The map that proves Gold Coast Oceanway can be finished

OPINION: Avoiding ‘sacrificial’ sections of the Oceanway is an excuse not to build this infrastructure, but the truth is we’ve done it before, writes Ann Wason Moore.

Well, isn’t this convenient.

Mermaid Beach MP Ray Stevens, a long-time opponent to the Oceanway, thinks that the money earmarked for the completion of the Oceanway should instead be used to upgrade the existing footpath on Hedges Ave.

While he couched these views in terms of community safety, stating that it’s only a matter of time before an accident with cyclists and vehicles causes a fatality, I’m not quite clear how his solution is, well, a solution.

How does removing power poles and smoothing out an already existing footpath alleviate the danger of cars mixing with cyclists and pedestrians?

We need a separate pathway to reduce the traffic on Hedges Ave. Let it be the ‘fast-lane’ for cars, serious cyclists, e-bikes and e-scooters, while the Oceanway is for pedestrians and cruising on a casual bike ride.

Look, would it be great to improve the Hedges Ave route? Absolutely. But at the expense of the Oceanway? Hell, no.

However, it’s this quote from Mr Stevens that really perturbs me: “With the council not proceeding with the beachfront Oceanway at Hedges Ave, that funding agreement should transfer to the upgrade of the footpath along Hedges Ave on that fifty-fifty basis (between council and state government).”

Mermaid Beach MP Ray Stevens. Picture: Portia Large.

Hang on, who said the council is not proceeding with the Oceanway at Hedges Ave?

It seems someone is jumping the gun, given that council officers are set to hand down their Oceanway completion strategy in May.

Further, earlier this month Mayor Tom Tate stated his support for completing the 36km Oceanway project.

However, Mr Stevens instead focused on the Mayor’s previous comments when he declared he would not build “sacrificial” sections of the Oceanway as they would be a waste of time and money.

And this is where it gets interesting.

Speaking to a town planner with decades of experience, they said that ‘sacrificial’ essentially meant it was accepted that anything built east of the A-line, the line upon which the city has been struggling for decades to complete a certified seawall, would need to be repaired, replaced or rebuilt if damaged by significant erosion.

A section of the Oceanway at Tugun. Picture: Glenn Hampson.

But guess what? The coastal planner said we’ve built plenty on this ‘sacrificial’ space already – such as most of the Surfers Paradise foreshore park and infrastructure, including the footpath, and there are even some buildings east of the A-line.

See for yourself. The A-line can be viewed online via the City of Gold Coast interactive maps. Simply use the coastal erosion hazard overlay, and the foreshore seawall line will appear as a long, red line. You might be surprised at just how much lies seaward of it.

Interestingly, this seawall is intended to be the last line of defence against the ocean, this literal line in the sand slows erosion of the dunes and lessens the impact of significant storms.

For decades, public and private landholders have worked together to build this incredible piece of infrastructure, and the council has all but completed its side of the seawall.

Yet many private properties along Hedges Ave are yet to complete their own section, some even have pools and basketball courts built beyond it.

I guess this means they are willing to risk sacrificing their own homes to the sea … but it’s too much for the city to risk the Oceanway.

How the A-line looks at Surfers Paradise.

Structures outside the A-line in Mermaid Beach.

Further, let’s think about what it really means for a footpath to be sacrificial.

Every time it floods, and that has been far more frequent than massive coastal events, roads get washed away and potholes are created.

Our roads are essentially ‘sacrificed’ to the rain, so should we stop building or repairing them? No, that would be stupid. We need them, they are integral to the functioning of our city.

Well, surely the same could be said of the Oceanway, given its incredible patronage – already regarded as one of the Gold Coast’s top tourism attractions – as well as the current carnage occurring on Hedges Ave.

Besides, repairing a footpath would be a fraction of the cost by comparison.

“There is no geotechnical reason that some concrete can’t be laid seaward of the A-line and on a line that preserves the role of dune vegetation. We’ve done it before,” said my town planner source.

“In environmentally sensitive areas, if the pathway needs to be designed further towards the dunes, there are solutions there too. Look at what has been done with the boardwalk at Kawana on the Sunshine Coast, it’s pretty fantastic.”

Look, I do have sympathy for Hedges homeowners who don’t want the Oceanway, but this is public land. And public access to the beach is as Australian as a Vegemite sandwich.

We need the political will to build the Oceanway for the greater good of the city. Because the footpath can be built, but it might upset some well-heeled residents.

And that is the inconvenient truth.

Originally published as The map that proves Gold Coast Oceanway can be finished