Ann Wason Moore: The Gold Coast continues to find doubts in the controversial transport systems and here's Ann's reasons to not complain
They're eight of the most common things you hear about light rail on the Gold Coast. But they're wrong, writes Ann Wason Moore.
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LIGHT rail, Oceanway, cableway … no matter which way you turn, the Gold Coast just can not agree on how we should move around this great city.
Personally, I’m two out of three in terms of support … I’m reserving judgment on the cableway as of now.
But when it comes to controversy, the light rail is already light years ahead anyway.I’ve been pretty open in this column about my support for this infrastructure — and I say that purely as a resident.
I have no links to any developers, no links to any politicians (contrary to some conspiracies), I simply want to be able to access reliable public transportation and, more importantly, I want my kids to as well.Besides, at the rate our population is growing, we’re facing a future of nightmare traffic if we don’t figure out a way to get cars off our roads.
However, I am well aware of the many arguments against the light rail — my inbox is full of them. And it’s not that I don’t listen to these viewpoints, I simply don’t agree with them.
However, I certainly value them. We may be positioned on opposite sides of the track, but I love that so many residents are so invested in the future of this city — even if it’s not necessarily a shared vision just yet.
So this is my “reply all” in response to every argument proposed by commenters, emailers and readers … subject matter: why I still support light rail.
Argument: Light rail is outdated technology, use electric buses/trackless trams/hydrogen-powered buses.
Light rail has been around a long time … because it’s reliable.
As Curtin University Professor of Sustainability Peter Newman states: “Light rail remains the gold-standard technology for providing high-quality, rapid, zero-emissions public transport along a street corridor.”
Yes, there are newer and possibly better modes of transport being developed — trackless trams in particular — but these are largely untested. Do we want to be a guinea pig?
Again, Prof Newman, an advocate of trackless trams, says people are rightly concerned that we risk being left with a poorer public transport service if we replace a proven technology such as light rail with a less proven technology such as the trackless tram.
So, excuse the pun, perhaps down the track we can introduce this technology — particularly with our east-west routes — but the central spine of our light rail route should remain light rail.As for electric buses etc … see the next point please.
Argument: Southern suburbs don’t want light rail, just use electric/hydro buses from Burleigh (or even Broadbeach).
The problem here is the transfer penalty.
Changing from one mode of transportation to another — eg light rail to bus — is inconvenient and discouraging for potential users.
It’s a phenomenon widely recognised and studied by transportation academics and one that I understood well before I knew its name.
Living in London, I would happily travel an extra 10 minutes if it meant avoiding changing trains.
Here on the Gold Coast, avoiding the transfer penalty will mean avoiding public transportation, and we simply can’t afford that.
Right or wrong, we invested and built a light rail route — we have to see it through lest it become a one-way track to nowhere.
Argument: Who will even use light rail? Our buses are always empty.
It’s true that our buses are under-utilised. And there’s a reason for that: people don’t like buses.
It’s sad but it’s true — and backed up by multiple studies from Europe to America to Australia.
Research by University of Sydney Business School transport scholars David Hensher and Corinne Mulley conclusively found that people don’t like buses anywhere near as much as they like trains and light rail because they’re considered slow, uncomfortable, inconvenient, unpredictable, illegible and socially stigmatised.
Ever glance at the printed schedule at the bus stop?
You need an hour to read and interpret it, and chances are you’ll still end up heading in the wrong direction.
That’s just one reason that only 10 per cent of respondents opted for “bus” as their preferred mode of public transportation — compared to 73 per cent opting for light rail.
Look, it may well be true that buses can stack up financially and practically … but if people won’t use them, what’s the point?And those empty 777 buses barrelling down the Gold Coast Highway only prove my point.
Argument: Light rail will cause too much traffic, particularly through Palm Beach.
The proposed light rail route will restrict traffic lanes through Palm Beach, creating a more peaceful environment and better beach access.
Also, if traffic is too bad — take the light rail! If it forces you to use public transportation, that’s a win for the environment. And if the light rail doesn’t take you where you need to go, then you probably don’t need the Gold Coast Highway anyway.
Argument: Light rail is too noisy/ugly.And the Gold Coast Highway is a tranquil land of beauty?
Argument: Light rail will restrict access to the beach.
And the Gold Coast Highway with its “great wall of pool fence” doesn’t?
Argument: Light rail brings crime.
Living in a light rail-less suburb, I can tell you the crims and kids don’t need a tram to steal your car.
Argument: Light rail brings too much development.
OK, you got me here. Light rail is linked to increased development. However, given the cranes stretching down through our southern suburbs I don’t think the blame rests squarely on the (as yet unlaid) tracks.
EARLIER: ‘Woefully short’: Why we need the truth about Coast light rail
WHEN it comes to the light rail, it’s a clear case of the desperate and dateless.
It’s obvious there will never be a love match at the end of this tunnel … pro and anti campaigners are still spitting vitriol online and political parties are pitching their pennants on whichever side of the tracks appears more popular.
But what we so desperately need right now are community leaders committed to telling the objective truth. Because right now, both sides — at all levels — are falling woefully short.
Let’s start with the man in charge, State Transport Minister Mark Bailey — who has been challenged by Burleigh MP Michael Hart to hold a community forum with himself and area city councillor Daphne McDonald by May 31.
Given Mr Hart has vowed to “protect” the Minister from outraged residents desperate to attend this blisteringly hot date, I’d say Mr Bailey is well within his rights to burn that invitation in the bin.
But …
Mr Bailey is doing himself — and us — a huge disservice by being less than transparent about the project’s controversial Stage 4 route.
I understand his reticence, it’s extremely difficult in this climate to even attempt any form of mature discussion without one — or both — sides cherrypicking statements that suit their argument.
But he needs to just be honest.
In my opinion, the light rail will be fantastic for the city as a whole, but I understand it’s less than ideal for some Palm Beach residents. That doesn’t mean they can hold the city to ransom, but it does mean they are owed an explanation and the details — good and bad — of what this public transportation network will mean for them.
The truth is going to get out, so get on the front foot and tell it to us straight. Sure, many will shoot the messenger, but that’s what being a leader means — you have to cop the consequences of difficult decisions.
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Some may like it, some may not, but people respond to authenticity.
But that’s just one side of the political tracks.
On the other, not only do we have Mr Hart issuing his invitation to the lion’s den, but now the Member for McPherson Karen Andrews has invited residents to complete a “30-second light rail survey”.
“The Gold Coast light rail is a state government public transport project, which has been partly funded by the federal government,” she writes.
“This year, work will commence on Stage 3A, from Broadbeach to Burleigh. As the federal representative of the southern Gold Coast, I am interested in your views on the intended extension from Burleigh to the Gold Coast Airport.”
However, it seems to me this survey was intended not so much to provide an objective snapshot of what our whole community feels about light rail, but to provide some back up in terms of statistics to boost the anti-rail campaigners’ arguments.
Which is precisely why it is going viral among its intended recipients — the anti-light rail groups.
Witness the bias contained in questions such as: “Do you think there should be an option for the light rail to go west to connect with the heavy rail?”
The optional answers are “Yes” or “No”.
As a respondent, I honestly didn’t know which to tick. I mean, yes, there should be an option for the light rail to go west … but no, not at the expense or instead of the Gold Coast Highway route from Burleigh to the airport.
Sure, there was space to provide details of your answer, but that’s not going to fit into statistics, is it? Instead, it will just be a neat “X per cent support the light rail heading west”, regardless of whether they see that as an addition rather than alternative to the Gold Coast Highway route.
I commend the idea of a citywide survey about light rail, but lament its execution. Any scientist would debunk this as anything but an objectively worded questionnaire, while any lawyer would label these questions as leading.
Again, let’s just be honest.
If you’re looking for objections to the light rail, just say so — there are dozens of online forums standing by to help.
As for the rest of us, in the words of John Lennon, we’re just desperate for our leaders to gimme some truth.
Alas, in the words of Elvis, it seems the only date we’re promised is at the Heartbreak Hotel.
Originally published as Ann Wason Moore: The Gold Coast continues to find doubts in the controversial transport systems and here's Ann's reasons to not complain
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