Dear Editor,
It is well documented that a by-pass around small towns has a devastating effect on businesses relying on passing trade. We have great concerns with the proposed by- pass for Parkes.
It is easy to say towns get over it, and eventually some do, but it takes years to do so. You only have to go to Holbrook and Yass to see the effect.
Even if Parkes gets over it, there would still be people who lost their jobs or their businesses came under jeopardy. These are the people employed by the fast food outlets, caravan parks, motels, hotels, service stations, restaurants and the like. Maybe they will get over it by moving away. In turn this loss of population will affect school numbers and have a flow on affect to other businesses including Council and rates revenue.
As for why we need a by-pass, the RMS and large freight companies are pushing for bigger capacity trucks on the highways, making us wonder if they will support in- land rail.
Ratepayers/voters in Ballerdee Lane, as well as Thomas and Moulden Streets, and Shallow Rush area are set to be greatly af- fected by the proposed by-pass. We will be subject to all sorts of new impacts that will affect our lifestyles including property values, noise, pollution and maybe even jobs or financial security.
We would like someone from the RMS to organise a meeting for all affected residents to give us an opportunity to convey our concerns about this potentially life changing event.
Yours faithfully Mark Ross
(Letter shortened – editor)