Light rail would be useless heart bypass for highway

WE are know its very hard to pinpoint the heart of the Gold Coast. Councillor Crichlow would like it to beat in Southport, Mayor Tate wishes it would just pop up in Surfers, Currumbinites think its hiding under their rock.

Robina and Pac Fair are in the market for a big one each, although the exact shade of red may need to match their decor, and it might only beat during trading hours. The casino beats 24/7, but not many believe it is a heart beat that would do you any lasting good.

Our city is made of a ribbon of beaches and shorelines, and that’s where the focus of civic activity and lifestyle is, that makes this one of the best integrated resorts in the southern hemisphere, if not the planet.

It’s a long ribbon with 35km of open beach and many more of quiet waters. It is linked together by the Gold Coast Highway, and it is our key beachside artery.

Who in their right mind would want to choke the Gold Coast Highway with a light rail system?

This is our only beach access artery that has to provide access for business owners and operators, employees, commuters, tourists, delivery drivers, tradies and service vehicles, taxis, buses, Iimo and Uber drivers, postal deliveries, old people, grey nomads, hipsters, teenagers, schoolies, toolies and schoolchildren.

Don’t forget bikers, cyclists, pedestrians, prams and dogs, church goers, families, lovers, hippie campers, hens’ day groups, fisherfolk, emergency services, police, council and telecom services, and parking patrols, street sweepers and garbage collectors.

Not to mention the next 500,000 residents and the underground water, stormwater, sewerage, gas and power lines. Almost all use a car. Most would like to park somewhere not too far away too, I guess.

Do you seriously think that’s going to change in the next 25 years? Until we can step into a booth and teleport to our chosen destination, the Gold Coast Hwy is our one and only option to get from A to B along our stunning beach and harbour front.

The light rail is to the Gold Coast Hwy as if you would stick a finger into a person’s aorta and leave it there. That’s no NIMBY problem. That’s more like an issue of life and death. Let’s put an option on the table that helps our community strengthen and develop, not strangle the life out it. CHRISTOPHER SMITH, CONCERNED BURLEIGH RESIDENT