{"id":297537,"date":"2025-10-07T17:46:00","date_gmt":"2025-10-07T07:46:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.vibewire.com.au\/?p=297537"},"modified":"2025-10-07T12:47:22","modified_gmt":"2025-10-07T02:47:22","slug":"burleigh-heads-the-end-of-the-line-as-gold-coast-light-rails-final-stage-canned","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.vibewire.com.au\/?p=297537","title":{"rendered":"Burleigh Heads the ‘end of the line’ as Gold Coast light rail’s final stage canned"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

A long time ago, Sydney virtually stopped building public transport infrastructure.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When it resumed, retrofitting the city was painful and expensive, according to Bond University urban planning researcher Daniel O’Hare.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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“It’s been so much more expensive because they waited,” Dr O’Hare said.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

“And very much more disruptive because the city had to grow up without it and they had to retrofit it.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The south entrance of Gadigal station on Sydney’s new Metro line was not cheap.  (Supplied)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

On the Gold Coast, the rapidly growing city realised it too was headed for gridlock, long before construction began on Sydney’s massive underground metro<\/a> or light rail projects.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“It was identified we would have gridlock unless we developed some kind of rapid transit system,” Dr O’Hare said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

30-year plan<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Light rail was chosen shortly after a 1998 transport plan, using population growth and migration patterns, identified problems.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The Gold Coast’s population continues to surge. (Facebook: City of Gold Coast)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The city’s population has since doubled and is expected to surge towards a million people by 2040.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This week the final, fourth stage that would see a light rail line run the full length of the Gold Coast’s coastal strip was scrapped by Deputy Premier Jarrod Bleijie<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n

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\"\"<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

A review found the 13-kilometre line to the airport would cost between $5.7 billion and $9.85 billion.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mr Blejiie also cited a survey detailing the feelings of nearby residents about the project.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Now, similar to another south-east Queensland rail project<\/a>, the Gold Coast line is expected to terminate at Burleigh Heads with buses servicing the route south to the city’s international airport.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Changing character<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Burleigh Pavilion owner Ben May said he was not surprised by the decision, because it had been foreshadowed for months<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But that does not mean he thinks it is ideal.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“The reality is we’re left with a half-finished transport solution,” Mr May said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“The fact that it was started without a guarantee that it would be finished is absolutely laughable.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Ben May has businesses in Queensland and NSW. (ABC Gold Coast: Tara Cassidy)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

He said swapping between trams and buses was a turn-off for commuters, and an interchange could transform Burleigh Heads.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“No-one wants to live at the end of the line,” he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“As someone from Sydney who knows what that looks like \u2014 it’s a really poor result.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n

“Part of the jewel of Burleigh was that it wasn’t Surfers Paradise.”<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

‘Views remain mixed’<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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Cavill Avenue in Surfers Paradise isn’t popular with some Gold Coast residents. (ABC News: Tom Forbes)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

For some who live on the Gold Coast, Surfers Paradise is a dirty word.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There are fears of a concrete canyon stretching south, spurred along by the light rail, as one of many reasons some residents are opposed to the project.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Luxury beachfront apartments rise above Palm Beach which had been largely single storey.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Some say the developments follow a decades-long trend.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“We’re seeing development all through the southern Gold Coast. It’s market driven,” said Coolangatta-based councillor Gail O’Neill.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

ABC News<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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