More than 1000 people have already signed Jake Woodiwiss’ petition to have The Gap Bowl upgraded. My team and I are keen to support locals who take action on issues that matter to them, so that sort of initiative from a high school student caught our attention!
After a great event at The Gap Bowl on Sunday 6 November, it's clear how important The Gap Bowl is to the local community. Now we have to make sure the local Councillor Steve Toomey knows how much support there really is. Councillor Toomey has not ruled out supporting the upgrades, but Councillors can ignore issues like this if they’re not reminded enough. So my team and I have prepared a template email for you to send to his office. His team can ignore one email, but if he receives dozens or even hundreds of emails, it’s very hard for them to ignore.
Make sure you edit and personalise the email as much as possible. The more personalised the email, the more difficult it is to ignore, and the more impact it has.
This is what the community is calling on Councillor Toomey to do:
- Install proper lighting so the bowl is accessible and safe in the evening, and fix the drainage so the bowl isn't flooded and unusable for weeks after any significant rainfall.
- Expand the bowl to include a beginner-intermediate section so more people can use this amazing local facility, and resurface the existing bowl to repair recent flood damage.
Some of these requests are immediately achievable. Every local Councillor has a 'Footpath and Parks Trust Fund' of $450,000 each year to spend on upgrades like this. A single set of floodlights could cost as little as $90,000. Other upgrades, such as the extended section, will have to come from broader infrastructure funding in the Brisbane City Council, but are absolutely worthwhile community investment. These might take longer but should be committed to now so plans can get underway.
Jake makes an excellent case for why this community facility should be upgraded. One of his arguments is that while there are many public amenities and facilities for young children, there are hardly any for adolescents. He also argues that now that BMX is an Olympic sport, this upgrade might be what it takes to see a young Ryanite win Gold in BMX in 2032!