The City is have a rethink of planning for Greenheart after being swamped by cyclone

Greenheart has been the forgotten player in the Olympics. All of the focus is on the Gold Coast Arena and Hockey. What will happen with our New York-style Central Park? READ THE PLANS

Greenheart has been the forgotten player in the Olympics. All of the focus is on the Gold Coast Arena and hockey. But an important story is surfacing after the cyclones and floods.

Building our city’s biggest green playground – almost as large of New York’s Central Park – will need a rethink. The challenge is a flood-prone road.

If done properly, Greenheart can host up to 60,000 people and become the hub for outdoor concerts, giving The Spit a break. This will need $30 million from all levels of government.

Mayor Tom Tate, after a helicopter flight following Cyclone Alfred, released a stunning picture.

It’s an image both stunning and reassuring – warning us of future dangers.

Aerial photograph of the Gold Coast's Greenheart following the flooding brought by Cyclone Alfred.

“Well, the Greenheart was under water. And we had a service road to be built right across Greenheart,” the Mayor said.

“My thing is a service road won’t be good enough. If you build that, it will be destroyed. Either you go spend a lot of money on an elevated road. Or you don’t do a road through the Greenheart. You do a temporary track, and it’s not for driving.”

So the City will now revisit the Greenheart master plan. Expect to see more “water elements”.

Let’s take a bigger deep dive here. Looking at the mapping, the new road would be an extension of Ghilgai Road at Merrimac in the north.

“It would be a connection road through the western strip. It would run parallel to the railway line, and it goes from Merrimac to Robina,” a council source says.

Greenheart will be a sprawling 241-hectare space between Robina and Merrimac, featuring vast open spaces, beautiful natural and cultural landscapes, an event quarter, recreational and educational precincts, and large scale sports facilities. Photo: Supplied,

“The challenge we are facing is whether Ghilgai Road is a viable connection in long term planning. This will connect the north and south of Greenheart.”

Is a new road viable, and what would be the cost? “We don’t know. That is what we have to determine. Whether it is essential or expendable,” a source added.

Area councillor Dan Doran hopes the first stage of the project, which is the Robina Parklands, will open in the next few weeks. “It flooded but it’s okay,” a source said.

How the politics play out will be interesting. Mr Doran replaced and is close to former councillor Hermann Vorster, now the LNP MP for Burleigh.

Mayor Tate regards Greenheart among the City’s top projects after light rail Stage Four.

Artist impression of Greenheart, the Gold Coast's new proposed parklands between Robina and Merrimac.

Mr Vorster, as Robina councillor, with the Mayor was lobbying the State and Commonwealth to provide funding for future stages.

“Even if you take the Olympic Games off the table, Greenheart has to be the defining legacy of this council,” he said, when a councillor.

“And that is because our population is soaring. And for a city that aspires to protect lifestyle, this has to be our priority. We are talking about a parkland that will be two thirds the size of New York’s Central Park. It’s a wonderful gift to future generations.

“It’s a way we will reconcile people shifting from the backyard to the balcony. That’s by giving people the best collective backyard.”

Greenheart remains a backyard worth flood protecting and proceeding with its grand vision.

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