Investigation reveals infrastructure deficit for Coast Olympic suburb

It’s the Gold Coast suburb hosting Olympic Games athletes and officials but a report reveals it’s nowhere near ready. Find out where - and what it needs.

The Gold Coast suburb which will play host Olympic Games athletes and officials in 2032 is in desperate need of more transport and community infrastructure, an investigation reveals.

The Bulletin in a report in October last year warned Robina was set to become a mini-city with supertowers planned not only for the new Olympic Athletes Village site but potentially on neighbouring parcels of land.

Documents showed the village itself with six residential towers was only a small portion of the 8.1 hectare site with at least six “future development sites” nearby. Council is bracing itself for traffic chaos, with officers warning of a “transport infrastructure deficit”.

Planned satellite athletes village at Robina for the Brisbane Olympic Games in 2032.

The City launched a technical review of Robina using independent consultants, and an updated report to be presented to Thursday’s planning committee meeting has found:

* There will be a high impact on the transport network if additional development and redevelopment occurs.

* There are existing traffic delays on Robina Parkway and Robina Town Centre Drive during peak times, driven by the capacity and operation of the M1 interchange.

* Four studies are underway to inform upgrades and improvements to the roads, active transport networks and future public transport including rapid transit-light rail.

* Additional investment in transport infrastructure, particularly public transport, will be required to support the current and future populations.

* The community centre and auditorium is approaching capacity.

* The library has one of the largest catchment populations of the Coast libraries network, and highest rate of physical loans out of all the facilities – it is undersized for the catchment it serves.

Councillor Hermann Vorster has called on the state to do some of the heavy lifting for funding with the council having spent $140 million under the new Local Government Infrastructure Plan. This is separate to its commitment to the new Greenheart parklands project under construction.

“Robina is an incredible self-contained community where you can live, learn, work and play without venturing outside of the suburb,” Cr Vorster said.

“But the truth is that it has become the economic and social epicentre for communities as far south as the Northern Rivers, which was never intended.

Councillor Hermann Vorster calling on the State Government to invest more in infrastructure as Robina requires more road upgrades and community assets.

“And with so many people beating a path to Robina, we are at real risk of ruining the lifestyle that underpins the prosperity of this economic hub.”

Cr Vorster said it was time to reboot the Robina Masterplan to create a new vision for the area which reflects its importance to the region.

“That means delivering infrastructure that meets a growing population – and moving people in and out of the Robina core without causing dangerous traffic congestion,” he said.

“The critical and missing piece is a co-ordinated investment by the state government who own Robina Town Centre, the hospital, the school, the station, the stadium, the TAFE etc.

“They induce the horrible traffic that is destroying the area but have not been paying infrastructure fees to help offset those social costs.

Traffic congestion heading out of Robina towards the Pacific Motorway, an hour after schools finish in the afternoon, about 4pm.

“Their East-West Bus Rapid Transit system seems at a standstill and we haven’t yet seen an infrastructure commitment around their Olympic Games real estate play.

“By leading this master planning exercise, I hope to see Council build the moral case for a better deal that ensures we meet community expectation and meet the aspiration of young locals.”

Follow @PaulWestonGC