With our community organisation Gordon is always available, does a great job and I very much doubt that the main person after his job could perform the same role with the decorum and grace that Gordon displays. Don't play the man but look as the city council as a whole.
Ian Birch, Fairy Meadow
Pushbikes are relics
Saturday's letter made me wonder if the Lord Mayor's desire to erect an $80K statue to mark the 2022 bike race is absurd enough to finally drive the majority of Wollongong's ratepayers to shout out: "Enough!" We have 45 kilometres plus of costly cycleways stretching from one end of our LGA to the other, and the undeniable low usage of large sections clearly indicates money has been wasted.
The unused bike lanes recently installed on roads around town are just restricting traffic flows in a city that will soon be bursting at the seams with the cars of our city's fast-growing population. These vacant bike lanes must also be lowering property attraction and values where off-street parking has been restricted and property ingress and egress is now risky.
Pushbikes are relics, nevertheless diehards cling to them. However, the introduction and future proliferation of e-scooters and e-bikes will ensure pushbikes and their riders fade away. Then council will be forced to about face and make pedestrian safety their prime concern.
Richard Burnett, Wollongong
World should be united
The news is in, at an average of 1.5 degrees above preindustrial temperatures, July will be the hottest month ever recorded. This should be a moment that unites us, where every person across the globe commits to a sustainable future and embraces the clean energy revolution we know we desperately need. Yet, somehow, governments, including here in Australia, are still signing off on new coal mines and gas projects.
Amy Hiller, Kew
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