I was pleased to put my best foot forward with the Minister for Transport, Rachael Nolan, by getting the first stage of the off-road cycleway underway on the east of Lake Street and adjacent to the new Regional Tennis Centre. This partnership will position Cairns for the future with a cycle-way that will eventually go all the way from Palm Cove to Gordonvale.

The issues with businesses north of Airport Drive have been resolved as have safety issues re crossing the highway. Children, mums and dads getting out of cars and crossing the road near Muddies Playground will be safer too with the new design, with the Esplanade become one-way in that area and more parking available. Any trees that must be removed will be replaced with two advanced specimens.

It's disappointing that there continues to be some opposition to this project; 5 Councillors actually voted against proceeding with the cycle-way, despite work being well underway. Quite clearly some people are unaware of the increase in cycling that has occurred in other cities, both in Australia and overseas, when locals and tourists know that they can ride safely and quickly. Yes, we need to continue our cycle-way strategies to fix problem areas, particularly near schools, and that will be a priority too in budgets.

Check out how beautiful the track is in the north Cairns section where it is shaded by a lovely avenue of trees, creating an excellent image of what the finished 6.5 kilometres will look like when the dozens of new trees mature.