Paul Weston: Why the M1 lights are a gift to the Gold Coast which will keep giving

When you think about it, the M1 Yatala lights are a gift to the Gold Coast, writes Paul Weston. Confused? Here’s the reason why residents should be thankful for them.

The Gold Coast will go through a population explosion. Picture Mike Batterham.

THE northern entry sign on the M1 at Yatala is the biggest gift to the Gold Coast. Think about it.

Those lights put a spotlight on council decision-making like never before.

“It’s the gift that keeps giving (for news),” a council insider says, before a majority of councillors vote that the strange gathering of poles and bulbs remain on the median strip.

Write an update about the art installation, the cost of pulling it down and how it cannot be viewed by motorists at 110km/h, and the traffic on the Bulletin’s digital platform takes off.

The M1 lights at Yatala. Picture Mike Batterham.

But this is a news story that needs to be fully digested. Park your car off the M1 at night, grab something to eat from the Yatala pie shop. Finally, see “Gold Coast” lit up.

Here is $2.1 million of your ratepayer money invested.

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Now consider, do you know of several footy fields where your children will be training in the dark by 6pm this winter?

This is how local government, compared to the state and federal levels of government, can change your lifestyle though sound decision-making, either for the better or worse.

The Gold Coast is getting busier — Surfers Paradise on New Year’s Eve.

What happens in the next 12 months at the Gold Coast City Council, not just to those lights, will determine how the city shapes up for the next decade.

After the lengthy light debate, Councillor Peter Young was briefly on his feet, talking about a ticked-off agenda item on Treasury population projections.

The city will be home one million people by 2045. What does this mean for the urban form of the Coast? He asks what infrastructure will we need.

“It’s pretty dramatic growth of 60 per cent for our city, and that brings all sorts of ramifications,” Cr Young says.

Traffic congestion on the Pacific Motorway. Picture: NIGEL HALLETT.

“I think it’s important that we highlight for the broader public’s appreciation that’s an unstoppable growth factor that we have got to accommodate somehow.

“Whereas we might not want to see the redevelopment of some centres, even residential suburbs, it’s an imperative we do manage that very, very well.”

The change was obvious at New Year’s Eve with Surfers Paradise beach crowded for the early fireworks, and the trams later packed for several hours as residents headed back to Helensvale.

The city will grow by almost 15,000 residents annually, the size of Pacific Pines. The newbies will fail at first to recognise their local councillor, let alone repeat their names.

More light rail stations? Picture: Jerad Williams

Many of them will not engage with the local council unless it impacts on their back yard and, for example, an excess water rate arrives for their new home or a childcare centre is to be built next door.

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Worse still, they discover a rezoning planning map for the light rail station down from their newly bought unit that opens the door for a super tower application.

Councillors and candidates are now on election footing. Twelve months out, they all watch the clock.

So if you are watching the council, here is some advice from an insider.

“Watch not for the so-called super majority votes, but where the vote is closest,” the insider says.

These are big-ticket items like the offshore cruise ship terminal and the casino resort.

Watch the next generation of leaders — Cameron Caldwell, Glenn Tozer, William Owen-Jones — and what their policy platform is.

Then you will see the future direction of the city as it rapidly heads towards one million people. Thank you, the Yatala M1 lights.