Gold Coast light rail smashes records - but Sunshine Coast stuck at the station
Gold Coast light rail smashes records - but Sunshine Coast stuck at the station
No other public transport network has recovered as quickly from COVID as the Gold Coast’s G:link. What should be the equivalent on the Sunshine Coast?
The arguments against the Sunshine Coast project are truly something. And by something, I mean nothing parading around to stifle action:
-"Busways are better!" Not necessarily, as they require more vehicles, more land and are easier to downgrade.
-"It will ruin property values and wall off the beach!" Because yes, the places with the lowest property values are all near public transport lines and not near massive stroads. It's not like there's a big stroad already walling off the beach for anyone who isn't in a car. Disregarding the ridiculous speculative capitalisation of housing.
-"Polluter! (a GC one I've seen)" ...?
-"Nobody uses the buses, nobody will use this" There's such a thing as induced demand, and there's plenty of valid reasons why nobody (and by this, still a sizeable amount of people) uses the buses here.
Basically, change bad and imagined simulacrum of the past king.
The simple fact of how successful the GC one has been (as well as, I believe, the Newcastle one, despite how insanely limited that is in terms of where it goes and its mediocre frequency) should be enough to kill off most of the criticism.
and wall off the beach
I tell you what, I've not been to the Gold Coast much recently, but crossing Hunter St, Newcastle today is a hell of a lot less stressful that it was to cross it in 2015.
Oh, I know how it is - I'm from the area. Picture a four-lane car sewer lined in one part with drive thrus and the odd bit of traditional mixed use clinging on like a footpath plant, and a beautiful beach defaced by car infrastructure. That's before Nicklin Way proper, which is a true stroad in every sense. So yeah, the NIMBYs are a bit clueless in that respect.
And yeah, the G:link is a true infrastructure success story. Not to mention the induced demand it has on the wider network!