Gold Coast light rail stage 3A: the tram route ahead

THE focus has been on funding the next stage of light rail. But what do we really know about the $660 million project itself? How will it impact on your Gold Coast beachside suburb?

BEHIND the light rail funding row that has become a big focus of the federal election on the Gold Coast, there is the detail of the $740 million project itself.

For residents, there are questions of how this major transport infrastructure project will impact on their beachside suburbs.

Councillors this week held a long discussion behind closed doors on the city’s business case for Stage 3A before agreeing to send off a confidential funding offer to the State Government.

The latest council light rail map for the Gold Coast.

What was presented in open session provided some signals.

Council transport and infrastructure director Alton Twine put up a slide show that contained some key facts.

Stage 3A is from the existing Broadbeach South station along the Gold Coast Highway to Burleigh. The next stage after that – this will be State 3B – is yet to be investigated.

Once 3A is locked in, the city’s next big conversation is about whether the trams should go south along the Gold Coast Highway or west from Burleigh, heading out to the M1 and following the preserved railway corridor to the border.

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A slide of a Gold Coast light rail corridor map showed a 42km line extended from Helensvale to Broadbeach to Burleigh and along the highway to Coolangatta.

This was the first real, hard evidence of the tram’s future route. The heavy rail line extended south from Varsity Lakes to Elanora, Tugun and finally to the Gold Coast Airport.

So residents living between Burleigh and Palm Beach – and there are many campaigning on Facebook against light rail – should prepare for trams outside their door.

Light rail works on the first stage in Surfers Paradise.

Spur lines are to be built west from Pacific Avenue and West Burleigh Road. This is similar to the short track fronting Gold Coast University Hospital to link to Harbour Town.

The slide show noted kerbside parking would be retained where possible on the route south from Broadbeach to Burleigh.

“However, where the Gold Coast Highway is too narrow to accommodate the light rail tracks, stations and vehicle traffic lanes, some on-street parking will be removed,” the notes said.

Stage 3A would require eight new stations, five new trams, more signalised intersections and landscaping. Expect much the same with Stage 3B.

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The notes revealed a 30 per cent uplift in property prices around the existing stations. Graphics showed how those stations sprawled across the existing four lanes of the Gold Coast Highway.

An aerial photograph showed the digging up of central Surfers Paradise for Stage 1. Consultation found residents did not want a repeat of this disruption. A “construction contractor’’ would provide “practical support” for the community and local businesses.

Not included in the slides was a Gold Coast light rail 3A urban corridor map, recently included in a council agenda. This showed where the most intense building would occur.

A council planning map showing likely intense development from Broadbeach to Burleigh due to light rail.

Where high rise exists now, there would be bigger towers in the future – at Broadbeach South, either side of the highway south from Miami, and the beach strip at Burleigh.

The impact on the western side would touch on the suburbs a few blocks back, but recreational reserves would remain protected.

Only light rail supporter Dawn Crichlow asked a question – about kiosks at future stations, aware the commercial venture failed when the trams first went through Southport.

“I just don’t think they should have any more kiosks. That was the fatal mistake,” she said.

The reason why they failed? Fairly simple. Patrons cannot eat or drink on trams.