Gold Coast light rail Stage 3 from Broadbeach to Burleigh breaks ground
Leaders from three tiers of government broke ground on Stage 3 of the Gold Coast Light Rail on Saturday, with Transport Minister Mark Bailey calling it a “historic day”. But not everyone was on board.
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LEADERS from three tiers of government broke ground on Stage 3 of the Gold Coast Light Rail on Saturday, with Transport Minister Mark Bailey calling it a “historic day for the Gold Coast”.
At a sod-turning ceremony at Mermaid Beach on Saturday, Minister Bailey said Gold Coasters have ‘embraced and love their light rail’.
But to anti-light rail campaigners across the southern Gold Coast, it is a day of reckoning.
Anti-light rail campaigner Karen Rowles said: “Minister Bailey says Gold Coasters are all aboard - but official patronage numbers don’t reflect that to be true.
“It’s a terrible day for locals. How will small businesses from Broadbeach to Burleigh cope with the massive changes we will see in the coming months?,” she said.
“If you do the math of $1.2bn spent on 6.7km of tram line – that’s $180,000 per metre. Seems like an outrageous cost for an outdated mode of transport.”
Ms Rowles questioned how Gold Coasters would get around the city given changes to traffic, with Minister Bailey on Saturday urging drivers to remain patient.
Minister Bailey said the Gold Coast Light Rail was part of the Palaszczuk Government’s commitment to infrastructure needs across the Gold Coast, as its population skyrockets.
”Every person on the light rail is one less car on the road,” he said.
He said plans were underway to look at extending the heavy rail from Varsity Lakes to Gold Coast Airport and that the State would be “closely looking at it” in the coming months.
Federal Senator Murray Watt said the light rail has ‘revolutionised’ transport on the Gold Coast.
Megan Scanlon MP said she was going to a 30th birthday party in Burleigh after the sod turning, adding: “The light rail can’t come soon enough”.
“The light rail will connect the north and south. Residents from the northern Gold Coast will no longer have to get in their car to come to Burleigh.”
Minister Scanlon – State Minister for the Environment and Minister for Science and Youth Affairs – expressed excitement over the rollout of ten new electric buses, which will hit Gold Coast roads on Monday.
“Each bus can save as much as 1,000 tonnes of greenhouse gases over their lifespan and reduce noise pollution,” Minister Scanlon said.
“Earlier this year I was lucky enough to visit the depot where these 10 new buses will
recharge each day, which is fully powered by renewable energy.
“We expect the buses to travel about 300 kilometres a day, and all 10 can be charged up at
the depot simultaneously.”
The new buses will run Translink services right across the city.
The buses comes as the Palaszczuk Government aims to deliver on a promise that every new bus in South East Queensland will be zero emission from 2025.
Mayor Tom Tate commended all three tiers of government on Stage 3.
“The Gold Coast is the first city in the nation where three tiers of government have come together to deliver major transport infrastructure,” he said.
The Mayor promised the transport was “environmentally essential” and “accommodation will go up skyward as opposed to spreading out, maintaining our open space”.
EARLIER: Highway grind as stage 3 tram breaks ground
Stage 3 of the Gold Coast light rail has broken ground on Saturday, with state leaders promising hundreds of new jobs and calling it a “significant step” toward its expected completion in 2025.
But Transport Minister Mark Bailey has issued a warning to drivers, urging them to remain patient while works are underway.
Major traffic changes will take place on the Gold Coast Hwy “to relocate and upgrade major water main, sewer and gas infrastructure”, according to a Queensland Government statement.
The works will include upgrades to the Southport depot and essential underground services in Broadbeach and Mermaid Beach.
The $1.2 billion, jointly-funded third stage of the Gold Coast light rail will take commuters a further 6.7 kilometres from Broadbeach to Burleigh Heads.
A further eight stops will be introduced along the route.
Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk said breaking ground on Stage 3 was “an exciting milestone which will support 760 local jobs”.
“If any of the previous stages are to go by, 90 per cent of workers came from the Gold
Coast and surrounding regions,” she said.
“When complete, light rail Stage 3 will connect 27km of the Gold Coast to reliable and accessible public transport all the way from Helensvale to Burleigh Heads.”
The Premier reiterated light rail had been an “essential part” of the delivery of the 2018 Gold Coast Commonwealth Games and would play an even “more important role” in the 2032 Brisbane Olympics.
Queensland Senator Murray Watt said the works were a “significant step” towards the project’s completion and opening in 2025.
Mr Bailey promised less headaches for visitors to bustling Burleigh Heads.
“Never again will you need to fight for a car park on Burleigh Hill when you and your surfboard can be dropped off at the surf club,” he said.
“Stage 3 comes at a $1.2 billion investment in better transport services to maintain the Gold Coast’s great lifestyle – preventing gridlock as the region grows.”
But Mr Bailey warned of changing traffic conditions and said the Gold Coast Hwy would “look a little different”.
“I appreciate the patience of drivers as we deliver this important project,” he said.
Gaven MP Meaghan Scanlon said the light rail had gone from “strength to strength” – and racked up more than 64 million trips since launching.
But the light rail has not gone without its criticism in recent weeks.
Earlier this month, anti-light rail campaigners expressed their fury over the planned destruction of mature Norfolk pine trees along the Gold Coast Hwy at Burleigh.
One campaigner said the tree clearing was “just the start of the destruction that Mark Bailey MP has planned for the southern Gold Coast”.
Another called it “a disgrace” and said the trees were “symbolic” of Burleigh Heads.
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