First of all thank you to all of the 176 people who took the time to answer our questions in the 2022 Big Little Survey. This is a fairly good response rate of 9% of our ENEWS subscribers (or to be precise 8.8670681%).
Of the thirteen possible local projects we asked your opinion on, three were the most popular. These were…
1. A weekend multicultural laneway-based event
2. A weekend music-focused event
3. Lobbying for an extra public toilet for Wynnum Central
And clearly nobody’s that enthusiastic about electric vehicles!
Here are some quick summaries of the results, plus below these we have listed all the comments from respondents.
The Bad News (before the Good News – below)
| What do you like least about living here? |
| A reluctance to embrace change and move forward to a brighter future.
e.g. The Kitchener Park development vs Save Kougari. |
| absolutely nothing |
| All good |
| All the dogs, too many since covid |
| All the people who don’t want to see change and growth. |
| Areas near and around cafes, restaurants are not non smoking areas. I don’t like that people smoke in Edith Street near cafes etc. As an elderly person I have to be cautious when using pedestrian crossings as some drivers do not follow road rules. |
| Block of land in Bay Tce not mowed or cleared for more than 2 years, some footpaths in Akonna St not mowed – these areas are letting the rest of Wynnum down badly but Council will not take action. |
| Build up of traffic on Wynnum Road nr Plaza and nr Lindum station |
| Can’t get a cup of coffee after 2pm |
| Can’t swim in the bay |
| Central business district dead as a door nail |
| Certain types of people Reckless driving Lack of rentals |
| Considered a lower socioeconomic suburb by most other Brisbane suburbs. The high rise buildings seem out of place |
| Cost of living |
| Council rates are high. Buses only run hourly and are not well coordinated with train times. |
| crime |
| crime |
| Crime |
| Crime |
| Crime |
| Crime |
| crime |
| crime – lack of police presence. Youth’s disrespect for people and property |
| Crime and dated shops in wynnum central Toilets at Whale park are disgusting! |
| Crime rate seems to be going up and doesn’t feel as safe. We also have a few housing commission houses near us and now the only tenants that get put into these houses are people on drugs and people that just have screaming matches in their front yards. |
| Crime, lack of citywide priority for Wynnum’s central traffic concerns, poor / outdated streetscapes, |
| Crime, prison release population, not enough investment in commercial enterprise |
| Dagginess; need for more shade; limited range of cafes, restaurants and businesses on Esplanade; very limited public transport; free some stretches of Esplanade from parked and passing vehicles |
| Drivers not observing speed limits – particularly the 40km/h on Bay Terrace (not just in the school zone). Cafes with outdoor eating areas should be encouraged to hose down the pavements outside their premises, some are pretty disgusting. |
| Drugs and gangs |
| E scooters |
| Electric scooters on the walk along the esplanade |
| Electric scooters, dirty ATMs. |
| Empty shops, it is better then it was but I want more and less. More retail and less mortgage brokers, less beauty and hair salons. |
| EScooters, hoons driving the streets. Roaming teenagers that cause havoc. Break and enters, thefts of cars and parcel thefts from the roamers. Won’t come into Wynnum after dark or use the underground carpark if a lot of people are not around. Was accosted by a bloke begging in the carpark |
| Ever increasing housing developments and road traffic |
| Ex husband lives here too |
| Gentrification and over development/ high-rise apartments; rising rent and property values making it more difficult for locals to stay here. |
| Having to leave the village for items such as hardware, clothing, shoes etc |
| Heat |
| Homeless |
| Honing cars at night and enjoy scooters on the road |
| Hooning cars |
| Idiot drivers around |
| Idiots on the roads – loud noisy cars with stupid drivers |
| INCREASE IN HOMELESS PERONS AND CRIME |
| Increasing no of high rise building, units and housing developments |
| It’s along way to get public transport. |
| It’s still such an untapped opportunity on Bay Terrace and Edith & Florence Streets to really lift the local area |
| Lack of amenities. Shocking parking in wynnum. Need more toilets, more shops – that are open. The whole shopping centre has become a ghost town with many shops locked, shuttered, unopen and a blight on what was once the most beautiful little bayside town. Mind you, we probably won’t be here much longer, ‘cos we’ll get mowed down by an e-scooter, or we’ll fall over one, whilst traversing the littered footpaths. |
| Lack of car parking in Wynnum central |
| Lack of footpaths and efficient public transport |
| Lack of multi cultural diversity |
| Lack of public toilets in CBD. |
| Lately the scooters, they make a beautiful area ugly as they are dumped all along the foreshore, not enough speed bumps to slow traffic . More pedestrians crossings to the water eg..Berrima St no crossing & traffic on weekends now is very busy, we have elderly in our street that have trouble getting across the road .. |
| Lindum train crossing |
| Local federal politicians refusal to acknowledge climate change is a significant issue for the wynnum/ manly community. |
| Locals whinging and insinuations that Wynnum is like Logan. It’s far from it. |
| Location , the bay, nice neighbours |
| Low tide |
| Midges, midges, midges. Bus service could improve. |
| Need more good quality restaurants in Wynnum |
| need to boost the local retail – seems there are several groups, but lack co-ordination and self interests seem to take priority, over mutual benefit |
| Negative/smart alleck people |
| No complaint |
| No complaints |
| No complaints. |
| No enough parking |
| No health food or organic grocery stores |
| Noisy and inconsiderate traffic use on Esplanade. Inconsiderate usage by bike and scooter riders along sea wall walk. |
| Noisy dogs |
| Not a lot |
| Not enough shade trees along the waterfront. The difficulty in getting plant based food in cafes/restaurants. |
| Not enough trees. I want them everywhere. |
| Nothing |
| Nothing |
| nothing |
| Nothing |
| Nothing |
| Nothing |
| Nothing |
| Nothing |
| Nothing |
| Nothing |
| Nothing |
| Nothing |
| Nothing |
| Nothing |
| Nothing – love it here |
| nothing it’s all good |
| Nothing! |
| Nowhere near enough rubbish bins on esplanade. Too few toilets, showers etc., fresh water taps, on esplanade. Not enough parking, anywhere! That gawd-awful ‘vegas’ type tree lighting around the place ugh! Maybe try some artistic, stylish branch highlighting instead? Wildlife and traffic friendly of course! |
| Ns |
| O |
| Occasional graffiti and speeding in 40 zone |
| old buildings and cheaps shops |
| out dated nowhere for the young ones under 18 to go apart from the movies, |
| outdated streetscape appeal and when is the new wynnum plaza going to be built by? |
| Over development of units and higher buildings |
| Parking at Wynnum Central |
| Parking units in shopping areas. Closing of old shops |
| Parts of Wynnum Central look tired & run down & need updating. There are a lot of ‘less fortunate’ people roaming around in Wynnum which makes me feel unsafe. |
| Peace beauty and friendly people and |
| Peoples reluctance for change. The tyrannical hold some small business owners have over the area and it’s improvements |
| Perceived increase in vandalism and crime. Not sure if it is a thing but just seems less safe. The number of unit developments changing the face and character of the suburb. Would be good to have proper foot paths in all streets so perhaps need some lobbying of council. |
| Poor variety of shops. So much of the same things. |
| public transport |
| Ratbag people |
| Road conditions |
| Road quality and hoons |
| Road surfaces do need improving but otherwise love living here. |
| Scooter use, car hoons, very late night noise from entertainment areas, dogs in dog free areas where kids play, lazy litterers, lack of Stop signs at IGA and Woolies to allow pedestrians their right of way, few public toilets in main shopping area. |
| Scooter 🛴 |
| Scooters |
| Scooters abandoned on footpaths |
| Secure park and ride facilities lacking |
| Slow progress on improving the variety of shopping options. The lack of good dining options and no artisan bakeries. |
| Snobbery |
| so many cars coming in and out of wynnum |
| Starting to look like a housing estate. Green spaces being demolished and cookie cutter houses going up. |
| Still needs more variety of shops and also people need to support. Would be good to have a local green space for people to hang out & eat. Needs a consistent row of eateries to choose from |
| still some way to go around restaurant choices |
| the derilct shops left vacant for years like the roundabout in preston road and the empty shops in wynum central |
| The destruction of old homes to build McMansions or the letting them to rot – the Turret House |
| The disorganised development with large structures being built amongst lowest suburban streets. The new national storage development is a hideous atrocity in urban planning. A few blocks back from the water and in amongst residential zoning. It will make Wynnum feel like and industrial estate. It’s a bayside suburb! Equally random high rise units. Are we Cleveland? It seems chaotic and unsophisticated. Shouldn’t have been allowed to happen in such a piecemeal way. |
| The drug problems, high rent |
| The electric scooters, and the insane amount of op shops.. |
| We need more government resources and money spent on dealing with some of the more pressing social problems in our area and stop relying on charitable enterprises or worse profit-making job services for the disadvantaged in our suburb.. |
| The horrible railway crossing at Hemmet. |
| The lifestyle |
| The new scooters. Hate them Wasting money on volleyball in the pool in winter . Door catches on the handicap toilets not working. |
| The noise |
| The old shops and lack of variety for modern retail shops |
| The op shops and lack of nightlife |
| The Parking Central wynnum |
| The price of housing now. |
| The sea grass build up especially at the wading pool. Last year all along the front! |
| The smell at the foreshore. The mud on view. We should have a boardwalk with a floating group of restaurants at the front to the right of the wading pool ie the manly end. Not easy to launch Stand up paddle boards and kayaks. Need a ferry terminal to the city |
| The talk of a 15000 stadium going in at Kitchner Park as the traffic will increase and this is already a bad area when games are on |
| the unfortunate abundance of change-fearing whingers trying to hold back progress and slow the influx of happy young people |
| The Violet and orange scooters being offered. Nearly was run over by one of them. |
| The weirdos |
| The whingers |
| The Wynnum whingers |
| There isn’t anything not to like. |
| Things can be a bit scary around Wynnum Central train station at night. |
| Through traffic in Glenora st instead of putting it along Berrima st where the business outlets there and in Tingal Rd would benefit |
| too many gyms, hairdressers real estates |
| Too many people |
| Too many weekend visitors. |
| Too much of the same shops |
| Traffic and crime |
| Traffic and parking is getting worse |
| Traffic getting very heavy, houses being pulled down & 2 or more ugly dwellings being built on the same block. |
| Traffic increase |
| Trains hooting every time they approach a station! |
| Trains not running some weekends. Many shops on Bay Terrace require a facelift to attract more custom. |
| Trying to find a new rental is difficult and stressful. 🙁 Not sure if we’ll be able to afford to buy a house in a few years once we have a deposit saved. |
| Under capitalised waterfront. Better splash park more integrated sea pool. Invigorate pandanus by bringing in sand |
| Unfortunately we have stopped going to the local Woolworths and Coles. My children have been exposed to local youths and adults who are swearing, smoking and sometimes intoxicated outside of these locations. This has occurred almost every time we shopped at these stores. For that reason I avoid taking them as much as possible and choose click and collect or to shop elsewhere. |
| Very little. That’s why I’ve lived here all my life. Parking can be limited sometimes. |
| Very sad that BCC failed the community in building a Woolworths in what could have been a lovely Central Park in Wynnum. There was no consultation! Not impressed with the library either. What did BCC do with the money? I didn’t see it go back into the local community! This could have been a great venue for community gardens and sustainable living exemplars. |
| We still have to travel to capalaba or carindale to get certain things, because Wynnum has not got what we want, they just have to much of the same… |
| Weeds in public places, in gutters, along kerbs. Needs a good clean up (cf Redlands) |
| Wynnum Central is good, but would love for it to be better activated to make it worthwhile. On Sundays it is absolutely dead everywhere! |
The Good News
| What do you like most about living here? |
| Access to Esplanade. Smaller shops, Wider variety of shops, shady areas, some seating |
| Access to small shops and waterfront for walking. |
| Access to the bay, living in a self sufficient town while being close to the city. |
| Access to the water front. Space and lots of trees |
| Always lived here, love the bay breezes |
| Area is changing and improving all the time. Seaside breezes and increasing opportunities |
| Bay and beautiful houses |
| Bayside |
| Bayside and bay breezes; range of services; quality of library: laid back: Esplanade; rail stations; greenspace |
| Bayside breeze, open spaces, green spaces, Perry’s fruit shop, Perry’s butcher shop, collective store |
| Bayside, town-like atmosphere. Local community. |
| Beach |
| Beach living |
| Beautiful breezes all year round and friendly atmosphere |
| Being able to walk along the Esplanade |
| Being close to the water. |
| Better temperature than the western suburbs, good railway access, easy access to motorway, seaside views t |
| Climate |
| Close to all facilities, parks and near the waterfront. |
| Close to Bay & handy to work |
| Close to coast |
| Close to nature, not over developed, ample shops, train line, local cinema. |
| Close to the bay and shops |
| close to the ocean |
| Close to the water and the community feel about it |
| close to the water; easy access to everything you need; relaxed lifestyle |
| Close to the waterfront, lots of cafes, New physio, love the op shops. Both coles and woolies close together. Greenery in the streets. Clean streets. Waterfront gardens kept clean and tidy. Love it |
| Close to water and shops both Wynnum & Manly |
| Close to water, within walking distance of Wynnum central for shops, bars & movies |
| Closeness to amenities |
| Community |
| Community and the bay |
| community and the location |
| Community feel |
| Community feel |
| Community spirit |
| Community spirit. |
| Convenience to shopping, transport , cooler cleaner air, friendly area, well maintained public areas, variety of shopping and cafe/ restaurants, waterfront family and group areas, easy walking and biking, attractive for visitors, council provided exercise for seniors, feeling safe, improved streetscapes with maintained gardens, |
| Cool fresh bayside breezes, lovely views, nice people & beautiful homes on decent sized blocks of land with pretty gardens. Our area has lots of simple beauty both in the natural surroundings & old homes with character. |
| Cycling and walking on the waterfront; mixture of shops and cafes within the CBD and waterfront. Great to have our own cinema and having new restaurants and bars opening up is fantastic for our area. Good that there are no really high-rise buildings on the waterfront. Train access to city is good, as is access to motorway and airport. Who would want to live anywhere else?! |
| Dan murphy, Pete Cummings, Clive Palmer freedom forever |
| Ease of getting around, shopping and the waterfront views |
| Ease of getting to anywhere but less traffic in local area compared to other Brisbane areas |
| Easy access to airport, city, cultural events and most things I need I can get locally. |
| Easy access to the beautiful bayside foreshore, great new cinemas, food trucks on the foreshore, Wynnum Up Late, the lovely community spirit and the fantastic Wynnum Fringe Festival. |
| Environment, pace of life, good distance from city. |
| Environment. Proximity to bay. Convenience of nearby services ie Dr, Chemist, PO, Transport Dept, Banks, QML etc. And speciality shops, cafes, coffee shops, train, bus services. |
| everything |
| Everything |
| Everything The bay Seafood 🦞 cafes the collective and other cool shops the breeze and the community |
| everything – the bay, the new gardens in the streets, the new shops, new coffee shops and restaurants, movie theatre, community exercise classes in the parks and community hall, a feeling that Wynnum is on the cusp of being even more special than it already is. |
| Everything. Have lived here all of my life and would not live anywhere else. |
| Foreshore. Open shopping center. Different to other shopping 🛍️ |
| friendly and waterfront |
| Friendly place and the bay |
| FRIENDLY VILLAGE AMOSTPHERE |
| Friendly, and not too crowded, yet |
| great area – |
| Great life style |
| Great place to get around. walking paths. Sea breezes on a hot day. |
| How beautiful and ever changing the bay is. Kayaking on the bay. That there is a mix of old and new. Great coffee (Dramanti). |
| i just do |
| I like it because it is a comunity |
| It’s Home! |
| Less Covid! |
| lifestyle |
| Lifestyle |
| lifestyle and less traffic |
| Lifestyle. Esplanade, water play and playgrounds for the kids. |
| Living by the Bay, Village type atmosphere, The potential for more retail and food outlets.. Movies up the street..basically nearly everything we need is here .. |
| Living by the water and having a vibrant old fashioned shopping precinct, both within walking distance of my home. Excellent public transport to all major shopping centres and city. The natural environment and bay breezes make living here very pleasurable. |
| Living very close to the sea and the parks that are on the fore shore |
| Local people look after each other |
| Locality |
| Love living close to the sea, and all the local nature. |
| Love the sea breeze, walking along the water front. Restaurants are top quality |
| Love wynnum! Paradise in the city |
| Lovely precinct ie Wynnum, manly, Lota with so much potential and services in local area make living here easy. The bay and esplanade another monumental attraction- the reason we live here. The train line. Proximity to the Gateway. The bay and nearby islands. |
| Manly, the waterfront |
| modern buildings |
| My Mum and Dad moved here in 1950 and I’ve been here ever since, wouldn’t live anywhere else. Beautiful area close to the water. |
| N/A |
| N/a |
| Na |
| near the bay |
| Near the water and has basics like drs bakery coffee shops supermarkets but needs more for sundays |
| Near the water, small community, good schools, family orientated, safe , some things to do |
| Never too crowded, |
| Options |
| Peace and quiet |
| Proximity to everything |
| Proximity to the bay with easy access to public transport The busy-ness of the parks and walkways along the Bay. The lower temperature than the city. The fact that I can get all I need within a 5 minute drive from my house. |
| Proximity to the waterfront |
| Quiet neighbourhoods close to lots of parks and playgrounds. |
| Quiet, peaceful, close to the beach. Shopping centre in walking distance. |
| quite |
| relaxed yet increasingly vibrant seaside lifestyle, all within easy walking/scooter distance. more and more local amenities reduce the desire to travel outside the local area. |
| Relaxed, close to water |
| Safe environment, open space and great foreshore facilities available for all. Cooler sea breezes. Easy access to, rail to city transport. Community atmosphere with activities organised, eg markets, health and fitness programs, movies in the parks, playgrounds and picnic space free of charge. A great place to live we are very fortunate, please keep it this way. No need to go expensive or up market, keep the area available for families and outdoor loving people. Please don’t think about another Gold Coast environment. This is a marine environment hopefully for recreational use for all. |
| sea breeze, easy going nature, views |
| Sea breezes |
| sea breezes and close to the bay |
| Sea Breezes and cooler temps in summer |
| Sea Breezes. Lower population |
| Sea, wildlife, cafes, waterfront, |
| Seaside parks and water front |
| Sense of community. So much on offer that is free and available to all- the waterfront, the parks, the council gym equipment, the friendliness. |
| Shopping, eating out and living in a lovely environment. I don’t need to leave Wynnum Manly for anything I need |
| Small community vibe |
| Sun sea always a cool breeze |
| temperature, views, |
| The Bay |
| The bay |
| The bay |
| The bay |
| The Bay and beachfront |
| The Bay breeze |
| The bay breeze |
| the bay breezes |
| The Bay front |
| The Bay lifestyle |
| The bay views. The bay breezes |
| The bay, need I say more? Nice village community feel. |
| The bay, parks, cafes |
| The bay, quiet area. |
| The Bay, the atmosphere, the community. |
| The bay, the foreshore walking, local cinemas, relaxed lifestyle |
| The Bay, the lack of through traffic, the Village feel, the library (pity it cost us Supa IGA though) the Councillor – Good onya Peter, the Op shops (though KMart is often cheaper !! – someone should tell them) |
| The bayside, small local community |
| The climate, the sea breeze, the proximity to shops, etc. |
| The close proximity of everything that a retiree needs to have a very fulfilling retirement. |
| the closeness to the sea |
| the community & pace of living. Also pleased that entertainment amenities’ (esp restaurant choices) are increasing but still room for more |
| The community spirit and the growing number of quality restaurants and bars |
| The community, the physical environment (foreshore etc.), the green spaces, the transport links. |
| The environment, proximity to the beachfront and the village atmosphere |
| The esplanade, greens spaces, easy travel to shops, walkable, bars and cafes |
| The feeling of community |
| The foreshore life, close to public transport, |
| The foreshores and marina. The close community feel. Shop local community. |
| The laid-back atmosphere and sea breezes, having essential services at our doorstep |
| The morning walks along the water and Convenience of shops and great Businesses 5mins away. |
| The ocean breezes, friendly people, parks and sporting grounds. I especially love the opp shops and community services. |
| The pelicans and the bay |
| The people, atmosphere, the bay side, village living. |
| The proximity of everything. We try to buy everything local and can walk to most places including the beachfront. |
| The proximity to the bay. |
| The relaxed, outdoorsy lifestyle |
| The small community and access to waterfront and other “over 60s” services. |
| The small village feel…although this is changing with all the unit developments. Access to public transport. Access to a variety of food options and services. Water and bushland close by The op shops. Georgious. |
| The water |
| The water |
| The water and bay views |
| The water I love to walk along the waterfront every day |
| The water, utilities, the wonderful friendly people! |
| The water. |
| The waterfront |
| The waterfront is what we love the most. Food trucks and |
| The waterfront, community, its handy to get unto the gateway, seabreezes, lots of positives.. |
| The weather Good choice of restaurants Nice parks Esplanade |
| Village atmosphere |
| Village atmosphere |
| Village feel and close to the bay |
| Village feel, seaside lifestyle, community focus |
| Walk to waterfront… |
| Walking along waterfront |
| Walking beside the bay Good community feel |
| walking or driving along the bay perfect. |
| Water |
| Water front |
| Water front |
| Water, community, changing atmosphere (positive) |
| Waterfront |
| Waterfront |
| Waterfront precinct and friendly community |
| We have everything so close to us. eg shops, ambulance, doctors, transport dept, centre link, train stations,airport (and most of all the beautiful bayside) |
Main image: Tom Sekula on Unsplash
