A ring of park lands is supposed

to encircle the central part of the city in which I live. 

Unlike almost every other city in the world the central part of the city was planned from the start. It is laid out in a grid - a square mile of each on either side of the "river" which runs through the centre. (The "river" is barely worthy of the name. It is not much more than a creek.)  

When the city was planned the park lands were put there for a purpose. Colonel William Light knew what he was doing. The park lands are supposed to be there for the benefit of the people - "in perpetuity".

Successive governments have eroded them. The first thing they put in place was a cemetery. That is perhaps understandable. Other buildings have gone up over time but there has always been some recognisable park land left.

The problem has been that this has sometimes been used in ways that were never intended. Colonel Light never saw a Formula One racing car. The idea of such a monstrosity racing around the streets would no doubt have horrified him. 

More recently there has been another "motorsport" event in the park lands. It was loved by some and hated by others. It closed off a large portion of the park lands to the general public for many months at a time. "Temporary" buildings were erected at great cost each year - because some people recognised that the park lands were not for building on.  Others argued that the buildings should be there permanently. They almost won. 

The event in the city has now, quite rightly, been abandoned. For all the claims of how popular it was and how much money it brought into the state the reality is that it clashed with a much more popular "Fringe" and "Festival of Arts" events. It disrupted the lives of people who lived and worked in the city - who had lived and worked there long before the event was brought in. 

The "track" is still there in the park lands and now some are claiming it should be "preserved". They claim it has some sort of cultural significance. Others say it simply adds to the heat surrounding the city in summer and trees should be planted to offset this.

I am of course of the latter camp. It is well known I have no time for "motor sport". I don't see it as a "sport" at all. I don't care how much money it brings into the state. We can find other ways to bring money in.  I know we need to plant more trees too, a lot more trees. The park lands have lost far too many trees in recent years. 

It should still be possible to preserve the playing fields on the park lands and plant more trees. The race track though is not a playing field. It is not grass. It is tarmac or bitumen. Many people see it as an eyesore. It is not just that however. It adds to the heat in summer. We need that even less than before. 

There is only one reason to preserve the race track and it is the very reason it should be removed. If it was left there and, even worse, maintained then people could agitate for a return to motor sport  in the place which Colonel Light saw as a quiet place for people to relax in. 

Now surely that is something worth preserving?