M1 noise: LNP pledge to build sound barriers at Coomera Springs and Ormeau

People living near the M1 on the northern Gold Coast say their lives are being made a misery – but a solution may finally be in sight. Full details.

James Nightingale says he regularly wakes up at two, three or four in the morning. But not for work, or any other reason that people normally rise early.

Mr Nightingale, who lives in Coomera Springs, says he’s being woken by noise from the nearby M1 motorway.

“During the day I don’t notice it but at night, especially in the early hours, (when)

there’s not a lot of background noise, you really hear it,” he said.

“It wakes us up. Especially the trucks and the Harleys, and any of the hotted up cars. They all seem to melt into one noise, it’s just a thrum.”

Coomera MP Michael Crandon and Shadow Transport Minister Steve Minnikin MP speaking with Coomera Springs resident James Nightingale.

Last year he led a petition to parliament, signed by 686 people, asking that sound barriers be installed by the Department of Transport and Main Roads (TMR) on that section of the M1.

Among the petitioners was the owner of a two-storey property whose children were unable to sleep in upstairs bedrooms.

The petition was knocked back in November, as was a similar appeal signed by 332 people regarding noise at Brookside Circuit, which is in the Norfolk Village area at Ormeau.

Residents there said they were forced to raise radio and television volumes to “unreasonable levels” to drown out noise and were suffering from sleep deprivation since an upgrade to Exit 41 was completed last winter.

Coomera MP Michael Crandon and Shadow Transport Minister Steve Minnikin MP speaking with residents at Norfolk Village.

Both petitions were sponsored by Coomera MP Michael Crandon, who on Thursday announced that the LNP would install sound barriers on the M1 at both locations if returned to power after the election on October 26.

“The LNP will restore respect for your money, delivering projects on time and on budget, with the Right Plan for Queensland’s Future,” Mr Crandon said.

“Time’s up for Labor’s expensive failures which have overseen $20 billion-plus in project cost blowouts, that could have instead delivered local infrastructure like the Coomera Springs and Norfolk Village sound barriers.”

The commitment was welcomed by John Donnelly, who led the Brookside Circuit petition.

“This announcement is welcomed by residents who just want to get a good night’s sleep,” he said.

Follow @keithjwoods