Massive development in Nerang expected for add 5000 more cars just minutes from clogged M1
THE impact of an additional 5000 vehicles about 1km from the Nerang M1 entrance was given little consideration when council approved a massive 1170 unit complex for the area.
Transport
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A 1000-plus unit development at Nerang that has the potential to feed thousands of vehicles a day on to the already clogged Pacific Motorway has been approved, even though hundreds of people objected to it.
A traffic assessment for the 1170-unit development, to be built on Riverview Rd and Bowden St,
about a kilometre from the Nerang M1 on-ramp, did not even mention any potential effect on the motorway.
The developer said that was not an issue for the council to consider.
The Gold Coast City Council’s planning committee gave preliminary approval to the controversial development but there was little consideration of the wider impact on the Nerang region.
The development is just minutes from the Riverview Rd entrance to the M1, one of the only on-ramps which does not experience regular clogging.
Congestion on the highway has become so bad Mayor Tom Tate is joining a delegation to Canberra to lobby Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull to fund an upgrade of the road.
A traffic assessment submitted by the developer, Nifsan Developments, spoke briefly about the state-owned Nerang-Broadbeach Rd but did not mention the motorway.
“It is emphasised that Nerang-Broadbeach Rd and its intersection with Warrener St is State-controlled,” the application reads.
“As such, any traffic impacts at these locations are of State interest, as council has no jurisdiction in this regard.”
The committee was told the units would generate up to 5000 vehicle trips each day, something Councillor Peter Young, the lone dissenting vote, said concerned him.
“Adding 5000 cars will have a significant impact on the local roads network,” he said.
More than 310 objections and two petitions against the developments were lodged with the council.
Traffic congestion in the local area was a key concern for a number of objectors, as well as building height, impact on the environment and pressure on local infrastructure.
Planning committee chairman Cameron Caldwell said the project had been designed with sensitivity to the river and surrounds.
“Council considered traffic and other impacts of this development and it was ultimately considered this was not an impediment to the approval,” he said.
A Transport and Main Roads spokeswoman said TMR had instructed the developer to upgrade the Warrener St and Nerang-Broadbeach Rd intersection.
She said it was not expected there would be any significant impact on the M1.
“As this development is next to the Nerang railway station and TransLink bus interchange, it is expected a large number of residents will use public transport,” she said.
“The M1 at this location is six lanes and the Nerang interchange (Exit 71) operates efficiently during normal traffic periods.”
The complex will transform Nerang’s skyline, with 10 towers ranging from four to 13 storeys to be built on the Villa site, on Riverview Rd.
A second site on Bowden St will house six buildings up to four storeys.
Both sites will have a mix of one, two and three-bedroom apartments.
The development will retain the Villa Golf Course but also add an indoor recreation centre, child care centre, medical centre, laundromat and restaurant.
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