A decision to place funding to complete the Sunshine Coast Direct Rail on the backburner has raised the ire of Sunshine Coast Mayor Rosanna Natoli.
Mayor Natoli said future stages of the rail line and the Mooloolah River Interchange both faced uncertainty after they were removed from Infrastructure Australia’s Federal funding priority list.
She said both projects were needed now to cope with the traffic congestion the Sunshine Coast had been experiencing for many years.
“Our region is experiencing extraordinary population growth which is placing significant pressure on our transport infrastructure.
“The strain is becoming a serious issue for our community and visitors.”
Mayor Natoli said both the Queensland Government and Sunshine Coast Council had identified the Direct Sunshine Coast rail line as region-shaping infrastructure.
“It is urgently required to help Sunshine Coast maintain our liveability and reduce our current high levels of car dependence,” she said.
“The Sunshine Coast has the second highest rate of daily private vehicle trips of any regional area in Australia because we don’t have an adequate public transport system.
“We need to get people out of cars and onto public transport to reduce traffic congestion, reduce emissions and increase productivity and better connect people as they try to get to their workplaces, to the shops and to services.”
Mayor Natoli said the project would enable residents and visitors to choose public transport over private vehicle travel and would accelerate the delivery of more than 3000 affordable and diverse homes around new rail stations over the coming decade.
“Direct Sunshine Coast from Caloundra to Maroochydore has been on the table for decades. It is needed now. It cannot be put off any longer. The planning will take years, let alone the construction.
“Removing it from the infrastructure priority list puts our residents and our region behind the eightball once again.”
She said there was 370,000 people calling the Sunshine Coast home and in less than 20 years there would be another 200,000 people living in the region.
“We need a safe, modern public transport system because our roads will be choked.”
Mayor Natoli said the Mooloolah River Interchange, the intersection of Kawana Way, Sunshine Motorway and Brisbane Road, had also been considered critical decades ago.
“This key junction connects several major centres in the region and is a vital link to other transport projects, including Direct Sunshine Coast,” she said.
“The interchange is already under enormous pressure.
“It is a serious traffic bottleneck and has become more so since the opening of the Sunshine Coast University Hospital in 2017.”
Mayor Natoli said Council was willing and able to play a crucial role in continuing to advance major region-shaping infrastructure.
“However, we cannot do this without Australian Government assistance.”
