PRESSURES OF GROWTH

PLANNERS and government leaders face a monumental job in striking a balance as the Gold Coast endures its growing pains.

On the one hand is the struggle to catch up with the city’s infrastructure needs right now, let alone what will be required as the population continues to soar.

Two obvious examples lie in transport and in the pressure to allow high density development.

Not only is the M1 inadequate, but there is a growing volume of residential, freight and commercial traffic that needs to use service roads separate to the motorway into the industrial and suburban estates.

The pressures, particularly on feeder roads in the city’s north, have been well chronicled by this newspaper.

Work is starting on upgrades to the M1 exits. This is critical, despite some concerns of an impact on peak-hour line-ups that already exist on the exit ramps.

This is the whole point.

The work is long overdue but at least it is starting. We have to expect some pain before the gain.

Apart from getting traffic flowing, there is a huge safety issue – those long lines of stalled traffic that back up on the M1’s left lanes are disasters waiting to happen.

In seeking balance though, the wisdom of Solomon is needed in resolving the pressures of demand in providing residential towers to handle a rocketing population with the very understandable desire of longtime residents to maintain the character of their suburbs and not to have their leafy streets ruined by lack of parking and privacy issues stemming from high rises that dwarf their piece of paradise. There has to be give and take.

But as petitions circulate and calls are made for the community’s interests to be protected, planners and the three levels of government have to heed the pleas for fairness.

Ways have to be found to preserve the charm and character that have attracted all of us to this vibrant city.