Palm Cove Promenade - The Way Forward
Phoenix carpentaria Manila solitire Travelers pandanis and coconut to name just a few of our palm trees yes we are arriving at the Palm Cove beachfront framed by the Elegance of alamander by lancemore on the right and the splendid imagine drift on the left it's a Welcome to our beach front that cannot be improved on in my opinion more about that later I founded Palm Cove Vision in 2023 to further promote and encourage the pedestrianization of the Palm Cove Waterfront in accordance with the 1992 Palm Cove strategy plan by Lee Ratcliffe the two things that I'm pushing in the 2050 plan for pal Cove is one a special overlay and protection for architecture Heritage and environment and two to actually close the es spinard and turn it into a beautiful pedestrian prominade I mean Palm Coast about to become the starting point for the one getting trial there's lots of exciting things happening um but if you keep the integrity and you get the hardware right tourism will follow people will enjoy the place and you've done your job of of protecting a Community Asset for the longterm Lee Ratcliffe there this video is about how williams esnard may be reconfigured to create Palm Cove prominade we'll be using a simple animation to demonstrate how usage of different zones may be arranged to meet everyone's needs as far as is possible now and most importantly into the future we all come to The Cove for different reasons and consequently we often have different needs so who are we talking about well we're talking about wheelchair users Walkers dog walkers Runners girls cyclists and swimmers there are kayak and foilers Fisher folk on the jetty picnickers yogis nature sizes what nature sizes people who exercise Outdoors there wasn't a word until now now there is there's bird watchers photographers Spa Seekers Shoppers love the current Palm Co Village Facebook branding well done there's diners Drinkers and karaoke singers there's stag nights and hens nights there's lovers and lovers and lovers and lovers and movies about lovers I grew up in zire Co his grandson chip was my best friend Jim you came back Laura price surprise look at you miss Big City lawyer you love it yeah I do you're going above and beyond to keep us I've missed the silence it missed you Laura Owen Laura I want you to marry me here now wow do you want to talk about what just happened must really think anything is possible life can change just like that kind of feel like I'm home again so Laura and Owen or chip maybe will join hundreds of couples whose wedding albums feature what has to be the most beautiful tropical wedding venue in the country the Coconut Grove along the beach side of alamander by lanmore and nooo destination weddings like these are a huge contributor to local tourism Revenue not to mention possibly hundreds of thousands of images and thousands of video clips sent around the world showcasing our destination this is the Palm Cove hero shot of course it's everything we expect of a tropical beach destination it's Sublime and matchless as an event location especially for weddings the advantage of the nooo Coconut Grove site is that although it is public land it's relatively private compared to the rest of our beach front of course the exclusivity and popularity of the venue for weddings comes at a price and not everyone is working with Owen's budget I want you to marry me here now wow however couples do exchange vows in other spots along the beach front also under coconut palms with sweeping Coral Sea views from Cape Grafton to Double Island so what's different well more people going about their day at Cove pace and in Cove time and beautiful and pick the other difference [Applause] [Music] where stay I help falling in [Music] [Music] [Applause] [Music] love how much better if waves rustling palms and passes by going about their day were the only background accompaniments to wedding or other ceremonies and occasions instead of ever increasing numbers of cars trucks and buses a prominade delivers on this vision and also provides counsel with an opportunity to identify and resource maybe two or three suitable sites along the beach front for events like small wedding ceremonies there are two main reasons for the creation of the prominade there is the Practical side being the traffic flow management for now and into the future and there is the marketing side for Palm Cove as a tourism destination our Peak tourism marketing body TT andq tourism tropical North Queensland considers adoption of the pedestrianization of Williams espinat as the single most important Palm Cove decision that our new Council can make going forward Malcolm Bean of the reef house describes the prominade as a once in a lifetime opportunity that will endure and not just an opportunity but a responsibility Lee Ratcliffe authored the 1992 Palm Cove strategy plan at a Palm Cove Vision workshop last year he said led by Tom Pine mgra Shire Council was really receptive to what we were trying to do back in the day nice stuff gets destroyed and there are hundreds of case studies around the world if we don't hold the ground now at Palm Cove then all those 40 years of passion and building our Village By the Sea will turn to nothing so coming to the promad it's interesting seeing what came out of the current Council master plan consultation stage it's all there relaxed Village atmosphere pedestrian and cycle connectivity walkability of the village it's all there staring Us in the face it's all the community wants so my point is that it is possible to close the esplanad to Conventional traffic and we shouldn't be scared of that it really comes down to two issues and that's car parking and serviceability to the properties that only have Frontage to the esplanad all of which can be managed Lee was interviewed by Alex tror on ABC Far North this is part of that interview what's the future of Palm Cove so I think there's a number of things at stake and one of the things that that I'm working on being the original I guess creator of the master plan that's and set up all the all the controls that made it the village it is today and I'm very proud of that um but I think it's it's a turning point where you've got to revisit that and to revisit it you've got to look seriously and objectively at it and say well what are the problems today and how we fix them and the way to fix it I believe and this is what I'm promoting to council is to actually create a Heritage and environment overlay of the main part of palp Cove so for example the foreshore the es lanard and I'm suggesting two blocks back from the espad all become a highly protected Heritage and environmental Zone with clear controls now this has been done all over the world some of the best places we visit around the world um have these sort of overlays a lot of the old towns as I call them um in Resort destinations where you've got all the new development happening on The Fringe and you need the new development from enity Etc but you've got to protect the old part which is the character which created the destination in the first place so it can be done I'm pushing Council to do it to have the guts to create a Heritage overlay an environmental overlay over a defined area with very clear controls then you'll protect the destination and then people will come and enjoy it I think that P Cove is one of the most special places in Australia which is why it should be protected for the benefit of everybody the other thing so the two things that I'm pushing in the 2050 plan for pal Cove is one a special overlay and protection for architecture Heritage environment and two to actually close the Esplanade and turn it into a beautiful pedestrian prominade then Pal's about to become the starting point for the one getting trial there's lots of exciting things happening um but if you keep the integrity and you get the hardware right tourism will follow people will enjoy the place and you've done your job of of protecting a Community Asset for the long term yes indeed Lee Palm Cove residents will be aware over the last few weeks of Choppers supplying wetti Trail workers with materials daily in almost all weather conditions and Palm cavel Beach stand to benefit very early in the construction phase it's likely that many guests and visitors will choose to put half a day aside to walk the first section of the trail to Ellis and maybe bus it back to the Cove that could be only months away as the kick KCK off point to the Trail Palm Cove will directly benefit but the wetti trail will also introduce Palm Cove to a whole new international demographic a growing group of Travelers who walk or ride the great tracks of the world this engages directly with palm cove's growing profile of health and vitality in nature Pro Happy Time gentlemen come on kids let's go huh health and vitality is more than an elevated heart rate think yoga and well just soothing the soul in Cove time it's about living in a calm safe and natural environment and the prominade delivers on all of those benefits palmco prominade is the answer for our future and it is The X Factor that can be our rallying point uniting tourism businesses and residents behind a shared Vision an inspirational yet practical vision for now and into the future back to the animation typically transitions like this are staged over a number of years with changes introd produced as and when desirable and possible so for the purposes of this exercise we' have created four zones as you would expect Walkers strollers prams and personal Mobility devices for physically disabled people may use all zones the prominade is an alternative to the current Council master plan let's start with council's Pathways solution Mayor Bob Manning and Council CEO Micah Martin set the scope and terms of reference for Council planners back in 20202 which meant that private property like lot 100 and private and public land outside the public realm of Williams ESP lard and the foreshore tourism Precinct couldn't be included in the plan as the only vacant land within the plan boundaries is private land which couldn't be considered this meant that although the plan recommends removal of between 20 to 30% of existing esplanad parking for safety reasons there was nowhere else for planners to seek out car parking Alternatives this may be part of the reason for not considering pedestrianization as an option or it may be that maintaining the status quo was the easiest way to go let's take a look at Zone one it is the footpath on the western side of the esan that runs along the front of the restaurants Resorts shops and cottages apart from a cosmetic repair here and there no changes are suggested for this Zone it is for pedestrians strollers prams and Mobility devices for the physically disabled the current Council master plan calls for that path to be widened to 2 m for its entire length this results in a number of unsatisfactory out out comes including the removal of the gardens outside melaluca Resort and Island views because zones 2 and three now satisfy the need for future projected extra capacity for Walkers and Riders The Zone One path widening is no longer necessary zone two traffic Management in this zone is likely to be similar to the dining Precinct section of the can es lanard speaking of the dining Precinct of the can's Esplanade it may not be widely known that gas and Aboud the owner of the Crystal Brook group required K's Regional Council to pedestrianized dining Precinct as a condition of his $600 million investment in his Trio of hotels Riley Flynn and Bailey Crystal Brooks CEO Jeff York continues to promote walkability of city streets as the way forward for Progressive communities involved in international tourism okay back to zone two properties that only have access from the esplanad need vehicular access for their onsite car parks for deliveries and other services that cannot be provided any other way vehicles that display a disability parking permit taxis and ride share Vehicles should also have access for set down and pickup purposes only this animation shows one-way traffic from south to North at 10 km an hour in this Zone occasionally it'll be necessary for vehicles to move into Zone 3 to avoid a stationary vehicle or other temporary obstruction in zone two Hospitality buggies a shuttle train all types of personal transport devices Petty cabs human or powered may use Zone 2 providing they are traveling south to North in your there's lots of things to see and do and now there's a new way you can get there by the petty cab so where would you like to go to my shop Flirty Girl on St Peter so what are the ways that you can catch a petty cab we're doing a lot of weddings these days Rob thank you this was so much fun and definitely something for you to keep in mind when you visit New Orleans use a petty cab to get around they're environmentally friendly too beautiful I love it Petty cabs hospitality buggies and the shuttle train will be an essential part of transporting non-walkers from wherever they've parked their car or are lighted from their public transport in Palm Cove the petty cabs Hospitality buggies and the shuttle train will be able to use both zones two and three for traveling the prominade because the prominade solution is for Riders to use zones 2 and three instead of the Zone 4 foreshore path when arriving in Palm Cove from the northern Beach's Leisure Trail this is an appropriate time in the vid to talk about this to talk about how wheelchair users Riders and Walkers can happily comfortably and safely navigate the Palm Cove beach front as We Know Council predicts a can's population increase of 60% by 2050 but also acknowledges that numbers of pedestrian and cycle users are also likely to increase because of the wetti and Northern beaches Leisure Trails wheelchair users Riders and walkers have equal rights but we move to the beat of Different Drums when we're walking or riding dedicating zones 2 and three to Riders and zone four to Walkers allows us to share our movement modes in compatible relaxed and safe circumstances under the current Council master plan the intent is to designate the foreshore path zone four as we call it as the root for cyclists as well as pedestrians electric personal transport devices don't seem to be addressed in the master plan so I'm going to assume that by cyclists they mean Riders of electric powered personal transport devices as well after all many bicycles are battery powered anyway these days Council planners must have struggled with this one it's my understanding that the first drafts of the walking and cycle usage strategy for Palm Cove were to increase the width of the foreshore path to 3 m for the entire length so that it mirrored the rest of the northern Beach's Leisure trail that required removal of trees when it became clear that cutting down trees wasn't going to be an option for the planners and they weren't permitted to consider pedestrianization of Williams esnard they were forced to come up with some sort of compromise even though in this case increasing the width to 3 me meters where possible is illogical just had to ask the frb bird to move on just for a while you might have heard him calling there in the background we don't need to be traffic flow Engineers to question the likelihood of problems arising when Riders meet other Riders and Walkers and wheelchair users in places where the path width decreases from 3 to 2 m which is probably at least along a third of the foreshore path for all of the rest of the Leisure Trail south of palm cave sharing between wheelchairs Walkers and Riders is fine and the reasons are obvious there is only a fraction of The Pedestrian and cycle traffic compared to the Palm Cove beach front people who are on the trail through Kara and Clifton tend to be on the move and not just standing or overflowing from barbecues and picnics it's not just inconvenient for wheelchairs Riders and pedestrians to have to compete with each other along the foreshore path it's dangerous and possibly a liability for councel here's a snippet from an Adam Steven ABC far north interview with Dr Gary Mitchell on Tuesday 16 July 2024 regarding e scooter presentations to hospital emergency departments in Queensland emergency department presentations have almost doubled in the last 2 years when it comes to e scoters you'll hear from a doctor about what they're seeing in hospitals across the state Ed well let's ask Dr Gary Mitchell an emergency doctor at the Royal Brisbane and Women's Hospital he's part of this Research into e scooter safety from the Jamison trauma Institute and Dr Gary Our Guest today on Drive thanks for joining us working one of the busier emergency departments in Queensland what have you been noticing in the emergency Ward when it comes to E Scooters yeah it's been pretty concerning we've seen deaths we've seen severe injuries requiring patients end up in intensive care we've had to change our trauma activation criteria in order to make sure we've got proper reception for patients coming off E Scooters uh and has certainly had an impact on our trauma presentations at the Royal Brisbane Hospital the thing is this all of these batterypowered personal transport devices are fantastic and my view is that we should do all possible to encourage use of these devices along our waterr I mean it's all about health vitality and freedom in our beautiful tropical nature isn't it we just need to be sensible about safety as I understand it a tourism overlay and controls as proposed will allow us to tweak and customize State planning regulations to come up with the best local outcome for personal transport devices and other activities essentially if it's got wheels and it's not a pram stroller or wheelchair it belongs in zones 2 and three and not zones 1 and four the 10K speed limit only applies to big chunks of metal on wheels how bicycles E Scooters Hospitality buggies one wheels and Penny farings behave in the prominade zone is up to council but in most jurisdictions these devices are permitted to travel up to 25 5 km an hour which makes sense not too fast not too slow this is why in the animation we show e devices overtaking cars and trucks okay zone three usage of Zone 3 is for everybody and everything except what we'll call the conventional cars motorbikes trucks and buses the designated for petty cabs bicycles electric personal transport devices the shuttle train and Buggies is north to south obviously Council and similar service Vehicles will also be able to use this Zone we've also noticed that some Runners prefer Zone 3 to Zone 4 zone four this is the foreshore path along the ground grassy Verge under the trees permitted use in zone 4 is the same as Zone one which is for pedestrians strollers prams and wheelchairs apart from Runners People Under The Palms are generally just pretty much moving to the rhythm of the sea in Cove Pace in Cove time lots of families and couples choose to lay out their blankets and towels to relax and picnic in the shade in this Zone our tropical beach culture is different from Southern beaches like the Gold Coast and Sydney beaches Beach gos here at the Cove don't generally choose to make camp on the sand probably because of the availability of shade along the grassy Verge or maybe the prevailing Trade Winds make it tricky to keep umbrellas upright in the sand who knows but it's definitely a place where we should be able to totally relax and not have to worry about getting run over or avoiding Riders so there we are one 2 three and finally the reason we visit and live in Palm Cove zone four and all it has to offer right out to the Horizon there's only one TMR road sign for Palm Cove between the airport and the tourism Palm Cove billboard sign just before viva's [Music] Road there's signs to mariba Port Douglas Mossman M's beach holloways beach port Douglas Savannah way oh yeah Port Douglas skyrail armor Museum Port Douglas yores and of course Port Douglas kuranda Trinity Park Port Douglas Trinity Beach Clifton Beach Kara Beach Keith's fishing Museum even the first turnoff into Palm cave Beach doesn't rate a TMR sign is it any wonder that these days entrepreneurs with Visionary projects bypass us for Port Douglas come on Palm Cove can I suggest something that could be done now and that is a standard Highway size TMR sign at the Palm Cove Boulevard turnoff the same as the Clifton Beach one and all of the other Beach es this is a Queensland government responsibility and may even be something that can happen before the state election in October it would need to be assigned to Palm Cove Beach Palm Cove is on both sides of the highway of course so a sign just to Palm Cove would be misleading what do you reckon Craig can we pull this one off before the election further along the road we come to the Palm Cove billboard sign this sign is owned by tourism Palm Cove TPC TPC paid $10,000 for this sign in 2014 and no yearly rent is payable thanks to the negotiating skills of popular TPC president Wayne lapthorne back in the day Billboards like this on the Bruce and Captain Cook highways cost well in excess of $10,000 and that's payable every year Matthew Connelly's Expressway signs printed and directed that sign and 10 years down the track it's almost as bright and fresh as the day it was installed a tribute to the quality of your work Matthew bit of local history here Matthew grew up in the little cage behind the sign it was compulsorily acquired by the TMR for the Dual carriageway That was supposed to happen in the early '90s but TPC needs to maintain the billboard sign properly for many months last year a beach weddings Banner was allowed to deteriorate and flap around for months on end one of my neighbors described it as cringeworthy that this was allowed to happen in the intro I said that this vid is about how the Esplanade may be reconfigured to create the prominade and I did talk about that however one thing leads to another as they say and so it grew into something more than that but all relevant there is so much to Palm Cove that can't be met with simp and typical Destination Planning models there are energetic and enterprising people out there who come up with ideas like the wetti trail and the northern Beach's Leisure Trail and have made them happen we're a movie location to some people others have chosen The Cove as the location for one of the most important decisions of their life getting married Kai Nast thinks we're the finest beach in the world food critics rate Al Nunu as one of the finest restaurants in Australia Reef house is recognized as the best luxury accommodation in Australia and by the way employs over 50 people we're only half an hour away from an international airport yet enterprising Developers ERS choose Port Douglas why we're sleepwalking into mediocrity current developers have no incentive or disposition to engage with and deliver on visions and themes that can realize our full potential we're becoming a retirement village and we need to put a stop to that we need to build new enthusias M for Palm Cove so I appeal to the mayor and all counselors to support our Division 9 counselor and Deputy Mayor Brad OLS with his support of the Palm Cove prominade concept he has supported it since he was part of a prominade reference group in 2017 but until now has lacked the necessary support from his colleagues on Council while the close of the last century was marked by a clear road map for Palm cove's tourism industry the last 20 odd years have lacked any follow on to that strategy for our future this is not down to the skill of our planners this is because of restrictions imposed on our Council planners by previous councils the 2022 streetscape and Landscape ape plan was an opportunity to re-engage with the strategy plan from 30 years earlier unfortunately the current plan only went as far as acknowledging on page three that the 1992 plan existed and that it established the development of the palmco village into the premier beachfront Village destination it is today the current plan retaining two-way traffic into the forever doesn't achieve any of the guidelines referred to especially to promote improvements to the safety and quality of The Pedestrian environment the election of the Eden olds Council in March this year has given us another bite of the Cherry other options like the prominade can now be considered within the towards 2050 shaping can's growth strategy currently underway there is no hurry however to start digging holes with respect to any outcome that may emerge from that strategy there is urgency however for Council to do what it needs to do to protect options like the prominade until a well-considered plan informed by the 2050 growth strategy is agreed on the specific reason for the urgency is to preserve the option to create vehicle access from Oliver and mfor streets into karota close and French streets through lot 100 and preserve the option to create a car park on part of that site tourism tropical North Queensland TT andq invested significantly in bringing key stakeholders together and presenting tourism options to the Manning James Council in 2022 to be incorporated into planning for the Palm Cove Waterfront none of these recommendations made it into the current streetcape and Landscape plan none these are recommendations that tnq supports for Palm cve one adopt a vision of a future pedestrian esplanad a prominade as the future for Palm cave two create the required linkages for karota close and French Street East West through lot 100 to provide for traffic issues now and anticipated increases in traffic traffic as predicted in towards 2050 three extend the scope of the Palm Cove streetcape and Landscape master plan to create a Palm Cove master plan including a highway entrance statement four create a tourism vision and overlay of the Palm Cove Waterfront our mayor Amy Eden is personally invested in health and vitality and I believe that she has a sound grasp of the importance of protecting our natural resources as well as balancing budgets the prominade is the way forward for both the natural environment our residents our Waterfront businesses our tourism future and Council budgets Palm cave belongs to the the families of cans our vibrant Waterfront depends on visitors we need to stay vital and tourism focused there's a saying in Destination Planning involving tourism if you don't manage tourism tourism manages you we're not managing tourism at the moment in Palm Cove we on the road to mediocrity and Palm Cove doesn't deserve that fate our future is being determined by developers marketing houses and apartments to retirees we need investment that provides jobs and deliver services for our tourism future which is all about health and vitality in nature not forgetting our lovers of course Health vitality and r Rance in the tropics is what we're about pH that was a long one but be thankful it has been edited down from feature film length until next time I'm creating a map of space Sounds impressive and how's it going anything worth doing takes time so another word is not ping out when you're passionate about something time means nothing [Music]
2024-08-15 12:57
