Council has received over 750 ideas for managing Noosa traffic woes with ideas such as boom gates, SUP channels and chairlifts all getting a look in.
A statement from Noosa Council said they had received a “torrent of ideas” to improve local transport and help preserve the shire’s amenity.
Deputy mayor and Transport Strategy Control Group member Frank Wilkie said simply mentioning the word ‘transport’ was enough to trigger enormous community interest.
“Residents and stakeholder groups are very aware that transport management is critical to maintaining Noosa’s liveability. The challenge of ensuring access to the Main Beach precinct, particularly during peak holiday periods, has been a particular focus,” Cr Wilkie said.
“Last year, residents delivered their ideas through the Your Say Noosa website portal, pop-up stalls and an online survey. Many also chose to use the recent planning scheme consultation process to comment on transport issues.
“Collectively, we’ve received over 750 submitted ideas for managing Noosa’s transport issues. Many specific ideas appear repeatedly, but it’s an overwhelming response that shows this community is dedicated to preserving Noosa’s amenity for generations to come.”
Council’s planning and infrastructure project officers have the task of collating all the concepts offered to council. Project officer Joanna Ferris said the range of ideas submitted cover “just about everything that could be imagined”.
“They include small electric buses, park-and-ride services, trams, free bicycles, dedicated electric bike and vehicle lanes, floating boardwalks, more ferries on the river, SUP channels on the river, boom gates, cordon tolls, paid parking, multi-level parking, underground parking, e-vehicle charge stations, outdoor moving walkways, chairlifts, monorails and even making all of Noosa car-free!” she said. “Some ideas are more practical and feasible than others.”
Mayor Tony Wellington warned this was not the sort of issue where any one individual idea was necessarily correct.
“Unfortunately, there is no simple, quick-fix solution to the peak holiday traffic issue. Furthermore, the Transport Strategy needs to consider the whole of the shire, not just Noosa Main Beach,” councillor Wellington said.
“We will be workshopping the best ideas with our traffic experts. When we have more concrete, detailed proposals they will be made available for comment. Eventually, we will arrive at a Transport Strategy for adoption by council, ideally around mid-year.”
