IT’S OUR CITY, LET’S MAKE THIS WORK

THE wait is over and Commonwealth Games bosses have gone open kimono on the long-awaited transport plan which will show how Gold Coasters will get around during the biggest event in our history.

It comes as no surprise to find we’re being told to avoid the M1, plan our trips in advance and use public transport as much as possible.

The key points of the transport plan are:

• Trains, trams and buses will run 24 hours a day, trains will run every 10 minutes in both directions

• Speeds on the M1 will be reduced from 110 to 100km/h between Logan and Gaven and from 100km/h to 90km/h between the Gateway merge at Eight Mile Plains in Brisbane to Logan.

We are now just 58 days out from the biggest event Australia will host this decade and the ball is in our court.

Games bosses have spent the past three years developing these plans and, for better or worse, this is the plan which this city must live by if we are to avoid the gridlock which we all fear.

It has been nearly 10 years since the then-premier Anna Bligh announced the Coast would bid for the Games and more than six years since we won the rights to host it.

No person could claim ignorance that this was coming nor that traffic would be a serious issue which we would all have to deal with.

We echo Games boss Peter Beattie’s message to motorists and residents to read the maps, pay attention to when the best and worst times to travel are and plan your movements.

It is imperative that the Gold Coast put on the best show it can during these 12 days.

This is your chance to show the city off to an audience of 1.5 billion people across the world and the last thing we want them to see are scenes of total gridlock because churlish and improvident drivers refused to change their ways for a handful of days.

This is a great city, there’s a reason why we love the Gold Coast and call it home and this is our chance to deliver the world the view of a modern, cosmopolitan city which, despite our geographic and historic transport issues, can host an event of this magnitude.

It is incumbent upon all of us to make it a success, to allow this city and its economy to thrive and capitalise on the dream to become a place where future events of this size and prestige can be staged in the future.

Games Minister Kate Jones writes in today’s Gold Coast Bulletin that more than $1 billion has been spent on transport upgrades to the city as a direct result of the Games.

She revealed for the first time that a major reason behind the Games bid was to allow the Coast to get these long-awaited and long-overdue infrastructure improvements.

The Games will last just 12 days but its legacy will last decades.

It’s up to you to choose what role you play in that.