Published Friday, 22 August, 2008 at 08:30 AM
Minister for Transport, Trade, Employment and Industrial Relations
The Honourable John Mickel
LIGHT RAIL THE FRONTRUNNER TO KEEP GOLD COAST MOVING
Transport Minister John Mickel has today revealed the preliminary business case for the Gold Coast Rapid Transit is recommending light rail as the solution to keep the city moving into the future.
Light rail has been found to offer greater capacity, reliability, and a longer lifespan than buses to cope with future growth. The preliminary business case has confirmed it can be delivered in stages, with Griffith University to Broadbeach being the top priority.
Mr Mickel has welcomed the preliminary business case and said: “ This is truly an international solution for an international city that enhances the Gold Coast’s reputation as a tourism and lifestyle destination”.
“The project has moved a step closer to construction and delivering a public transport solution that the Gold Coast deserves,” he said.
Mr Mickel said for the project to move forward it needed to pass several more tests.
“First and foremost we are looking to the Gold Coast City Council delivering on its strong support to date.
“Our partners, the City Councillors have already had the opportunity to view the preliminary business case and this enables Council to make an informed decision on the project.”
Mr Mickel said the next test for the feasibility of the project to move it from concept to reality is to embark on ‘market sounding’ which will commence in October.
“What this means is we will start discussions with private sector construction companies to determine their willingness to partner with the State Government and Gold Coast City Council on the project,” he said.
“Up until now, the private sector could not realistically begin planning their bids but with the certainty of the business case these companies can now get to work designing their bids.”
Further work is also needed on a corridor planning study, with construction estimated to commence in 2010. This process involves releasing the planning study to the community in October, with the community able to have their say in October and November. This valuable input will help refine the design.
“The Gold Coast is a beautiful city and we want to keep it that way. The community can help us with having a say on traffic, parking and the locations of stations,” Mr Mickel said.
Mr Mickel said once the State Government has this information it could make a decision in the first half of 2009.
“Doing nothing is simply not an option,” he said.
“Traffic on the city’s main roads is estimated to be increasing by an average of 4.3% each year.
“Currently only 4%, or 65,000 trips, are made by the Coast community on public transport, and with rapid transit it is projected to grow to 10% by 2026.
“By making public transport faster, more efficient and more reliable, this project is estimated to take up to 40,000 car trips off the roads – that will have a significant effect on future congestion and avoiding gridlock.”
The Gold Coast Rapid Transit project goes hand in hand with the State Government’s Ten Year Network Plan for the Gold Coast.
Features of the network plan include :
• Increase in funding for bus services from $1 million in 2004 to $16 million in 2008
• More bus services travelling from the west on bus priority lanes
• Bus priority lanes worth $12 million are currently being constructed in Frank Street, Smith Street and the Gold Coast Highway between Broadbeach and Miami
• Go card was launched on the Gold Coast in July, marking the beginning of cashless, quick and convenient ticketing for commuters.
“The rapid transit project is a key element of the Queensland Government’s plan to address congestion on the Coast,” Mr Mickel said.
“It is just one part of a larger, integrated approach we are bringing to the Gold Coast.”
Thursday 22 August 2008
Media Contact – John Smith 3237 1944 or 0409 305 669
Light rail has been found to offer greater capacity, reliability, and a longer lifespan than buses to cope with future growth. The preliminary business case has confirmed it can be delivered in stages, with Griffith University to Broadbeach being the top priority.
Mr Mickel has welcomed the preliminary business case and said: “ This is truly an international solution for an international city that enhances the Gold Coast’s reputation as a tourism and lifestyle destination”.
“The project has moved a step closer to construction and delivering a public transport solution that the Gold Coast deserves,” he said.
Mr Mickel said for the project to move forward it needed to pass several more tests.
“First and foremost we are looking to the Gold Coast City Council delivering on its strong support to date.
“Our partners, the City Councillors have already had the opportunity to view the preliminary business case and this enables Council to make an informed decision on the project.”
Mr Mickel said the next test for the feasibility of the project to move it from concept to reality is to embark on ‘market sounding’ which will commence in October.
“What this means is we will start discussions with private sector construction companies to determine their willingness to partner with the State Government and Gold Coast City Council on the project,” he said.
“Up until now, the private sector could not realistically begin planning their bids but with the certainty of the business case these companies can now get to work designing their bids.”
Further work is also needed on a corridor planning study, with construction estimated to commence in 2010. This process involves releasing the planning study to the community in October, with the community able to have their say in October and November. This valuable input will help refine the design.
“The Gold Coast is a beautiful city and we want to keep it that way. The community can help us with having a say on traffic, parking and the locations of stations,” Mr Mickel said.
Mr Mickel said once the State Government has this information it could make a decision in the first half of 2009.
“Doing nothing is simply not an option,” he said.
“Traffic on the city’s main roads is estimated to be increasing by an average of 4.3% each year.
“Currently only 4%, or 65,000 trips, are made by the Coast community on public transport, and with rapid transit it is projected to grow to 10% by 2026.
“By making public transport faster, more efficient and more reliable, this project is estimated to take up to 40,000 car trips off the roads – that will have a significant effect on future congestion and avoiding gridlock.”
The Gold Coast Rapid Transit project goes hand in hand with the State Government’s Ten Year Network Plan for the Gold Coast.
Features of the network plan include :
• Increase in funding for bus services from $1 million in 2004 to $16 million in 2008
• More bus services travelling from the west on bus priority lanes
• Bus priority lanes worth $12 million are currently being constructed in Frank Street, Smith Street and the Gold Coast Highway between Broadbeach and Miami
• Go card was launched on the Gold Coast in July, marking the beginning of cashless, quick and convenient ticketing for commuters.
“The rapid transit project is a key element of the Queensland Government’s plan to address congestion on the Coast,” Mr Mickel said.
“It is just one part of a larger, integrated approach we are bringing to the Gold Coast.”
Thursday 22 August 2008
Media Contact – John Smith 3237 1944 or 0409 305 669