Link roads can’t cope
THE city’s major coastal highway and its east-west links are at bursting point and the entire network is destined to grind to a halt within 12 years.
The Bulletin’s Golden Age campaign, council mapping and data from the government and RACQ shows for the first time the shocking extent of the city’s traffic congestion.
Respondents to the Golden Age survey regard the Gold Coast Hwy (29 per cent) as the city’s most shocking transport route, followed by Smith St (24 per cent), Bundall Rd (20 per cent) and Reedy Creek Rd (11 per cent).
RACQ head of public policy Dr Rebecca Michael said major government funding had to be injected to ensure the city’s most congested roads did not clot.
“Higher traffic volumes are already being experienced around the Gold Coast, but specifically in the northern corridor which includes Ormeau, Pimpama and Helensvale,” Dr Michael said.
“Where higher traffic volumes lead to congestion there is typically an increased risk and number of crashes.”
In five years, 300 crashes occurred on the Pacific Motorway between Smith St Motorway and the NSW border, putting it in the high-risk AusRAP rating category for accidents per kilometre.
“When crashes occur here, congestion backs up for kilometres often grinding the nearby arterial roads like the Smith St Motorway to a halt,” Dr Michael said.
The state and federal governments agreed to cough up $2 billion to upgrade key M1 bottlenecks, but those works will not solve all traffic hotspots.
All city councillors were asked to contribute and responses from six – Donna Gates, Cameron Caldwell, William Owen-Jones, Glenn Tozer, Daphne McDonald and Dawn Crichlow – confirm the biggest challenge is the feeder roads connected to the M1 interchanges. The other councillors did not reply.
Cr Owen-Jones said the transport fix required cooperation between council and State Government with the priority being Exit 57.
“Exit 57, this has a knock-on effect to Oxenford Tamborine Rd, Hope Island and Dreamworld Parkway and the Old Pacific Hwy. All roads lead to
Exit 57,” he said. “I would prefer the State Government concentrate on an upgrade rather than a band-aid fix.”
Southern-based councillor Daphne McDonald nominated Exit 92 and Exit 85 and the feeder roads linked to the interchanges.
“Palm Beach Ave and K.P. McGrath Drive go into that and it is an absolute bottleneck,” Cr McDonald said.
“It is getting to the point where if you are coming at 10 in the morning it is choc a bloc. There is an impact on all the roads heading to the M1.”
Deputy Mayor Donna Gates said the priority was the on and off ramps and interchanges to the M1 at Exits 38, 41, 45 and 49. “Without these improvements, duplication of local roads will still result in a bottleneck at the entries and exits to the M1,” she said.
Cr Gates listed several council-controlled roads where work was either progressing or required. These included Eggersdorf, Goldmine and Peachey roads at Ormeau and Yawalpah Rd at Pimpama.
The construction of a service road on the western side of the M1 connecting Rifle Range Rd North at Pimpama with Tillyroen Rd at Ormeau was major priority for northern Gold Coast.
Hinterland councillor