Gold Coast and Tweed Transport

Queensland Gold Coast
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61

Laughable

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62

Just. One. More. Lane! :grin:

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63

Reading some of the comments there makes my head explode :exploding_head: 24 lane tunnels under the M1. :rofl::rofl::rofl:

What I think priorities for the GC should be:

  1. GCLR Stage 4 (say ā€œNO!ā€ to Palmy NIMBYs).

  2. East-west tram links: Coomera to Southport, Nerang to Broadbeach, Varsity Lakes to Burleigh Heads.

  3. BRT Southport to Burleigh on State Route 3.

  4. Heavy rail extension to OOL (and perhaps beyond; at the very least, the feasibility of doing so should be investigated).

  5. BRT Robina to Miami via Town Centre and Bond Uni

Iā€™m sure thereā€™s others, but thatā€™s the main big-ticket items.

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64

I think the East West Routes donā€™t necessarily need to be light rail at this point in time. BRT would be a suitable alternative, especially for Nerang to Broadbeach.

65

Possibly correct, but I think 704 needs urgent attention either way. Iā€™ve been on it several times this year with passengers packed in like sardines between Helensvale and Harbour Town. Maybe some artics?

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66

First step is to run more buses. 10 minute headways for instance.

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67

Gold Coast warned it faces traffic gridlock without major shift to public transport

The Gold Coastā€™s rapid population growth is fuelling worsening congestion, with experts warning the road network cannot keep up.

Just 3 per cent of all Gold Coast trips are on public transport, well below the 2031 target of 12 per cent.

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68

Harbour Town is one location that I would like to see connected to the light rail, if only to make use of the spur line at GCUH.

69

Perhaps. Now that Iā€™ve thought about it a little more, Iā€™m wondering if the lack of train frequency is part of the problem.

The first bus to depart after the train arrives at Helensvale will almost certainly carry more passengers than the next one.

This leads to overcrowding and consequent reliability problems for those catching the bus further along the route.

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70

^ I mean, think of it in these terms.

In July 2013, a year before tram services started, the following buses serviced Surfers Paradise on a weekday in a normal hour:

Southport to Broadbeach (12)

  • 700 x 2
  • 702 x 2
  • 703 x 2
  • 706 x 2
  • 707 x 2
  • 709 x 2

Seaworld to Broadbeach (6)

  • 750 x 2 (extending to Robina)
  • 750 x 4 (to Pacific Fair)

There were also theme park expresses on top of that.

We now have only 4 buses an hour to Seaworld.

In short - there is a while to go before light rail is necessary north of GCUH or along the GC Hwy from Helensvale to Southport. You could triple the 704 headway and there would still be capacity.

South of Burleigh on the other hand is going to experience service degradation much sooner given it is already sitting at 14 buses an hour through Palm Beach and congestion is higher - it is already pretty degraded even now.

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71

Public transport and construction gaps

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72

Went a bit unnoticed but the trial closure of the Surfers Esplanade has been deemed a success. The project to repurpose the street as a car-free area will go ahead.

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73

I wonder if when inevitably the Gold Coast Line gets constructed to Gold Coast Airport theyā€™ll introduce a local Gold Coast service that services all the stations on a much better frequency.
Such as:
Brisbane To Gold Coast: Roma Street, Albert St, Woolloongabba, Boggo Road, Altandi, Loganlea, Beenleigh, Helensvale, Currumbin Waters, Gold Coast Airport.

Gold Coast local line: Beenleigh, Ormeau, Pimpama, Coomera, Hope Island, Helensvale, Nerang, Merrimac, Robina, Varsity Lakes, Elanora, Currumbin Waters, Gold Coast Airport

74

This was a cool project, good to see theyā€™re looking at redesigning it also for some more shade structures and amenities. A lot of the opposing voices seemed loud but a lot of folks supported this and it was nice to see. A lot of the car culture on the Gold Coast is some of the worse people you will encounter.

75

A Brisbane service would almost certainly need to continue to service Coomera (for Dreamworld, Westfield/Costco and Hospital connectivity), Nerang (east-west connections to Surfers Paradise and Broadbeach and Carrara Stadium) and Robina Stations (connections to Bond Uni, Varsity Lakes, Robina Stadium, and east-west to Miami/Burleigh - I think the 765 will become an important connection between the train and light rail corridor) as well.

76

The ā€œbetterā€ Gold Coast service would just consist of the current operating pattern to Boggo Road but every 15 minutes 7 days a week.
I doubt more is justified outside the weekday peaks - unless weekend trips keep filling up and some extras need to start being run southbound in the morning and northbound in the evening.

If you were going to have a limited express service of any kind south of Beenleigh (which I donā€™t support), I would be omitting Pimpama, Ormeau, Hope Island and Merrimac.

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77

Wouldnā€™t Helensvale serve that with the G:Link? Nerang/Robina could be used only when events are on IMO.

78

You really donā€™t want to enforce that. A tram from Helensvale takes ~35 minutes to Cavill Avenue, and ~45 minutes to Broadbeach South.

A Route 740 from Nerang Station to Surfers Paradise takes 20 minutes.
A Route 745 from Nerang Station to Broadbeach South takes 20 minutes.

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79

I always felt like the Gold Coast local only works when there are more stations south of Varsity Lakes, because you want to hit the major centres on all patterns.

The major centres being Helensvale, Coomera, Nerang, Robina, one of either Tallebudgera or Elanora, and then GC Airport.

The skipped stations being Pimpama, Ormeau, Hope Island, Merrimac, Varsity Lakes, the other of either Tallebudgera or Elanora, Tugan (if built).

Re: Elanora v Tallebudgera, I feel like I would pick Elanora because I think you can structure a full bus network from there better than you can at Tallebudgera, but I also feel like Tallebudgera could anchor high frequency routes down SR3 and has better P&R access for anyone in the south (similar to Parkwood in the north) with no competing land uses to disincentivise a massive carpark.

80

Iā€™d make the Gold Coast stretch have (with bold being stops the Brisbane to Gold Coast train could serve):

  • Ormeau
  • Pimpama
  • Coomera
  • Hope Island
  • Helensvale
  • Nerang
  • Merrimac
  • Robina (stopped only on event days)
  • Varsity Lakes
  • Elanora/West Burleigh
  • Tugun/Currumbin Waters
  • Gold Coast Airport