Golden Age: Gold Coast family reveals why they want M1 upgrade, M2 and light rail extension to airport

WIDENING the M1, extending the light rail to the Gold Coast Airport and improved public transport — that’s what the city needs to deal with its growing pains according to a northern Gold Coast family.

WIDENING THE M1, extending the light rail to the Gold Coast Airport and improved public transport — that’s what the city needs to deal with its growing pains according to a northern Gold Coast family.

Runaway Bay couple Clint and Amy Ford own multiple businesses across the city’s north and say something must be done to fix congestion issues which affect them not just professionally but personally too.

GOLDEN AGE: WHAT GOLD COASTERS WANT FOR THE CITY’S FUTURE

Clint and Amy Ford and their two children Riley age 2 and Hudson age 5 months. Picture Mike Batterham

The pair are parents to baby boy Hudson and three year old Riley, who has a pacemaker and requires medical treatment in Brisbane.

“We have to factor in a lot longer times for the appointments at the Children’s Hospital,” said Mr Ford.

“We have come from the hospital at 2pm one afternoon when our boy wasn’t well, and not gotten home until 6pm. When you’ve got a young one in the back of the car, it’s a struggle.”

The couple also see the daily effect of M1 traffic on their businesses.

GOLDEN AGE: WHAT THE EXPERTS SAY

The Fords are keen to see traffic congestion reduced Picture Glenn Hampson

“We have multiple businesses just off the M1 on the Northern Gold Coast so it heavily affects not only us but our staff and our customers when there’s disruption to the flow on the M1,” Mr Ford said.

“It also has a huge ripple effect to the day to day running of specifically our pharmacy businesses as it hampers the ability for us to make and deliver goods and services due to things like delays in timing of deliveries.”

Among the solutions mooted in the past year have been the widening of the M1 in the city’s south from four to six lanes, upgrades between Daisy Hill and Eight Miles Plains as well as a duplicate freeway.

The $2 billion widening project was funded last month after a deal was stuck between the state and federal governments, while the second M1 project is still supported by the state opposition.

The Fords say they are fans of the duplicate road as a solution but say there needs to be a wide variety of measures taken to ease pressure.

“It would be really great to see improvements on the major roads like the M1 and also a green light on the proposed second M1 and extension of the light rail through to the airport,” Mr Ford said.

“I think people would also be more likely to use public transport if they felt it was easy and reliable.

“We really need to be looking at how we can do this, particularly across the northern Gold Coast growth corridor as there currently seems to be a lack of not only quality roads but also a lack of a number of essential services provided for these quickly expanding communities.”