Eight Months Later, The Wheels Finally Begin Turning
Illawarra Mercury
Wednesday April 4, 2007
A PROPOSAL to put trams through the centre of Wollongong has gone nowhere despite having the support of community leaders when first raised last August.
Radio broadcaster David Gorr and community worker Suellen Heycott, who proposed the idea, said it was received with enthusiasm when presented, but had not been adequately investigated since.Lord Mayor Alex Darling, who attended the August meeting, said yesterday the plan may be difficult to implement but should still be investigated."I never knock back any idea, but I don't know how it would work," he said. "It has a novelty aspect ... it would be a tourist attraction."Also at the meeting was South Coast Labour Council secretary Arthur Rorris who said yesterday a tram system would serve as a clean, cheap and aesthetically pleasing solution to the city's transport woes."Apart from the economic benefits, it would add character to the city," he said.Director of the University of Wollongong's Innovation Campus David Fuller said Wollongong needed to address its transport issues but there were alternatives to trams."(Trams) might not be as appropriate as some of the other forms of transport, but I'm certainly supportive of something that moves masses of people around the city in a comfortable and cheap way."The university's community relations co-ordinator Jan Sullivan, who also attended the meeting, said she considered the idea visionary."Personally, I thought the idea was certainly worth consideration."
© 2007 Illawarra Mercury