By Dominic Cansdale,Nicole Dyer

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More buses without dedicated lanes are likely for the southern Gold Coast, according to the city’s acting mayor.

Last week the Queensland government scrapped a plan to extend light rail south from Burleigh Heads to Coolangatta because of high costs and community opposition.

Little detail has been released about the area’s future, but acting Gold Coast Mayor Mark Hammel said Mayor Tom Tate had met with Queensland Transport Minister Brent Mickelberg.

He said the southern Gold Coast would likely be serviced by a extra buses rather than the multi-billion-dollar light rail line.

“We’re not talking about a rapid bus system, we’re talking about an enhanced bus system which, from the best of our detail, just means some additional 777 buses and some paint being put on lanes at certain intersections to create priority,” Cr Hammel said.

With a rapidly growing population and regular congestion, he said a more intensive solution was needed.

“We’re looking for a bit more than that to ensure the southern Gold Coast has got a genuine alternative public transport option available,” Cr Hammel said.

“To me [that] says this state government has not got any intention of delivering a full public transport corridor from Burleigh to Coolangatta.”

Rapid vs enhanced

In announcing the canning of the light rail last week, Deputy Premier Jarrod Bleijie said the government would roll out a “rapid bus transit system”.

“We’ve actually got capacity now to have a better connected Gold Coast, particularly southern Gold Coast, than what a light rail, which is a fixed tram-line, could have provided,” he said.

A rapid bus transit system uses higher-capacity buses — as the Brisbane Metro does — that travel along dedicated lanes to deliver faster commute times.

But the government review released last week highlighted issues with the construction of a rapid bus system.

“[It would] involve construction of dedicated busways for use by metro-style buses, as well as construction of new bridges over the Tallebudgera and Currumbin Creeks and an interchange at Burleigh Heads”.

The report concluded that rapid bus transit would not be feasible because it would require “the resumption of significant areas of land” at the Burleigh Heads Bowls Club and Memorial Park.

More resumptions

The state government has repeatedly ruled out building a bus depot or interchange over the Burleigh Heads Bowls Club or Memorial Park.

Cr Hammel said rapid buses, some articulated and measuring 24 metres long, would need an interchange or depot.

“How do you get people off light rail and on to these other services? If it needs to seamless, it’s going to have to be right next to it,” he said.

The report found that building dedicated bus lanes would require parts of Burleigh Heads National Park to be resumed so that roads could be widened.

It also found that dedicated bus lanes would impact more properties than light rail.

The report said bus lanes would require the compulsory acquisition of 78 properties and partial resumption of 168 properties, which is 11 more than the light rail.

The review also noted that “enhanced” lanes do not require any property resumptions or the construction of dedicated lanes, but would instead give buses priority over other traffic at intersections.

Wider pressures still felt

The population along coastal suburbs between Coolangatta and Palm Beach is expected to increase by 12,000 over the next 16 years, totalling more than 48,000 people.

Light rail proponents championed the tram as an efficient method to transport those residents, as well as the six million visitors who come through the international airport annually.

Cr Hammel said traffic would come to “a complete grinding halt on the Gold Coast Highway if we don’t give a genuine alternative” to light rail.

He said he wanted confirmation from the state government that it would preserve a corridor wide enough for dedicated bus lanes along the Gold Coast Highway.

In response to questions, a Queensland government spokesperson said an assessment of “what public transport options will best serve the needs of the Gold Coast into the future” was underway.