Traffic buy-in critical
AS few as a thousand spectators who refuse to embrace public transport during the Commonwealth Games would be enough to cause traffic chaos, according to a leading transport expert.
Associate professor Matthew Burke, who heads Griffith University’s Cities Research Institute, said while he did not expect “mass disaster” on the roads during the Games, the success of the event’s transport plan relied on people “doing the right thing”.
“I’m pretty confident (in the plan) … (but) this is not a dictatorship,” he said.
“We can’t force people on to public transport but we will suffer quickly a death by a thousand cuts (if people don’t change their habits).
“At some of these venues, it would take just 1000 people doing the wrong thing to push us into a position where things become a problem.
“There are going to be warnings and warnings for people to do the right thing but if a large percentage of people ignore that, we’re in big trouble.”
The warning comes after angry tradies criticised a Get Set for the Games advertisement that used an animated builder riding to work on a pink children’s bike to highlight the need for locals to rethink how they travel during the event.
Hundreds of other residents posted online comments suggesting it was unreasonable to expect them to forgo their cars during the Games.
Get Set for the Games technical director Rose Macarthur, speaking at the launch of the advertising campaign on Monday, said residents were being urged to adapt a couple of car journeys a week to help “keep the Gold Coast moving”.
“We’re not asking people to bunker down every day (of the Games),” said Ms Macarthur, who had a similar role at the 2012 London Olympics and 2014 Glasgow Commonwealth Games.
“It’s about working out the small changes you can make … maybe adapt just a couple of journeys a week.
“Maybe walk to a local shop rather than drive to the supermarket. If you can do a 45minute journey by bike, it’s beautifully flat here and fantastic weather.
“We’ve never hosted a Commonwealth Games on the Coast so of course there’s going to be that (feeling of) trepidation … (but) we’re in an absolutely brilliant place compared to the London Olympics or Glasgow Commonwealth Games.”
Asked what would happen if a majority of people ignored the message, Ms Macarthur said: “I think their journeys will take longer and they will experience congestion where they perhaps haven’t before.
“There will be temporary changes in road conditions as well so they might find their route is different … and will find out very quickly that hosting the Games brings changes to the (road) network they may not have imagined.”
A Transport and Main Roads spokeswoman said the GC2018 public transport timetables would be released in the next month, along with more information about the online Games Journey Planner.