FAST TRACKED

Majority of residents give light rail thumbs up as plan to extend south gathers speed

GOLD Coast residents have overwhelmingly thrown their support behind the proposed Broadbeach to Burleigh line – and even more want it to continue further south.

The independent research results have pushed planning of the $660-million project’s next stages into overdrive.

A DETAILED business case being prepared for light rail shows massive support for the proposed Broadbeach to Burleigh line, and even more residents wanting it to go further south to Coolangatta.

The Bulletin has obtained stunning results from independent research conducted for the State Government which show:

• 86 per cent of Gold Coast residents support stage 3A to Burleigh and 91 per cent back stage 3B to Coolangatta.

• 72 per cent living in the future Broadbeach-Burleigh corridor support 3A and 75 per cent approve of 3B.

• 80 per cent of businesses in the future corridor support 3A and 83 per cent back 3B.

On the back of the overwhelming support, the state project team is moving faster than ever on designing the next stages of the tram track for the $660 million project.

“The state project team is now accelerating their program and moving directly into detailed design and pre-procurement document phases,” a report to council said.

Councillors are expected at the city’s December budget review to approve extra funding of $425,000 to continue working on the project with the state.

Government-led consultation during August included four community drop-in sessions, 969 surveys on a website and telephone surveys of more than 500 businesses and residents in the corridor.

Researchers had found those Gold Coasters who had travelled on the trams were by far the biggest supporters and “want to see the entire extension to the airport happen ASAP”.

More than 10,000 people have signed an online “stop light rail’’ petition but it cannot be tabled in Parliament because people were not required to give their addresses.

The surveys showed opposition was largely within the corridor, where a protest campaign was being staged.

“While support is still strong, those living in Burleigh have the most concerns about the potential impact of GCLR, especially during the construction stage,” the research said.

“Communications will be important to manage this.”

Businesses surveyed mirrored the view of Coast-wide residents and “see it as having a positive impact”, and strongly supported the extension to the airport.

Community issues raised included fears of increased highrise buildings, loss of onstreet parking and impact during construction.

Transport Minister Mark Bailey said: “I’m not surprised by the level of public support. When I was on the Gold Coast for the (Commonwealth) Games and rode the light rail so often, the positive feedback was overwhelming.

“The numbers don’t lie. We are seeing a 70,000 increase in terms of number of trips per month and now there’s been 30 million trips since light rail stage one began in 2014.

“So Gold Coasters are voting with their feet.”

Mr Bailey said the full business case would address such issues as property resumptions, station locations and construction concerns.