Full steam ahead on light rail consultation

WITH more than 50 million trips taken, Gold Coasters have overwhelmingly backed the city’s light rail system.

That’s why the Palaszczuk Labor Government built light rail stage 2 and is now building light rail to Burleigh Heads as part of a joint $709 million investment with council and the federal government.

In response to Sandy Dobson’s letter (GCB, 4/12), community consultation has been and will continue to be a key part of delivering better public transport for the Australia’s sixth largest city.

We’ve partnered with the Gold Coast City Council to deliver a business case for light rail stage 4, and as part of that process we’ll conduct a comprehensive, 12-week consultation process next year.

We’ll establish a shopfront at Palm Beach for the community to drop in and have their say, as well as a dedicated consultation web page, hot line and email.

That builds on consultation already done through an independent survey, which showed the overwhelming majority of Gold Coasters backed light rail to the airport via the Gold Coast Hwy instead of using the heavy rail corridor.

That community consultation on a potential future light rail route along the Gold Coast Hwy between Burleigh and Tugun was held March and April this year, and followed a comprehensive, two-year study that recommended extending the next stage of light rail from Burleigh to Tugun along the Gold Coast Hwy to the Airport.

Using the heavy rail corridor for light rail will cut the Gold Coast airport from the rest of southeast Queensland’s heavy rail network, which is what the LNP want to do.

The Gold Coast is growing, and we don’t want to see Gold Coasters spending their time stuck in traffic.

Light rail will give people more options to travel, and as council has reported, we’ve already seen it cut traffic, with a 47 per cent reduction in traffic on Scarborough St at Southport and increased pedestrian movement to Pacific Fair Shopping Centre by 180 per cent.

Our investment in light rail joins record investments in the M1 as part of record $4.5 billion investment in better roads and transport, as well as three new train stations on the northern Gold Coast.

I note Sandy had only written to me via email less than a week ago and she will receive a comprehensive response through the usual process just like anyone else who writes to me.

I write, and will keep writing, letters to the editor because it’s important to keep the community informed about the Palaszczuk Labor Government’s strong track infrastructure and jobs record on the Gold Coast.