Public transport at full capacity as thousands head to three day Promiseland

Main Beach residents say they are bracing themselves for traffic chaos after discovering some public transport for this weekend’s Promiseland festival is at capacity.

Concerns about traffic for Spit Promiseland concert. Community leader Sue Donovan says concert will be test for future events.

Main Beach residents say they are bracing for traffic chaos after discovering some public transport for this weekend’s Promiseland festival is at capacity.

As the event heads into it’s third year, founder Emal Naim said they are expecting around 25,000 attendees per day.

“This will be our third year now in the Gold Coast, already looking at a fourth and, you know, planning to stay here for quite a long time.

“[We’re] expecting 25,000 per day over three days, I would say over 50 per cent of that is from interstate, some from international as well, New Zealand, some from Hawaii, people come from New York,” he said.

Mr Naim said extending the event to span over three days helped to deliver more artists.

“Promiseland boasts multiple different genres of acrobats, R & B, hip hop, inviting multiple different international artists from across the globe.

“A lot of the genres that we look after, there’s just so many [artists] to choose from and having multiple stage setting for this specific genre, that was mainly the idea behind it, and why we wanted to expand the three days,” Mr Naim said.

Main Beach Association leader Sue Donovan said residents had hoped the festival would avoid the worst aspects of the notorious Fred Again event back in March.

“Although the promoter has provided community groups with details of their three-day event, closer examination on the Pomiseland website shows there is still plenty to be concerned about,” she said.

“For example, the claims of improvements in public transport fails to mention that tickets on the Hopo ferries (already sold out) are one-way only. Similarly, Lime bikes may be ridden to Doug Jennings Park but cannot be used by patrons departing the event at 10pm on the Friday, Saturday and Sunday nights.

“Given that alcohol will be freely available for eight hours on the Friday and over 10 hours on the Saturday and Sunday, it’s not hard to imagine the condition that many frustrated festival leavers will be in.”

Experience Gold Coast head of visitor economy Rachel Hancock said they are encouraging people to use public transport options.

“The more we get people on public transport, the better it is for the surrounds, Promisland have been working really closely with waterways authority, traffic management, police, to ensure that it’s a smooth transition to and from the concert and we’re really confident that that will be the case,” she said.

Promiseland organisers share four-step guide on how they will combat traffic congestion at Doug Jennings Park in October. Photo: Supplied

David Rubin, from Rubin Events, said considerable time and effort have been placed into organising transport for the event.

Additional ferries have been on-sale for the last week and remain available, he said.

Four methods of transport available to accommodate patrons including free shuttle buses, Lime Bikes, ticketed one-way ferry services and rideshare operators.

“Traffic treatments on Seaworld Drive as well as the incorporation of a dedicated free return shuttle bus service from Cypress Ave to Doug Jennings Park are planned to assist in minimising event related traffic,” Mr Rubin said.

“We recognise and understand the amount of traffic that’s apparent everyday on the Gold Coast so we’ve made the efforts to make sure we’ve got multiple modes of transport to attend the event.”

Mr Rubin also said the one-way ferry service and lime bikes will not be available for patrons’ usage on leaving for safety reasons, given they could be “under the influence of alcohol”.

“The ferry service will only be operating for the Ingress period, we’ve made that decision based on safety to ensure that the ferries are not operating during night-time hours.

“Lime bikes will also not be available [leaving the event] based on the fact that some of our patrons may not be in the responsible frame of mind to ride home,” he said.

The reinstatement of Muriel Henchman carpark as the designated event public drop-off location will further help in minimising traffic congestion on Seaworld Drive.

A Gold Coast City Council document showing a site plan for the Promiseland concert at The Spit planned for October 2024. It shows coverage at Doug Jennings Park.

Ms Donovan said the festival would be a real test for holding major events at Doug Jennings Park.

“Residents, already upset at having access to the northern part of The Spit denied to them over a sunny long weekend, will be watching vigilantly for evidence of traffic mayhem and anti-social behaviour.

“They are hoping for the best but fearing the worst,” she said.

The event will be from 3pm to 10pm on Friday, and midday through to 10pm on Saturday and Sunday. Car parks at the end of The Spit will be closed.

“A high volume of road traffic is expected during the event, please plan you travel times accordingly during the event operating period,” organisers said.

“An acoustic consultant has been engaged to conduct noise monitoring in the surrounding residential areas to ensure compliance and noise control measures are implemented if required.”

In November last year, Save Our Spit along with Save Our Broadwater and Federation Walk warned both the council and state government about wasting taxpayer money by upgrading road infrastructure at the northern tip of The Spit for concerts.

Save Our Spit are opposed to event organisers getting preference, saying facilities should be provided for walkers, divers, surfers, fishing enthusiasts.

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