Carparks and pathway width dominated debate when the revised Noosaville Foreshore Infrastructure Masterplan won the vote when it came before Noosa Council’s general meeting on Monday.
Much of it was focused on the Thomas Street boat ramp area where two paths converge and conflict arose between the proposal to widen the pathway to 3.5m to improve safety and enable separation between cyclists and pedestrians and the resulting loss of 10 carparks.
The initial foreshore masterplan released a year ago was met with community protest and criticised for its proposed changes to the character of the much loved area including the removal of the tennis court and carparks.
In delivering the plan this week for recommendation staff acknowledged the first iteration of draft plan “didn’t get it right” with this second iteration being a softer more responsive design created after “significant community engagement” and a plan which they said has received significant community support.
“Key topics such as carparking, tennis court, playgrounds, boating, public amenities, pathways, and river edge treatments have been addressed to align with community feedback,” the staff report states.
“The Plan sets out a vision for the next 20 years, addressing significant foreshore challenges such as aging infrastructure and flooding, tidal inundation and erosion accelerated by climate change.
“The Noosaville Foreshore parkland reserve stretches for approximately two kilometres and includes a diverse range of recreational facilities on the riverfront. “It contains parks, sandy beaches, pedestrian and cycling pathways, parking lots, boat launching sites, public jetties, and amenities suitable for families such as barbecues, pavilions, and playgrounds. This reserve constitutes an important recreational space within Noosa Shire and is highly valued by both locals and visitors for its natural environment and vibrant river culture.
“Some of the challenges of the foreshore the Master Plan seeks to address include aging infrastructure, river flooding, tidal inundation, and storm tides. Much of the existing infrastructure in place today has reached the end of its service life and no longer meets contemporary standards, having been upgraded in excess of 25 years ago.”
As the debate neared its end councillors spoke of their fondness for the foreshore, their memories of family events and celebrations that had been forged in the precinct as well as their desire to deliver a plan to the community that would garner their trust and show their voices had been heard.
The issue of carpark loss remained a sticking point.
Cr Amelia Lorentson acknowledged her support for the plan, that it was a moving document that could be updated, that it didn’t need more consultation or revisions and everyone wanted to get on with it. She also acknowledged that they had failed to commit to no net loss of car parking which the community had called for and while her amendment to do so had not been supported in the meeting she said the conversation on car parking would not go away.
“There were two main issues that were clearly voiced during consultation. Don’t destroy the low key charm and character of foreshore and keep our carparks,” she said.
“My amendment wasn’t supported to no net loss of car parking across the precinct. There was no real acknowledgement we would commit, I know we will aim for no net loss of parking across the precinct. That amendment was the most direct way for me to tell the community that we heard you. It was like a line in the sand and I just feel we didn’t do it.”
Mayor Frank Wilkie said the masterplan showed to a large extent that they had listened.
“We listened to the net loss of carparks. The intention was good. We responded to the request to have separate paths for pedestrians and cyclists. We couldn’t achieve that without the loss of carparks. We listened to the community and took that off the table,” he said.
“The enjoyment, safety and accessibility of all users is at the forefront of what we’re trying the achieve here. Sometimes they’re in conflict. We can overcome that through further detailed design and consultation. What we’ve come up with here is a resolution that embodies our collective respect for what the community has said, our respect for what the staff’s advice is, technical advice about how to deliver all these things the community has been telling us. We all love this precinct. We all love the community. We’ve all listened very hard to what the community has told us. What lies at the heart of them all is that we have listened to the community.
“The noosaville foreshore will remain a low key recreational area that will be enjoyed by all users, that respects the heritage of commercial users and will continue to consult very carefully before we introduce any changes in the future.”
Staff said the plan would be used to source grants and various funding mechanisms to offset infrastructure costs with estimates that in excess of $10 million in investment would be required for critical asset renewal expenses, which encompass revetment walls, pathways, parking facilities, lighting and playgrounds.
Councillors voted 5:2 to endorse the masterplan with the decision to be ratified at council’s ordinary meeting on Thursday.
