Gold Coast politicians urged to prioritise road safety
The State’s peak motoring body is calling on all political parties and candidates to green light vital road and transport projects on the Gold Coast in a bid to save lives and drive investment in the region.
RACQ Head of Public Policy Susan Furze said road safety needed to be front of mind for present and future leaders in the upcoming federal election.
“Last year the Fadden electorate had five deaths on its roads, three people were killed on roads in the McPherson electorate, while in the Moncrieff electorate another two people were killed in crashes,” Ms Furze said.
“Crashes are preventable and have devastating flow-on effects for the families of those who have died and their communities.
“Investment in road safety does make a difference and we’re calling for further commitment to key projects to generate jobs, save lives and drive productivity.”
RACQ’s priority projects on the Gold Coast include:
- Funding for the planning and design phase of Stage 2 of the Coomera Connector (Coomera to Logan Motorway) and comprehensive interchange upgrades on the Pacific Motorway (e.g. Exit 38, 45)
- Delivering Smarter Motorways projects along the existing Pacific Motorway from Brisbane to the New South Wales border
- Funding for Gold Coast Light Rail Stage 4 to Coolangatta
- Increasing investment in the Federal Road Safety Program and bolstering maintenance funding allocations to deliver safer, stronger and more resilient regional roads.
Ms Furze said investment in rail was vital to ease congestion and improve commute times across the south east, as the region prepares to deliver a successful Olympic Games in 2032.
“We are just asking for Queensland’s fair share. These Gold Coast road and rail projects are national priorities and a funding boost is needed to accelerate delivery of upgrades,” Ms Furze said.
“We need to ensure our transport system is world class when we host the Olympic Games and commitment to these projects will put us in a good place to deliver a seamless transport experience for locals and tourists.
“We also want to see additional funding to modernise Queensland’s transport and energy systems by trialling emerging fuel, charging, energy storage and energy production technology including solar, hydrogen, community grids and micro-grids.”
RACQ is also calling on both sides of government to help expand the national electric vehicle fast-charging network, and progress public access to the EV fast charger network as identified in Infrastructure Australia’s Infrastructure Priority List.
To view RACQ’s election priorities click here.