Gold Coast City Council report reveals causes of M1 congestion

A SHOCK new council report reveals the real reason why the Gold Coast stretch of the M1 gets so congested. Its contents have sparked calls to ‘end the blame game’ to fund further upgrades.

ACTING Mayor Donna Gates has called for an end the “blame games” so upgrades to M1 ramps in the Gold Coast’s booming north can be fast tracked.

A new council report using intersection surveys and seven-day “tube counts” shows the congestion is caused by motorists driving across the interchange bridges.

At Exit 45, the majority of motorists are driving from the west to the east, crossing the overhead bridge to get their children to schools at Ormeau Woods State High, Livingstone Christian College, LORDS at Pimpama and Ormeau State School.

Traffic at a standstill southbound on the M1 (AAP image, John Gass)

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Council does not have the money to improve the side road and the Government is only planning and rolling out ramp metering, prompting a petition from more than 560 furious residents for a new north-south road west of the M1 in a “transmission corridor”.

Cr Gates said she would meet with Transport Minister Mark Bailey today to find a quicker solution.

Council mapping on traffic congestion on ramps at the Pacific Motorway.

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“We’ve gone way past the blame game,” she said. “It’s time our people sat down with the State and develop a plan. We most definitely need to fast track some of the work.

“I’m sick of the blame game. I want the engineers to get together, to work out a traffic plan.”

An investigation by council officers rejected the call for a new road in the corridor full of electricity towers due to the steep, hilly areas.

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Traffic congestion on the Pacific Motorway around the Foxwell and Abraham Road exit at Coomera. Pic Jono Searle.

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But a comprehensive study of traffic patterns and congestion on the M1 found:

● The root cause of the congestion issues at Ormeau is the lack of capacity at the Exit 45 M1 interchange.

● The two-lane cross M1 bridge does not have sufficient queuing space between the roundabouts.

● 45 per cent of traffic is travelling across the M1 and 15 per cent using the interchange for a local trip. Only 40 per cent is for access to the Motorway.

● The high percentage of cross motorway traffic is due to four schools being located east of the M1.

● Motorists still prefer to use the M1 to get to their destination because they avoid traffic lights and the arterial road network is poor.

● A conventional upgrade with signals for the roundabouts and duplicating the two-lane bridge would solve the congestion.

The Government has committed $500,000 for planning an upgrade of Exit 45 and Exit 49 interchanges. At Exit 49, it takes motorists 23 minutes to travel 150m in peak hour.

Council officers found the area west of the M1 and north of the Coomera River lacked a State-controlled network coverage like other areas in the city.

The State is responsible for the M1, the off-ramps, roundabouts and planned new highways like the Coomera Connector, leaving council to build the supporting road network.

“East of the M1 between Exit 38 and Exit 57 also has a noticeable absence of State-controlled roads at present,” the report said.

In a letter to petitioners, Cr Gates foreshadowed upgrades to Peachey Road but with a roads budget of $100 million it was impossible for council to fix traffic congestion without help from the state and federal governments.

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Exit 49 gets heavily congested with traffic.

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“A financial contribution to the M1 is unaffordable from the rates base,” she said.

“I continue to fight for another eastern corridor to relieve the pressure but again, this must be funded by levels of government attracting GST and tax revenue – not the poor old ratepayer,” she said.

Helensvale-based councillor William Owen-Jones said the Government’s focus apart from ramp upgrades should be on progressing the Coomera Connector east of the M1.

“The residents’ petition suggesting the use of the transmission corridor, in my view, is impractical at the Coomera River,” Cr Owen-Jones said.

Mr Bailey believes his meeting with Cr Gates will be “a fruitful one”.

“The Palaszczuk Government is always keen to work with stakeholders, including councils, to deliver a better deal for Queensland motorists,” he said.

“The Gold Coast is no exception, and we remain committed to properly investing in the region after delivering more than $1 billion worth of transport infrastructure to the city in the lead up to the Commonwealth Games.”

Mr Bailey said the northern Coast commuters would benefit from a $25 million election commitment to upgrade the Oxenford Interchange and planning for other M1 exits at Pimpama, Ormeau and Yatala.

“We are fully funding Cross River Rail which will unblock the rail system by doubling capacity in its centre which means faster and more frequent trains on the Gold Coast line,” he said.