Revealed: 10 things which will happen on the Gold Coast in lead-up to 2032 Olympics

A Future series looking at the Gold Coast heading into the 2032 Olympics will feature in our newspaper next week. Will we still glitter? What will happen to the green behind the gold?

THE Gold Coast Bulletin will do a deep-dive next week into what we need to do to ensure the city is in the fast lane come the 2032 Olympic Games.

Will we still glitter? What will happen to the green behind the gold?

Covid has conspired to create a tricky turning point for the city. It’s not all boom, boom, boom with the population growth. Parts of our economy have crashed.

Here are 10 things that will happen:

Just before peak hour — M1 traffic southbound at Helensvale. Picture: NIGEL HALLETT.

* The consensus is more southerners will continue to relocate. Gridlock will continue on the M1 until the Coomera Connector is built. Similarly, it will be standing room only at our hospital EDs.

* The city will grow taller. The state government has told the Gold Coast City Council to use infill.

* So those new high-rise buildings will be in Labrador, Southport, Main Beach, Surfers Paradise, Broadbeach, Burleigh to Miami/Nobby headland and Coolangatta and Rainbow Bay.

* Even pro-development councillors do not want to see sprawling suburbs like those west of Brisbane to Ipswich springing up here. Upgrade existing infrastructure, not create new.

* The north will see industrial and residential spilling east of the M1 into some canefields.

* The south will see light rail going to Coolangatta, and heavy rail extended south in the western corridor by the M1, much slower behind. The majority political will is for trams to reach the airport before the Olympics. Council has its cheque book ready.

* Palm Beach has to sort its act out. Council’s own city place-making plan is critical of the poor state of its retail area. If the protest and political stalemate continues, the suburb will be bypassed and miss out on much-needed streetfront cosmetic surgery.

Future Gold Coast - what Palm Beach could look like.

* Burleigh is being loved to death. Planning is for only subtle improvements to parks and parking, greening up the headland.

* Robina is a traffic nightmare that cannot be fixed immediately. The state government wants to build the Olympic Games village there. Work upgrades planned to start now by council are on hold because further planning is needed.

Light rail arriving at Coolangatta terminal at the Gold Coast Airport - designs from a master plan for the precinct.

* We have to hug and embrace Coolangatta again. If we have learned anything from Covid, the border community is a big part of this city. Light rail upgrades and M1 roadworks could cut us off from the south as much as the lockdowns. We need to reconnect.

Finally, the real challenge will be the exhausting role for volunteers in some of the city’s community groups. Their work in previous decades have helped protect The Spit, the best recreation spots south to Currumbin Creek and west to Springbrook.

Community Alliance’s John Hicks has just sent off a petition to council signed by 15 groups, calling on the city to bring the excessive relaxations being granted in many development approvals under control.

This week council rejected the expansion of the Oxenford quarry and approved the sale of the Bruce Bishop carpark. The reality is pick your battles to win, in the war to protect the city’s lifestyle. Truth is the next decade will define us for generations after the Games.

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Originally published as Revealed: 10 things which will happen on the Gold Coast in lead-up to 2032 Olympics