Zero Emissions Noosa believes that how Noosa tackles its transport woes over the next 10 years will determine whether we can continue to celebrate our uniquely liveable community.
The foundation for that future must be set in this term of Council, beginning with the June 2025 Council Budget.
Noosa Council’s 10-year Transport Strategy (2017-2027) only has a couple more years to run. Despite some runs on the board, it’s behind schedule. For this reason, Zero Emissions Noosa (ZEN) Inc. volunteers held a deputation with Councillors on 20 January to raise our concerns and offer some solutions.
The Council’s Transport Strategy gives priority to pedestrians, cyclists, scooters and public transport over private cars – to move people not cars. It is supported by the Noosa Cycling and Walking Strategy (2020 – 2040) which has a staggering 369 projects listed in its prioritisation plan.
As most of us have experienced, in the last decade the number of private cars on our roads has worsened. Noosa residents remain largely reliant on private vehicles, bus services don’t meet the needs of rural centres, people don’t feel safe navigating the streets by bike, and parents still prefer to drop kids off at school.
Council initiatives to help address these problems have been holiday and weekend free buses; Park and Ride nodes; and summer drop-off point in Hastings Street. Similarly, work has been done to widen and improve several bike lanes, as more locals take to e-bikes and e-scooters.
But more needs to be done – and not just in Hastings Street and Noosaville. At ZEN’s deputation to Council we urged Councillors to drive a vision of what our Shire will be like in another decade. ZEN envisages more (electric) public transport with shuttles to connect people to the major bus routes; dedicated cycle and pedestrian lanes extending across all the Shire; no-go zones for private vehicles like the pedestrian malls being reclaimed in the many cities; and more shade trees to protect riders and walkers from the intensifying heat.
For Hastings Street, we’d love to see a free electric people mover taking people, with their picnic baskets and surfboards from Noosa Woods to the National Park, drastically reducing traffic in this area and making it a much more enjoyable experience.
We know funds are limited but we think Noosa residents have the passion and intelligence to support the challenging decisions which must be taken. Firstly, we know that the Council is reviewing its Sustainable Transport Levy. Every ratepayer in Noosa is charged a flat levy of $30 per year. These funds mostly cover the cost of free buses. Now that the Queensland Government is meeting the cost to subsidise 50 cent fares at all times, the Council recently announced that they will stop the free buses, freeing up funds that can be used on other transport projects.
Importantly, is it also time to rethink paid parking or a congestion tax? We know there is resistance to these ideas. The Council is currently trialling timed parking on the Noosa Spit to make access more equitable. But even minimal paid parking at the Spit, and in other congested areas, could bring in millions of dollars a year that could then be used to implement the Transport Strategy across the whole Shire.
ZEN are planning to consult with community members on all these ideas to get wider views. The first of these will be in Cooroy Memorial Hall on 1 March, followed by the Environment Centre, 9 March.
Visit zeroemissionsnoosa.com.au or go to our FaceBook to find out more.
