Gold Coast City Council’s new parking for Main Beach Bakery, losing spaces to driverless bus service
The owner of a Gold Coast bakery losing car parking to a council driverless bus service says the new spots being created to compensate won’t help.
Council
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THE Gold Coast City Council has promised to double the amount of car spaces for a Gold Coast bakery which is losing two bays to a new driverless bus service.
But Main Beach Bakery owner Wayne McCrae said his customers were furious the spots outside his shop were being used for a “pointless” service.
As reported by the Bulletin this week, council told Mr McCrae two 15-minute car spots would be used as a bus stop for the Gold Coast Smart Shuttle.
The first driverless bus on the Gold Coast is a joint initiative between the council and RACQ.
Division 10 councillor Darren Taylor said the car spots would be replaced by two 15-minute parking spaces directly behind the current spots, which are loading zone areas.
Two more parking spaces around the corner on Peak Ave would also be created, he said.
“The bus service is positive for the Main Beach area and it’s a shame this one little thing has caused a big issue,” Mr Taylor said.
“We’re making sure we compensate.”
Mr McCrae said no one would mind the changes if the service was considered important by the community.
“Anyone I talk to doesn’t see why it needs to happen,” he said.
“The council are bringing in something that will be used by a small number of people and taking away from one of the busy businesses in the area.”
A Gold Coast City Spokesperson said a similar driverless bus trial was done by RACQ in Raby Bay and in six months more than 1500 locals and visitors used it.
Bunfight over bakery driverless bus stop
December 2, 2021
The owner of a popular Gold Coast bakery fears a new council driverless bus service will threaten his business, as car parks out the front are turned into a bus stop.
On a rainy Tuesday, Main Beach Bakery owner Wayne McCrae sat outside his Tedder Ave business and watched a steady stream of customers come and go from the two 15-minute parking spots in front of the shop.
The council have told him the two spaces will be replaced by a stop for its new driverless bus service, Mr McCrae said, before pointing out an empty passing Surfside bus.
“These are the only parks in this area of Tedder Ave. We have busy mums with kids, tradies, police, paramedics, businessmen, all sorts of people park here, get what they need and leave,” he said.
“Take these spots away and you’re taking the heart out of the bakery.”
The service taking over the car spots is the Gold Coast Smart Shuttle, the first driverless bus on the Gold Coast.
The joint initiative between the council and RACQ aims to test autonomous vehicle technology for the city via a trial on a designated 2.4km route through Main Beach.
It is hoped to link with the trams and provide a potential huge boost to the Tedder Ave retail precinct.
In August a council report identified Main Beach as the preferred location for the trial. That was due to a connection between the tram stop to key activity centres including Tedder Ave, Main Beach Tourist Park, Southport Yacht Club and Southport Surf Life Saving Club.
According to the council the bus will take about 30 minutes to complete the circuit.
Mr McCrae was told by the bakery’s previous owner that roadworks restricting access to the car parks in the past saw sales drop about 30 per cent.
Ironically the bakery was given a $100,000 grant from the Queensland Government this year to stay afloat during the pandemic but the council plan would kill the business, Mr McCrae said.
He started a petition to move the bus stop elsewhere.
Kellie Cohen, 52, who had travelled from Mermaid Waters to get her goodies from the bakery and said she didn’t understand why the bus stop couldn’t be moved.
“There’s a bus stop literally a few hundred metres down the road, why not use that?” She said. “I’m not sure why the council would put the stop in the bakery’s only parking.”
Ryah Charteris is one of the 18 staffers – including three bakers – and works part time while studying.
The 20-year-old said the petition had strong support.
“Customers are not happy with the bus stop position. They don’t want their parking taken away,” she said.
The bakery also supplies charity Rosies with half of its food donations.
Rosies’ Southport/Nerang branch’s Teresa Bettles aid 50 per cent of the food the branch supplies to the city’s homeless and isolated comes from the bakery.
“It would have a major impact on food supply. We get great food from them on a nightly basis,” she said.
“We really appreciate the community support we get and we have had a longstanding relationship with Main Beach Bakery.
“To see that end would be really disappointing.”
A City Council spokesperson said while the parking would be removed, more parking would be created located near the bakery.
“To minimise disruption to existing bus services, the Gold Coast Smart Shuttle Trial will have dedicated shuttle stops,” they said, adding businesses on the route had been consulted since October.
The bakery was allocated two quarter-hour replacement parking spaces behind the new shuttle stop on Tedder Ave plus two more around the corner on Peak Ave “for customers to continue to access the business”, the spokesperson said.
A similar driverless bus trial was done by RACQ in Raby Bay and in six months more than 1500 locals and visitors used it.
The City and RACQ would continue to work with all stakeholders in the initial phases of the shuttle implementation prior to it being fully operational in mid-January 2022.
“We anticipate the Gold Coast trial will offer another drawcard to Main Beach visitors and locals and potentially encourage people in the area to come aboard the Gold Coast Smart Shuttle for free and explore the area throughout the trial period.”
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