Revealed: Warning on light rail fail with tram route flaws at Tugun and Palm Beach in stage four

Stage four of the contentious light rail plan along the Gold Coast Highway could be disastrous councillors warn, as early design work is released. See the plans.

• ‘A bad dream’: Girlfriend’s heartbreak after alleged murder
• Why this Coast village should be its own suburb

A PLAN to run stage 4 of the light rail down the east side of the Gold Coast Highway at Tugun is flawed, warn councillors.

The location of the tram track is one of several potential planning disasters city leaders fear, including a lack of right hand turns off the highway as motorists head north from Palm Beach to Burleigh Heads.

Light rail stage four on the Gold Coast – the plans for Tugun, and how trams will be on the eastern side of the Gold Coast Highway.

Southern area councillors Gail O’Neill and Daphne McDonald voiced their concerns at a transport committee meeting last Tuesday.

They plan to meet with officers then build and forward a wishlist of practical changes for the State Transport Department.

Deputy Mayor Donna Gates encouraged council officers to work with both councillors “on valid points” and document the problems, finding a successful outcome.

Light rail stage four on the Gold Coast – how the trams will cross Tallebudgera Creek.

Colleagues asked both Ms O’Neill and Ms McDonald to do their homework before Tuesday’s full council meeting so they could sign off on recommendations on “a succinct plan”.

Ms O’Neill admitted her biggest concern, and the issue most raised by residents, was the alignment of the tram track through Tugun.

“Everyone expected it to be going down the middle of the Gold Coast Highway because it is so wide once you get past Toolona St (at Tugun) there. They’ve actually pushed it towards the Golden Four Drive side,” Ms O’Neill said.

“Of course everyone is concerned about maybe the loss of vegetation because there’s tremendous vegetation along there to buffer the Gold Coast Highway from Golden Four Drive and the residents who live along there. That is a real concern.”

Light rail stage four on the Gold Coast – what the trams will look like going under an overhead wildlife bridge at Burleigh headland.

Asked if the positioning of the tram tracks had been “set in stone”, council transport director Alton Twine responded by saying “it’s just a concept design at the moment”.

“Particularly in the southern part of that study area. It’s something they’ve done to get the paper dirty, so to speak,” he added.

Mr Twine suggested there was “plenty of opportunity for further consultation” and changes could be made much like during council-led lobbying in tram station design in the first stages.

Ms O’Neill labelled the planned closure of some streets as “crazy” but conceded transport staffers had listened to the feedback of residents at recent community consultation sessions.

Ms McDonald has rejected research that showed the growth in traffic congestion would be reduced by the trams but officers responded by saying they would show her “the devil in the detail”.

Light rail stage four on the Gold Coast – how the various stages of the trams link up.

She said residents were confused after being given different material showing road changes, and their major complaints involved turns off the highway and impact on residential streets.

“Heading north there is only one right hand turn at Thrower Drive. The next right hand turn is next to the Tallebudgera Creek into the recreation centre carpark,” Ms McDonald said.

“That’s the only right hand turns off the Gold Coast Highway into the ocean (side). Anyone that needed to get onto the other side of the road had to come off, go down a back street and go back.”

Ms McDonald predicted problems with drivers heading south no longer able to turn right into the council’s popular tourist park at Tallebudgera Creek.

A business case for the multibillion-dollar tram extension remains ongoing and no funding has been given.

Follow @PaulWestonGC