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THE current Gold Coast Mayor’s proclamation that he would divert the light rail around Palm Beach is of course nonsense – some form of priority transit will go down the Gold Coast Highway from Burleigh Heads to the airport.
It’s just that the least disruptive way needs to be found for community benefit and for the protection of shaky COVID-affected businesses during the build.
Palm Beach residents are rightly concerned that the amenity of their suburb will be adversely impacted, but that is generally accepted as resulting from a lack of adherence to an ineffective City Planning Scheme which is often being overruled to allow greater population density.
A concrete canyon is already under construction along the Gold Coast Highway through Palm Beach.
Leadership needs to be shown at both state and local government level to find some sort of agreement between the warring parties – we are all part of the same community on economic life support due to COVID-19 and need to work together. Use of wedge politics in calling people “whingers” and “antivaxxers” is appalling and does nothing to find the best solution.
What way forward for the Burleigh to airport link? The recession we are now in demands agile and adaptable thinking in a financially constrained new normal. The steel rails to Burleigh Heads seem a fait accompli, but that’s where they should end.
Extension to the airport should be by connecting Trackless Tram on a single dedicated computer controlled pathway with spaced passing lanes – such design would
reduce property resumptions along the route.
Trackless Tram is about one third of the cost of steel rails and overhead wires, is far less disruptive during build and has far less impact on the amenity of valued seaside suburbs.
Who will show the required agile and adaptive leadership to find the best outcome? Let’s hope that whoever wins the upcoming state election is up to the job.
Regarding the light rail (steel rails) to Burleigh Heads, there will be a real impact on businesses during construction, with carparking spaces already in the process of being removed along the Gold Coast Highway between Connor Street and West Street, and subsequent decrease in parking availability for shop patrons.
The state government website says there will be no “park and ride” at Burleigh due to cost, and council has been silent on the proposition to construct an essential new multistorey carpark on the existing single-level site in the Burleigh Library area.
If there is anyone in council interested in what goes on outside of Southport/Surfers/Broadbeach/ Robina, please let Burleigh residents and patrons know.
PETER SCOTT, TALLEBUDGERA
GECKO certainly supports wildlife bridges for Burleigh National Park and Currumbin reserves and we hope they are intended only for wildlife.
It is unclear from the Transport and Main Roads brochure on light rail whether this is the case for the Burleigh Heads one.
We also hope that council consulted with Professor Darryl Jones,
urban ecologist from Griffith University who is a world leader in wildlife bridge structures.
We fully agree that they should be built prior to the light rail which is years away and if that happens we might see koalas back in Burleigh National Park.
The design is unusual, but we would hope the colour would blend in with the natural bush more. The city’s environmental credentials could do with a boost, especially with the high rate of habitat clearing leaving koalas and wildlife with nowhere to live. That said the koala team in council do a great job under difficult conditions.
LOIS LEVY, GECKO ENVIRONMENT COUNCIL ASSOCIATION
IF whinging and whining were an Olympic sport, the LNP’s Michael Crandon (GC Bulletin, July 28) and his leader Deb Frecklington would already have gold medals.
Mr Crandon deliberately leaves out the lost three years under the LNP Newman Government when not one single new dollar was spent on the M1 when he was totally ineffective achieving anything when the LNP had power.
It is in fact the Palaszczuk Labor Government that has got record funding flowing on to the M1 with two major upgrades now completed – Mudgeeraba to Varsity Lakes and the Gateway Merge, with two much larger ones underway to Tugun from Varsity Lakes and through Springwood northbound to the Gateway Merge.
It was in fact the Palaszczuk Labor Government that started and finished the Exit 54 interchange at Coomera, has nearly completed the Exit 57 Interchange
upgrade at Oxenford and secured joint funding at Exits 41 and 49 after the federal government finally matched our funding late last year.
Why are they in design? Because not even the designs were started when the LNP were in state government because they didn’t just ignore the M1, they cut $600 million from the roads budget and sacked 2800 transport staff.
Amazingly in Mr Crandon’s whingefest, he attacks the planned Pimpama train station as part of the Palaszczuk Government’s Cross River Rail project when it was his own LNP that cut the project under Campbell Newman and opposed the project at the last election.
Likewise it was in fact his LNP that blocked progress on the Coomera Connector, as was well reported by the Gold Coast Bulletin at the time, and now complains progress on this massive project is too slow.
The Palaszczuk Labor Government’s economic plan to restore confidence and create jobs in response to the COVID-19 pandemic is well underway with an additional $1 billion in roads stimulus secured for Queensland, billions in relief for small and larger business, buy local procurement policies in place for road contracts and support for local manufacturing.
While the LNP love to cut when they get the chance, it’s only the Palaszczuk Labor Government that has a record of investing in the M1 and other roads and public transport projects and can be trusted to keep investing in the jobs and upgrades we need.
MARK BAILEY, QUEENSLAND MAIN ROADS MINISTER
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