Mall man to run for mayor
REID Schirmer has confirmed he will run for mayor in next year's election due to the positive response he has received about his idea to turn the CBD into a walk-through mall.
Through responses from NewsMail articles and conversations with the community, Mr Schirmer said he felt confident that his proposal would be welcomed by the people of Bundaberg.
"I have had positive feedback personally through text messages, Facebook messages, new friend requests and face-to-face conversations," he said.
Reader poll
Yes or no - do you want Bundy's CBD to become a mall?
This poll ended on 27 November 2015.
Current Results
Yes
35%
No
64%
This is not a scientific poll. The results reflect only the opinions of those who chose to participate.
"I have also read the comments from the newspaper articles and where there are objections, I do have a response for those."
Mr Schirmer said those NewsMail readers who believed that malls did not work in other towns, like Townsville and Gladstone, should not fear the same demise for this region.
"Bundaberg is different and you can't make a comparison. We have a unique situation where we have great potential with tourists." Mr Schirmer said he was also aware of the concerns relating to lack of parking space if the CBD area, from Targo to Barolin Sts, was transformed into the walk-through mall.
"By addressing those concerns I am proposing a multi-storey car park," he said.
"My answer would be the car park next to the IGA. It is already used as a car park and would still be walking distance to the CBD which would get traffic out of there. Yes, you would need to pay for parking but I would be anticipating charging reasonable rates."
"I admit I probably didn't think about that enough but since the article has come out I think that yes, we can accommodate that and do it in a very positive way while encouraging other means of transport like shuttle buses. It is about providing good choices."
Mr Schirmer said health was his first and foremost concern and wants to create the CBD mall into an environmentally-friendly and health-conscious space.
"Bundaberg's CBD is a highly congested and polluted area that will become worse with population growth.
"People's health is a responsibility that the local council should take seriously."
