Stop the Boardwalk at South Trigg Beach

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For information about Trigg Beach, see FriendsOfTriggBeach.org

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City of Stirling Council elections - Coastal Ward - position statements from the candidates on the boardwalk - see here.

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You did it!  Thanks to all of the community who worked so hard – writing submissions, sending emails, liking our Facebook page and letting your local Councillors know about it – resulting in the resounding DEFEAT of the ‘boardwalk’ proposal!  Well done, people of Stirling – your voice was heard and this fragile dune system has been saved!  Special thanks to the great majority of Councillors who listened to you and MADE IT HAPPEN by knocking the project completely on the head.  We have so many others to thank… especially the boffins who provided expert opinions and the people – many of whom we don’t even know – who showed up at the meeting to ask questions of Council.  We will be thanking so many individuals and groups… and will share more with you as soon as the dust settles…  in the meantime…  CELEBRATE !

On a serious note, let’s give full credit to Stirling Councillors for listening to ratepayers.  We thank Councillor Terry Tyzack for his support, very early in process he saw the financial flaws in the so-called ‘boardwalk’ proposal and gave us hope that we might one day prevail.  At the Council meeting we heard compelling arguments from him and also from Cr Rod Willox, who thought it more likely to cost $2.5m when consultants and inflation are taken into account – and would rather spend that sort of money to fix up existing buildings on reserves!  Cr Giovanni Italiano echoed his concerns, Cr David Lagan had many concerns and was disturbed by the “massaging” of the numbers, and we heard passionate words from Cr Elizabeth Re about ‘listening to the people’.  We also thank Cr Keith Sargent, Cr Joe Ferrante and Deputy Mayor David Michael for their ‘no’ votes (all of them voted against the proposal at Committee), and Mayor David Boothman for his vote and his excellent handling of the debate.

Councillors who did NOT listen, and kept spouting the same arguments predictably were Cr Jason Robbins and Cr Stephanie Proud.  And we were completely unconvinced by Cr Bill Stewart’s last-minute ‘conversion’ – leaving his colleagues to sink with the ship, despite having spoken in favour of the proposal (he still thinks we don’t know the difference between a real protective boardwalk like in Tassie or Rotto, and the metal and concrete rollercoaster proposed for South Trigg) and making a last ditch attempt to amend the motion to slip it through rather than have it voted down.

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Read our full submission to the City of Stirling outlining all of the reasons why the so-called 'boardwalk' is a really bad idea! STB submission.

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An important preliminary analysis of the City of Stirling's options - showing how expensive and damaging they are - giving cost/benefit values to coastal habitat using a survey of 23 Australian and 7 global studies, by Prof Paul Hardisty. See the true costs here.

Important information about native and weed mapping data, conducted 2011-2013, for the southern coastal strip of Bush Forever Site 308 (Trigg Bushland and Adjacent Coastal Reserve), and the complexity of a vegetation structure and function that is unique for the whole of the City of Stirling coastal strip north of Scarborough, by Dr Judy Fisher – read the extract.

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Want more information? Here is a map of the proposal, as advertised in the Stirling Times by the City of Stirling - view - and how it would cut through the reserve - view. And here is the experience with a similar 'boardwalk' in Yanchep - view.

Thank you for helping to save part of Bush Forever Site 308 - the only natural Perth beach that goes from shoreline to woodland, with nested parabolic dunes. Link here for more information on the amazing topography of this area. Link here for more information about the history of the South Trigg Reserve, and here for a published scientific overview article.

Want some more ideas? Stay tuned to the progress of this campaign by liking us on Facebook: facebook.com/SaveTriggBeach.

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Stirling Spin?
We’ve had some interesting posts on our Facebook page – from a few not-so-objective people!  Here’s the kind of spin they are spreading:

Spin:  the majority would be built in existing road reserve”
Fact:  Completely incorrect.  Only a small fraction of the City of Stirling’s ‘preferred option’ is in road reserve.  The rest is in Class A Reserve, or former road reserve that is pending annexure to the Class A Reserve as per unanimous Council resolution of 1/5/12.  Only the option of a boardwalk immediately adjacent to the West Coast Highway – which is NOT the City’s preferred option – is significantly within road reserve.  And ALL of the options are fully within Bush Forever boundaries.  Want to check?  Download the map here.  (Source maps here and confirmation letter here.)
(By the way, we have been pushing for a major upgrade to the existing path for a long time – the City of Stirling has done absolutely nothing to improve this path for years.  Maybe they want a good excuse to build a concrete and metal walkway – and call it a boardwalk!)

Spin:  ‘this is an at grade path for the majority of it, no sky bridge as is being portrayed’ and ‘perhaps some viewing platforms… no need to elevate a thing’
Fact: The Summary of Key Issues says the boardwalk ‘would be highly visible.” There is no intention to make the boardwalk inconspicuous; in fact, the suggestion is that the boardwalk should be very visible in order to draw more people into the area (p6).  In other words, a tourist trap.  And by the way, the photo we are using of the Yanchep skybridge is not our invention - CoS actually wants to use it as a model for the elevated sections: ‘the preferred boardwalk construction is… similar to that at Yanchep.’ (CoS Minutes 30/10/12 p314).

Spin:  “What use is a pristine dune system to most people if its closed off?”
Fact:  Pristine bushland preserves plants and animals that would otherwise not be able to survive unless their ecosystem is left intact.  Bushland is not just for our personal enjoyment!  However, at South Trigg there are already three fenced paths that you can walk through, so it’s hardly ‘closed off’.  Cutting it into smaller pieces with ground level walkways – four meter wide corridors – and elevated paths and lookouts where rubbish will be dropped, council workers and others needing to walk underneath for cleaning and maintenance, fires and other antisocial behaviour – is certain to permanently degrade this area.   By the way, the use of the word ‘pristine’ is not accidental – Bush Forever flora plots have identified areas classed as ‘pristine’ by botanists. See here for details!

Stop the Trigg Boardwalk

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The Stop the Boardwalk Action Group was formed when there was yet another proposal to build a boardwalk through the Class A Reserve and Bush Forever site at the South Trigg Reserve. We are supported by members from the Friends of Trigg Bushland, Friends of Star Swamp, Stirling Natural Environment Coastcare, Urban Bushland Council as well as local residents.

For more information contact the Stop the Boardwalk Action Group at stoptheboardwalk@gmail.com

stop the boardwalk