PLANS to walk the full length of Bulcock Street yesterday and talk with every business – owners and staff – about things they would like to change became a little unstuck for a good reason.

Everyone was keen to chat and all had strong views about the issues that mattered to them and were keen to share. Such was the level of engagement that I only covered a fraction of the ground I had planned to visit.

I will be back. Watch FaceBook (Ashley Robinson for Mayor) for details.

I have a special connection with Caloundra. I chaired the Caloundra Events Centre board for five years, and oversaw the construction of the Currimundi Special School hydrotherapy pool. I also served on the Henzell Foundation charity board.

I was pleased to catch up with former Caloundra Chamber of Commerce president and business operator Graeme Bowden who has been a book seller in Bulcock Street since the mid-1980s.

Also a pleasure to speak with Judy Smith of K. Smith and Son Jewellers, whose family has operated in Bulcock Street since 1976, and equally smartly-dressed assistant Tracey Tuckerman.

The women at Century 21 were not the only ones to express concerns about safety around the three-storey carpark which attracts its share of undesirables.

And just about everyone had a view, and most but not all, negatively, about the operation of parking meters in the town.

That’s an issue that requires more information and consideration as I continue my Caloundra Walk and Talk tour.