COOMERA CONNECTOR NOT A SILVER BULLET TO FIX DIVISION 1’S TRAFFIC WOES

21 February 2020

The Coomera Connector is a vital piece of infrastructure however it is ‘not a silver bullet’ that will solve the Division 1’s traffic issues, according to recently announced Division 1 candidate in the Gold Coast 2020 local election, Mark Hammel.

Mr Hammel congratulated local and State governments for green-lighting works on the Nerang to Coomera section of the Gold Coast’s ‘second M1’, but said an ‘integrated traffic solution’ was required to prepare Division 1 for anticipated residential and business growth.

He said a pipeline of upgrades to interchanges and arterial and feeder roads connecting to the Coomera Connector must also occur to cater for the division’s booming population now and into the future.

“The Coomera Connector will be critical for keeping Division 1 residents and industry moving faster and safer, but it’s not a silver bullet – we need to be thinking bigger picture when it comes to a long-term integrated traffic solution for our area,” said Mr Hammel.

“We can’t just keep rolling out band aid fixes and drawing an invisible line where council roads end and state roads begin - and we certainly can’t keep looking at each traffic choke point in isolation, because that just moves the problem from one area to another.

“We need to be listening to all voices from residential and business communities in Division 1 and have all three levels of government working together, looking at the area as a whole, to create a pipeline of upgrades as part of an integrated traffic solution.

“If we don’t plan the Coomera Connector to go in the right place or plan for the arterial and feeder roads – both local and state roads – to connect into it in the right places, it will end up having a negative affect on traffic in Division 1 in the longer term.”

Mr Hammel said Division 1’s traffic issues were unique when compared to those of the southern Gold Coast.

“A big problem when driving around our division is we are split in half by the M1 and with the Coomera Connector, we’ll have a second highway dividing us in thirds in the not too distant future, so we need to start planning a long-term solution for that now,” he said.

 “Following consultations I’ve had with several town planners, surveyors and traffic engineering consultants, we need to be looking closely at exits 38, 45 and 49, as well as Stapylton-Jacobs Well Road, Peachey Road, Burnside Road, Yawalpah Road and Pimpama-Jacobs Well Road.

“We need to look at how these roads connect together – and with the M1 and Coomera Connector - so we can future-proof Division 1 and ensure our residents and businesses can move around the division faster and safer.”

If elected, Mr Hammel said he would work hard to ensure Division 1 had a voice in the consultation and planning process from the Coomera Connector project’s inception.

After engaging in years of consultations with planners, engineers and the local community, Mr Hammel said the electorate was clearly in support of a Coomera Connector alignment that extended beyond Stapylton, linking to the M1, Logan Motorway and Mount Cotton Road.

“The announcement of works on the Coomera Connector between Nerang to Coomera should be the catalyst to start a conversation now around how this second highway will benefit and impact on residents and businesses in Division 1,” said Mr Hammel.

“That discussion shouldn’t be an after thought - the Coomera Connector is a whole-of-city traffic project that requires a whole-of-city solution from the very beginning.

“Local council and the State and Federal governments have to get on with the job together – let’s start planning and consultation on the northern section now, so residents and businesses have certainty sooner rather than later; it’s not fair to hold it above their heads for the next decade.”

Mr Hammel said Division 1 was home to some of the fastest-growing suburbs in Queensland, including Pimpama, with the area feeling the effects of the Gold Coast’s growing pains.

“As a resident of Division 1 my entire life, I understand and can empathise with the daily struggle residents and businesses are facing,” he said.

“Whether you’re dropping the kids off at school, trying to get to work on time or driving a truck, traffic is without doubt the major issue for the division - it’s costing us time and money and quite frankly many of our roads are dangerous in their current state.

“Many residents I am speaking with in Division 1 often feel as though they are left out of important city planning discussions and decisions – and in all honesty, sometimes don’t feel as though they are considered part of the Gold Coast as a result of this.

“When it comes to traffic, Division 1 can’t afford to be forgotten when you take into account the huge future growth expected in our residential areas like Pimpama and Ormeau, and the industrial expansion of the Yatala Enterprise Area.  

“We need to get our planning done right the first time - get the community involved, so we can understand  our traffic problems and build a Coomera Connector and other upgrades that will be able to meet the needs of our division’s rapidly growing residential and industrial communities.

“We need a Local Area Plan for Division 1 and an integrated traffic solution that ensures balanced growth happens in the right places and that we build our traffic infrastructure for what our booming population will look like in the decades to come.”