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The Queensland Government has scrapped stage four of the Gold Coast light rail connecting Burleigh Heads with the Gold Coast Airport after citing “overwhelming local community opposition” to the controversial extension of the city’s popular tram system.
Following a promised review of the project, the government announced today that the proposed 14km southern extension would instead focus on a “strategic shift towards direct bus service enhancements and broader regional transport planning”.
The state government says the decision follows extensive community consultation that considered more than 5,600 submissions which revealed “a strong desire for cost-effective, flexible transport options that respect the natural environment and protect key local landmarks like Burleigh Head National Park and Tallebudgera Creek”.
The proposed stage four extension, which would have required a bridge across Tallebudgera Creek, has raised community concerns over the preservation of cultural and natural heritage of the Burleigh headland and the project’s impact on lifestyle, traffic and parking in the narrow light rail corridor through Palm Beach.
In announcing today’s decision, Deputy Premier and Minister for State Development, Infrastructure and Planning Jarrod Bleijie slammed the previous government for conducting “a sham consultation process that focused on a single option with over half of respondents indicating they hadn’t been properly consulted”.
The government says almost two thirds of respondents to its consultation process for the independent review had expressed negative sentiment towards the project, adding that local residents support improved bus services as an alternative cost-effective solution.
The state government estimates the cost of the stage four extension could be as much as $9.85 billion, which is well above the former Palaszczuk government’s initial estimate of $2.7 billion which was later upgraded to as much as $7.6 billion due to rising costs.
These estimates compare with the Gold Coast City Council’s expectations that the project would cost close to $5 billion. The 6.7kim stage three extension from Broadbeach to Burleigh currently under way is budgeted to cost $1.55 billion.
“After a sham consultation from the former Labor Government, this independent review revealed that locals want well-connected transport options that integrate into the existing infrastructure without disrupting the unique character of their community,” says Bleijie.
“Unlike Labor who treated the community with disdain by withholding details on property resumptions and carpark losses, locals were able to have a fully informed say following the release of previously hidden documents.
“The Crisafulli Government made a clear commitment to listen to the Southern Gold Coast local community at the election and today that commitment has been delivered.
“This is about ensuring transport infrastructure projects are delivered in partnership with local communities to protect what they value most in their community and their lifestyle.”
Gold Coast Mayor Tom Tate says he is disappointed by the decision and is waiting to examine the full reasoning behind the decision, including the government’s $9.85 billion estimate for the cost of the project.
“That figure is way off from an engineering point of view,” says Tate. “Are the tracks gold-plated? The decision today leaves me with a lot more questions than answers.”
In a media briefing today, Tate says his concerns include the logistics of bus transfers to the southern Gold Coast from the light rail's new Burleigh Heads terminus currently under construction.
“From a whole of city point of view, we have been on this journey since 2009 and my view is it’s still the one project,” says Tate.
“Now it’s truncated and other solutions have to be found. I will leave it over to the state government to find a solution for Gold Coasters to get to the airport and Coolangatta."
Tate, drawing on his engineering background, says he sees light rail as the optimum solution for the Gold Coast’s commuter connection with the airport at Coolangatta.
“I think that will happen one day, but that day is not today,” he says.
“Now that they are saving a lot of money why not put it into heavy rail to the airport. Perhaps that could take some load off. I would welcome that and that would alleviate traffic congestion for some parts of our city."
Since the G-Link light rail services started on the Gold Coast in 2014, more than 100 million trips have been taken on the 20km route between Helensvale and Broadbeach.
Stage three of the project linking Broadbeach with Burleigh Heads is currently under construction and scheduled for completion next year, but stage four has been a controversial project from both a cost perspective and the impact of the project on local businesses including the loss of street parking.
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