Janet Mays

Perhaps our Ward 1 Councillors could comment on why it has taken so long to address the issue of CCTV in Katoomba (BMG 18.04.07). If the Katoomba Chamber of Commerce and Community (KCCC) have been waiting on meaningful Council input/assistance on this issue since 2000, it is understandable they have decided to go it alone and install CCTV.
Research indicates however that the installation of CCTV will not necessarily deter crime in main street Katoomba and it will not alleviate the economic problems being experienced by Katoomba retailers. Nor will it address the root causes of the alleged vandalism and thuggery.

This is not Sydney, London or New York. Surely we are not so disaffected as a community that we can’t seek alternate solutions to the proposed CCTV. We need to take our communities back and steer them on a better course. An integrated Katoomba revitalistion program is urgently required.

A revitalisation program that includes community input, graffiti management and a strategic mix of retailing that is more inviting to consumers. Perhaps a mall area with more “after hours” activities for young, old and in-betweens; an appropriate Police presence; rent relief for new business enterprises; symmetry in shop front facades and on the spot tourist information. In other words, a program that renews Katoomba and creates a safe, welcoming, vibrant and clean township for us all.

Let’s dust off the Katoomba Charrette, get together, and as a community decide what’s best for Katoomba, before CCTV is placed in Katoomba by the KCCC. Do the residents of the Mountains really want CCTV in Katoomba? Or do we leave it to a few to decide for us all?

Anyone interested?

Letter published in the Blue Mountains Gazette 9 May 2007