Calls for action on growing Coomera traffic problem amid development wave
Community leaders are calling for action to avoid total gridlock amid a wave of development in a Gold Coast suburb where a dramatic population jump is predicted. Here’s what they want to see happen.
Transport
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Business and community leaders are urging action to stave off “nightmare” gridlock in three years at Coomera amid a development wave and a forecast dramatic surge in population.
New roads, including an east-west M1 overpass, are being demanded or already-congested Coomera will be gridlocked by 2026, leaders say. They add the roads are required to relieve pressure on a heavily congested Exit 54 ahead of the opening of stage one north of the Coomera Connector in 2026 and a new public hospital in 2027.
Also planned are two private hospitals and 4000 new homes on land just north of the 14,346 sqm Costco mega budget store which opened last week.
Coomera MP Michael Crandon said the area faced “nightmare territory” by 2026 if something was not done. A Queensland Treasury projection shows the population in his electorate will hit 110,268 by then – an astonishing 25 per cent leap from 87,025 in 2021.
“All of those construction timelines, everything is coming into 2026/2027. On top, we’ve got the harness racing development on Norwell Rd. That’s coming online in 2026,” Mr Crandon said, of the Racing Queensland plan for the state’s new harness HQ.
“We’ve got to get ahead of the curve. We’ve known about these figures for years.
“It’s screaming that (2026) deadline. If it’s bad now, we’re going to be in nightmare territory in just a few years.”
Mr Crandon said with stage one north of the Coomera Connector terminating at Shipper Dr there was an urgent need for a road over the M1 to allow local traffic to move from west to east and vice versa without passing through Exit 54, as well as other upgrades to local roads.
“Stage one north of the Coomera Connector is going to come through from Helensvale Rd to Shipper Dr and there’s one way for everybody to go and that’s up to Foxwell Rd,” Mr Crandon said.
“There’s only one way to go and that’s back to the service road on the highway.
“They won’t be going south because that’s back from where they’ve just come from. They’ll all be wanting to go over the overpass at Exit 54.
“That will be on top of the hospital, on top of the private hospitals, of Costco, on top of the commencement of the development of those 4000 residential homes.”
Council planning for the area going as far back as 2010 shows provision for a Coomera North interchange which would cross the M1 near the Le Mans kart racing track, and a Coomera South interchange, crossing the motorway at Beattie Rd.
A proposed ‘ring road’, including a section linking Foxwell Rd and Beattie Rd on a route sandwiched between Dreamworld and the Coomera Indoor Sports Centre, was expected to link both.
However Minister for Transport and Main Roads Mark Bailey told the Bulletin no new interchanges on the M1 were currently planned.
“We’ve got a huge program to upgrade interchanges across the M1 with Exits 54, 57, 41 and 45 complete, Exit 49 well under way and planning being done on Exit 38,” he said.
“We aren’t planning additional new location interchanges as the more interchanges there are the slower the traffic flow will be on the M1 which no-one wants.”
Area councillor and Deputy Mayor Donna Gates said she was “extremely concerned” with the traffic network in Coomera and had recently also expressed her concerns to the Queensland Ambulance Service, looking to expand their station located beside Exit 54.
“The Department of Transport and Main Roads (TMR) has recently resumed control of Foxwell Road as a state-controlled road between Shipper Drive and the M1,” Cr Gates said.
“Foxwell is the second busiest road in our city, and traffic is already at gridlock at peak times, with over 40,000 trips per day.
“The proposal for all Coomera Connector traffic to arrive on Foxwell Road has not come with a guarantee of any proposed road upgrades relating to access to and from the M1 at Exit 54.
“I continually receive complaint from residents of Coomera Waters who clearly have only one access road in and out and who basically back out of their driveways into a traffic jam.”
Cr Gates said she had discussed with the project manager of the hospital site the possibility working with council to start work on ‘Road G’ – a long-standing proposal for a route across the M1 from Coomera to the Kohl St industrial estate on the other side of the motorway.
“Council would be prepared to cover the costs involved should the State be willing to undertake the initial construction of the first stage over the rail to Creek Rd as part of the hospital site development,” Cr Gates said.
Echoing Cr Gates, Mr Crandon said council “can’t do it all alone”.
“They (arterial roads) are council’s responsibility, but they are taking pressure off the M1 exits,” Mr Crandon said.
“So the state should be kicking in some money. They should make it happen.”
DREAMWORLD’S HEADACHE
Among the areas currently worst affected by traffic is a roundabout at the front entrance to Dreamworld, which also services the entry to the M1 south from Coomera.
Greg Yong, CEO of Theme Parks at Dreamworld owner Ardent Leisure, said he “wholeheartedly agreed” with Cr Gates on the need for new arterial roads and work needed to begin immediately on a new transport strategy for the area.
“I live in the local area, my kids go to local schools, and just getting around on Monday morning or Tuesday morning is a horror story at the moment,” Mr Yong said.
“Our view is not dissimilar to everyone else. We need to be doing things now. It’s too late waiting for 2026 to come up with a strategy.
“Thinking needs to be happening now on it, and it needs to be in our view a very integrated and holistic solution to it, not just well the Coomera Connector’s going to fix it.”
Mr Yong, who will be among guests at a Transport Forum on Friday organised by the Gold Coast Central Chamber of Commerce, said his business was investing $60 million in new attractions and expected to be busier than ever in coming years.
He said Exit 54 was already “too congested” and supported calls for a separate crossing point over the M1 and new route connecting Beattie Rd and Foxwell Rd.
“I think that it’s not just a one shot thing in terms of having a silver bullet like the Coomera Connector, but it needs to be that and a whole heap of other additional things that would help ease the congestion,” Mr Yong said.
“The clear issue is it (the congestion) is here now, and no one’s slowing down. We’re investing, Costco’s here now, the hospital and health precinct work is going on.
“I think everyone that lives around this area or works around this area knows that it’s challenging now. So if we don’t have a plan now, in 2026, it will be very tough.”
FEEDER ROUTES NEEDED
Gold Coast Central Chamber of Commerce President Martin Hall says dedicated east-west feeder routes are needed to help get people to the heavy rail line and ease city congestion.
Speaking ahead of the Chamber’s Transport Forum at The Star Gold Coast on Friday, he said the amount of traffic being pushed into suburbs was affecting public transport.
“We’re seeing that now with the effects of the M1 traffic down the southern end and the amount of traffic that’s pushed into the suburbs, it’s crippling the public transport network on the Gold Coast,” Mr Hall said. “We’re also seeing the impact of the increased number of people who can’t afford to live in the central Gold Coast living in Ormeau/Pimpama and making that daily commute on the highway and choking that up.
“What we’re not doing is getting the feeders east to west onto the heavy rail. We’re investing hugely in this infrastructure but we need to get people to it.”
About 200 are expected to attend the forum, now in its fourth year.
Guest speaker will be Department of Transport and Main Roads acting director general Sally Stannard.
The panel will be Queensland Airports Ltd CEO Amelia Evans, Goldlinq CEO Phil Mumford, Driver Safety Australia managing director Russell White and BusTech Group chief technology officer Gregg Dinning.
The Gold Coast Bulletin is the forum’s official media partner.
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