Beach bikes angst

An increase in off-road motorbikes accessing sections of Secret Harbour Beach and several close calls with pedestrians has concerned residents, who are calling for a police presence to put a stop to the vehicles.

TheTelegraph reported on the issue of off-road vehicles accessing the beach in May after Secret Harbour resident James Templeman said he had become fed up with the dangerous behaviour of drivers.

“Since then there have been measures put in place to block access to four-wheel-drive vehicles which seem to have worked and numbers have dropped,” he said.

“It is the motorbikes that are now the real issue and their numbers have spiked in recent weeks.

“My friend’s dog was run over last month and is still limping after undergoing surgery.

“The bike rider stopped at the scene but would not identify himself and my friend did not report the incident because he knew nothing would happen.”

Mr Templeman said he no long-er took his dog walking along the beach in the evenings and of-ten had to jump into bushes to avoid being hit along footpaths.

Warnbro MLA Paul Papalia has been working with Mr Templeman to solve this issue and believes a police presence is the only way forward.

“We are calling on the City of Rockingham and the police to work together to enforce the law and respond to this issue which has been plaguing the community for many years,” he said.

“The bikes use the beach on a regular basis.

“It would be very simple to stage a few operations, impound some bikes and impose fines.

“The moment you start enforcing the law is the moment when people take note and the behaviour changes.” Both Mr Templeman and Mr Papalia have urged people to report any incidents they see on the beach as frequently as they happen.

“Unless it is reported, the police have no idea and they won’t know how big the problem really is,” Mr Papalia said.