Gold Coast development: Objectors to Elanora project say surrounding roads already ’car parks’ at peak hour

Residents near a proposed new development say roads in the area are already a ‘daily carpark’ – and they’re determined to stop it going ahead.

An artist’s impression of buildings in the proposed new development. Picture: Supplied

AN extra 800 cars per day are expected to use roads surrounding a controversial residential development on the southern Gold Coast.

Residents have vented frustration online, arguing the surrounding infrastructure at the Guineas Creek Road, Elanora site will not support the burgeoning population.

There are also concerns for the local koala population, despite an ecological assessment from developers that the site is not a koala hot spot.

The Bulletin last week reported a large parcel of land off Guineas Creek Road in Elanora was earmarked for two residential precincts consisting of 96 homes.

An artist's impression of the Tarrabool Drive precinct. Picture: Supplied/ Ellandra

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More than 100 submissions have been lodged regarding the Ritz Group development, among them a smattering of support.

However a number of residents have expressed concerns about traffic.

On a Facebook community page, Deryck Walker posted a picture of KP McGrath Drive showing traffic backed up past Angelica Street, about 200m from the M1 exit northbound.

He wrote: “The daily carpark up KP McGrath this morning taken from a dashcam. The image show two rows of traffic side-by-side, as it is every weekday morning.

“This and the daily gridlock on the M1 is enough justification to object to the Guineas Creek development.”

A traffic impact assessment compiled by TTM Consulting for the developers shows the extra traffic generated by the estate would “not have a significant impact on the future road network.”

“Based on the assessment contained within this report, TTM see no traffic engineering reason why the relevant approvals should not be granted,” the report reads.

It predicts about 440 cars from the development’s precinct A off Tarrabool Dr will use Saffron St, while at precinct B, 39 cars were expected to leave and enter the site via Doubleview Dr during peak hour every morning.

Forty-two would leave or enter the estate during peak hour in the evening.

About 300 cars are already estimated to use Doubleview Dr during peak-hour traffic along the site.

Traffic backed up along KP McGrath Drive, Elanora. Picture: Supplied/Deryck Walker

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One resident who objected to the development in their submission wrote: “I live in Doubleview Dr and already see the increase in traffic and the gridlock this creates to get on to the M1 in the morning.

“There is easily a backup of cars on Doubleview Dr trying to get on to Avocado St with the school drop-offs and pick-ups too, which I can’t even imagine what this development would turn that into.”

While there is no access to the estate via Guineas Creek Road, the report recommended that there be “wild life” and “wild life corridor ahead” markings along the road and digital signs to warn motorists of koalas and other wildlife.

One resident posted a photo of a koala sighted at Tarrabool Drive, writing: “This is our local koala in Tarrabool Drive, Elanora. He has a family, will they be relocated before chopping their homes down?”

Another resident commented they had even seen up to five koalas in the area at once, while another wrote alongside two images of a koala that it had visited their Tarrabool Drive home twice in the past weeks.

Residents have up until July 29 to lodge a submission either supporting or objecting to the development.