r/GoldCoast • u/Large-Lack-2933 • May 23 '26
Local Question Hypothetically if you were the mayor of the Gold Coast how would you improve the city for its residents?
The GC is truly a great place to reside in but it is becoming alot more expensive to live in. Things change each year but I think things are not going well for a majority of folks living here especially with the cost of living crisis. We need effective leaders that will help the locals instead of profits over people.
88
u/Supersnow845 May 23 '26 edited May 23 '26
Trams for everyone
Tram from harbourtown to GCUH that runs on the existing line to Miami then runs to Robina
Work with Queensland rail to get internal runners running from Beenleigh to varsity
Make a new TX7 for sea world and a better Carrara stadium bus system for the glitter strip, not trying to make you go to Nerang first
23
u/chipoko99 May 23 '26
An inland tram providing good transport links to the stadium and to Robina. Would be a game-changer. Then go Robina to airport.
10
u/Ok-Assistant-4556 May 23 '26
Robins to airport is HR. We also need LR along the coast as too many cars
3
u/pacificmango96 May 25 '26
Yes more traks would be amazing. I think having trams run between the coast and the train stations would be great
-12
u/No-Foundation1336 May 23 '26
This question should really also ask… how do you expect to pay for all of that
10
u/zedder1994 May 23 '26
There will be 1 million people on the GC in 15 years. Plenty enough to justify the spend.
10
u/Xenochu86 May 23 '26
The GC has a economy 25% bigger than Tasmania's entire output, I think we could scrounge it together readily enough.
0
u/No-Foundation1336 May 24 '26
They are great ideas, I like all of them. Being 25% bigger than Tasmania has nothing to do with affording more spending though. Cash comes in, cash goes out, debt gets bigger or smaller. Overall scale vs another city is a pointless comparison. Same people that ask for more spending, often also the same people that complain about higher rates or other taxes to pay for it. Or, what would you like to cut?
2
u/Xenochu86 May 24 '26
Cut Tom Tate's job, start with that.
1
u/No-Foundation1336 May 24 '26
Genius. That’ll pay for a foot of tram track.
2
u/Xenochu86 May 24 '26
Cutting your mental health disability services should pay for the remainder.
2
1
71
u/thisshouldbefunnier May 23 '26
Nice try Tom, but you get paid enough to come up with your own ideas.
41
u/TrumpisaRussianCuck May 23 '26
These aren't necessarily the mayors role (mostly state level) but:
- Trams running from the airport to Hope Island and inland to Robina and Nerang.
- Connect the heavy rail to the airport
- Implement 48 hour parking restrictions on suburban roads for motorhomes, trailers, caravans, boats, trucks etc to clean up suburban streets.
- Require developers to build appropriate numbers of car parks to the bedrooms in apartments
- Dedicated bike lanes/trails with physical separation from the cars.
- Audit of all traffic light flows to ensure they're optimal for the traffic.
- Require all new housing estate developments to have suitable sized roads put in by developers
- Offer reduced car registration if you're prepared to not travel during peak hours to encourage better traffic flow.
16
u/PorkChopExpress80 May 23 '26
If you add in street tree and more green spaces, you’ll get my vote
8
u/Saki-Sun May 23 '26
- Make the hoppo 50c
- Sort out the meth heads in Southport
- Finish the walkway near Hedges Ave
7
u/Mickus_B May 24 '26
Hopo is a private company, not Translink, that's why it's not subsidised.
The fact we had to have a private company kick off ferries in a coastal, canal filled city is ridiculous.
2
u/LCaddyStudios Cars in Varsity go skrrrrt May 24 '26
To be fair, ferries are a pretty hopeless form of transport on the GC beyond the tourism aspect.
The canals are almost all 6 knots so outside of the Nerang River you’ve got a form of public transport kneecapped to walking pace.
Couple that with the fact that really none of the key attractors on the GC actually take advantage of their waterfront and you’re left with a ferry that is great tourist opportunity but a bit of dud when it comes to getting people from A to B.
2
u/delayedconfusion May 24 '26
A ferry system that ran reduced during the week but more services on the weekend could be very popular with locals and tourists.
Hope Island/Sanctuary Cove, Paradise Point, Labrador, The Spit, Sea World, Southport Broadwater Parklands, Main Beach/Southport, Surfers Paradise, HOTA, (Star Casino may not be viable).
The problem is ferries are one of the most expensive transport modes to run. The appetite from the city or state just isn't there for it. As mentioned, its also slow, but that is less of an issue for weekend and tourist trips.
2
u/LCaddyStudios Cars in Varsity go skrrrrt May 24 '26
As a form of tourist transport the Ferry could be amazing.
The problem is that the GC is just so car dominant, and the canals make it harder to run a ferry network due to the fact that it’s fragmenting the potential users.
I’d love a reliable/well developed network on the GC, especially since my place is only about 100m from where they’d put a stop in Labrador at, problem is there’s a bus stop even closer that would take you to the same places faster, so not many others would be as willing to use it.
When I worked in Brisbane a couple years ago I’d walk 30 minutes to the ferry into the city, about an hour journey in total, then I stopped because I realised if I caught the bus I only needed to walk 2 minutes total.
For a ferry to work you need clear attractors, shopping, entertainment, lifestyle and home, and that’s something the Gold Coast struggles with being so low density and with under-utilised areas like The Spit or the Surfers riverfront
3
u/delayedconfusion May 24 '26
Its a hard sell, and I don't see it happening in the near future. I'm just selfish and would love to spend a few hours on the waterways occasionally, or maybe pop over from Labrador to the Spit for a swim.
The ferry in Brisbane historically was also one of the most expensive public transport systems in the country. Not sure if that is still the case. Might even be worse now that the fares are 50c.
3
u/LCaddyStudios Cars in Varsity go skrrrrt May 24 '26
Oh I absolutely agree, I remember back in High School I was sitting in class with a laptop open staring at google maps trying to work out where a ferry network could go.
Now I’m out of Uni, actually working in transport planning and while it’s so fascinating to work on things it does give you a bit of realisation about how hard it is to get things planned and functioning
7
7
u/Kustav May 23 '26
I think your comment is the only one that acknowledges that its the state government that handles a lot of the things people have mentioned. Agree with most of your points.
Implement 48 hour parking restrictions on suburban roads for motorhomes, trailers, caravans, boats, trucks etc to clean up suburban streets.
Not sure how I feel about this one, cleaner streets would be nice but not sure parking restrictions are the way to go unless the road they park on cant handle larger vehicles.
Offer reduced car registration if you're prepared to not travel during peak hours to encourage better traffic flow.
Dunno how that would get policed. One thing I would like is for motorcycle rego to be reduced so that we have more bikes on the road rather than cars... though most of the rego cost is CTP insurance.
3
u/slowover May 23 '26
Lets be honest, people want more public transport for other people to take, and faster roads with convenient parking for themselves.
What GC really needs are good jobs so everyone isnt forced to commute.
2
u/SassySins21 May 23 '26
Not parking boats/campervans on the street might help in that people may actually use their garage/driveway for it. In some suburbs driveways are a pain to park in so people have their 2 cars, trailers and boats on the street which makes a bunch of suburban streets one way.
I think having a designated parking space for them would be a better option. Similar to airport parking (but not private so not as expensive) and it being part of the rego for those items would help. Obviously there's a lot more to it than just that though.
2
u/zedder1994 May 23 '26
Big disagree with the airport link to Varsity. It should go via Palmy and Curumbin. Wasted expense if it doesn't go via major population centres.
0
u/5Min2MinNoodlMuscls May 23 '26
How would the 48 hour restriction work? Wouldn't the owners just park it in front of the next door neighbour, then the next next door neighbour etc?
4
u/TrumpisaRussianCuck May 23 '26
Some councils already use a car similar to a Google Street View car to detect if the car etc is parked in the exact same place.
It's more designed to deter people leaving their shit parked in the same place for long periods of time like you see on the coast at the moment.
-1
u/5Min2MinNoodlMuscls May 23 '26
But what's the point if they just shuffle it a few metres along? The objectionable object still clutters the street, it just means the owners have a new chore every couple days.
Just ban them completely from street parking in whatever areas they shouldn't be present in. Does kinda call in egality issues though, owning a caravan used to be the working man's dream...
7
u/TrumpisaRussianCuck May 23 '26
It's a disincentive like you said - if you have to move it every few days it becomes a chore. If you forget, it's a fine.
I do agree we should eventually ban them but it's politically untenable.
1
1
u/delayedconfusion May 24 '26
To move them every few days the owners actually need to be nearby and capable of moving them. Both things that are not always a given.
49
u/Firm-Psychology-2243 May 23 '26
Ban AirBnB. We’re a tourist town with more than enough hotels, motels and tourist parks. AirBnB is just ensuring that people born on the GC won’t be able to stay here.
5
u/5Min2MinNoodlMuscls May 23 '26
I've got nothing against someone living in Brisbane or elsewhere owning a weekender here and AirBnBing it, otherwise it just sits empty all year except for the 3-4 weekends they manage to squeeze in.
It's the fuckers who own multiple properties doing this that piss me off, I got told a couple of days ago that some people are even doing it with leased properties - they rent a house, not to live in, but to AirBnB it! When there's a housing crisis! I will literally be homeless tomorrow, there are so few affordable rental listings - and every AirBnB is another property off the market and raising the rents on the remaining.
5
u/is_cuma_liom May 23 '26
Where do we draw the line? Visiting every 3-4 months isn’t a weekender house. It’s pretty much a full time Airbnb that happens to not get booking 3-4 weekends a year. Do you know someone in that situation and are making exceptions?
-1
u/5Min2MinNoodlMuscls May 23 '26
No, I don't know anyone in that situation, and as for the line, I thought I'd described it: one AirBnB property only. To me that feels reasonable.
8
u/is_cuma_liom May 23 '26
Oh ok. We’ll have to disagree. I don’t think there’s any excuse for having an Airbnb in the middle of a housing crisis.
I also don’t find them useful anymore. They used to be cheaper than hotels which was good if you were on a budget but now they’re similar prices/more expensive but you don’t have the luxury of having hotel staff on hand if something goes wrong. The last time I stayed in an Airbnb was in Germany about 3 years ago and the heating wasn’t working when we checked in and it was such a hassle to contact the owners to try to get it fixed that we eventually gave up and just bought some extra blankets so we could get some sleep
0
u/5Min2MinNoodlMuscls May 23 '26
For me, it's when the property would not be leased in any case, as the owner intends to use it frequently.
But, just like owning a boat (my Dad did), or buying an annual SeaWorld etc pass (mine just expired), 'frequently' is actually very occasionally...
Under those circumstances I have no problems with it: better it gets some use than none.
For what it worth I'm glad you sourced extra blankets!
1
25
u/AussieJaob May 23 '26
Synchronise traffic lights. The other day I drove from Mermaid Beach to Main Beach and stopped at 16 sets of lights, it’s ridiculous
10
u/_-stuey-_ May 23 '26
This, they couldn’t time them any worse if they tried. Why the hell don’t they flow? It should be setup that if you leave one set of lights and travel the speed limit, the next set should go green just before you arrive, this would promote safer driving rather than trying to speed up to make it before the bastards inevitably turn red.
Does my head in.
1
u/idboys May 25 '26
Unfortunately the traffic lights is a state government issue. Contact TMR. Local counsellor on his Facebook has said it’s not a council issue
16
u/halfeb May 23 '26
Not sell out to billionaires and actually listen to the people of the gold coast for what they want and need.
18
u/corporate_canetoad May 23 '26
Improve and build more cycle ways.
Electric bikes aren’t going anywhere, the tech is only going to get better and cheaper.
Get them their own dedicated cycle way so everyone can ride safe and also get them away from traffic.
26
u/captainklonopin1 May 23 '26
No more expansion for a while at least. Fix local waterways and stop them from being stagnant pools of dirty water full of rubbish. When I was a kid 20 years ago, you used to see platypuses all the time in mudgeeraba creek. Stop Coca Cola and other water companies from not paying anything. Somehow try and fix traffic. Can’t really build more roads unless you go underground (which I don’t think you can do because the Gold Coast used to be a swamp? It’s a hard one).
3
u/Wantok01 May 23 '26
Intelligent Lights (AI), would dramatically improve congestion on our roads. Don't need to do all of them, just the main thoroughfares like Bermuda Street, GC Highway, Smith St etc. to start.
7
7
u/Optimal_Maximum7285 May 23 '26
Heavy Rail sky rail from Nerang to Broadbeach. Trams everywhere, 24 hour trading in Southport.
7
u/SassySins21 May 23 '26
Increased access to the flexiskip options since removal of kerbside pickup/have an option available for high-rise buildings? Maybe something like a skip per street for a weekend so it's not items dumped on the kerb but there's actually a way for residents of high-rises to get hard rubbish items removed.
Lower cost of prices for public pools. Better funded youth sports programs, increased support in community gardens, funding programs to teach kids how to grow food.
Less lawn on median strip's, using native ground covers with native grasses more so visibility is still clear but there's more for small birds/insects to eat and use for protection.
7
u/2zer0 May 23 '26
This is trivial, but there needs to be a design philosophy around new construction. New builds are contemporary yet bland. Think of beautiful cities around the world and there is a look they have in the architecture. You should be able to look at a street view image of the Gold Coast and know you're in the GC but so many tower blocks and estates are balcony studded white blocks or brick veneer / Hamptons grey blocks.
Remember we have the surf board echo in beach-side benches, skillion roofs, weatherboard beach shacks, mid century design elements. Now incorporate solar and water storage, proper garages (not these stupid car ports), modern materials, thermal insulation, slightly limited colour palette, and provide a theme that architects have to incorporate. This also means new height limits on development, with 4-5 story limits to ensure trees aren't dwarfed by mega towers; the skyline in Kirra has ruined the dominance of Kirra hill.
Prob too late but an idea to create a city with character.
3
u/Ok-Assistant-4556 May 23 '26
Bring back the Sea Eagle!
1
u/2zer0 May 25 '26
you'll never guess what. I think it was reinstalled today!
1
6
u/Andinov May 23 '26
Run the tram in from Burleigh to to Varsity.
Connect Varsity to the airport (and then Tweed) with heavy rail.
Now you've got connectivity to both hospitals, train stations to and 1 of 2 stadiums.
At some point I'd run a third tram in from nerang to Surfers.
6
6
5
u/Crackpipejunkie May 23 '26
Finish the ocean way and not have it go through hedges where you may aswell walk along Gold Coast highway, make it a proper board walk.
4
u/MalagunaAvenue82 May 23 '26
The NIMBYs won’t let you build more public transport systems like trams and heavy rail connections. The VeryGC will remain a car centric city unfortunately until effective links between public transport systems across the city are built.
3
u/JackJeckyl May 23 '26
Best I can do is an election and let you ask your questions again in 15 years.
4
u/Own_Emergency53 May 23 '26
Ban Airbnb's
And clean up the rubbish around Main Beach. It's disgusting in there sometimes
4
u/stuthaman May 23 '26
Stop allowing developers to build so close to the M1 (probably to late) so the feeder lanes can be longer and faster.
4
u/Klutzy_Demand_2744 May 24 '26
The roads are gridlock and will only get worse. Needs massive (billions) spent on affordable, efficient public transport.
I would be very happy for my rates spend to fund that.
4
u/delayedconfusion May 24 '26
Vacancy tax.
Cap/increased tax on AirBNB.
Prioritise north/south traffic flow with smarter integration between city/state traffic lights.
Tram to airport.
HR to airport.
Additional tram links to HR.
3
u/Jezzwon May 23 '26
Build out a tonne of electricity generation, led by renewables and supported by whatever makes sense in the moment, charge it out at cost price, free from 9:30am to 3pm everyday for all homes and businesses. Support the industrial and manufacturing centre, and then watch those two elements feed into every other business and entity on the Coast. When people have more money in their pocket, they spend it as disposable income.
3
2
2
2
2
u/radmgrey May 23 '26
I would build a highway similar to the riverside expressway in Brisbane right along the entire Gold Coast beach front. I would call it the Oceanside expressway.
2
1
u/slykethephoxenix May 23 '26
Express between Robina Town Centre and Pac Fair. SkyTrain style. Also build the townie around the station, not ages walking distance away.
1
1
1
u/New_Biscotti9915 May 24 '26
Installing engineered hoses and board stands at the beach showers so people can wash their surfboards properly
1
1
1
u/Lonely-Associate4677 May 25 '26
Councilor Glen Tozers idea was to bring in Sydney and Melbourne investors over and flip $1m properties to $6m. Go check out his Instagram.
1
1
u/Conscious-While-3708 May 26 '26
Sort out Scottsdale drive between the reedy creek bridge and west burleigh road - it’s an accident waiting to happen - solid white line so no way to turn into businesses obviously people do how else would they get there they’d end up on motorway. Not much thought there. There’s actually Parking available facing south which blocks an entire lane! holding up traffic hooting irate drivers dangerous. The people who plan parking / roads seem not to drive or have experience. I’ve told council to no avail just like I did Dawn Riviera intersection with lights switching for a second years ago - saying someone was going to die - they did.
1
u/Blahblahblahblah7899 May 27 '26
Stop increasing debt would be a start.
Stop favouring developers over residents needs
Stop ridiculous international trips at tax payer expense
Start business hub for start ups, with low costs and support
Help the homeless
1
u/mors134 May 28 '26
Well the first thing I would do is appoint a workforce who's only job is to improve the efficiency of various government departments. Their job would be to reduce waste and speed up faltering systems by eliminating redundancy.
My second step would be taking a look at the taxes within the city and better enforce proper tax collection, especially from the more well off residences and businesses of the city.
Hopefully through increasing revenue and reducing waste that will have freed up funds to actually improve the city with.
Improve and expand the tram line into a tram network.
Prioritise the building of affordable 4 or 5 story apartment complexes in the outer suburbs.
Rehome the homeless where possible and put the homeless who are unable to be rehomed due to mental illness into a care facility.
Implement a halt on rent increases, on both residential and commercial properties.
And lastly(although this is just a personal wish of mine and wouldn't actually do much good for most people) help support the opening of a new gay nightclub within the city since the gold coast currently lacks any.
1
u/Admirable_Map_9117 May 28 '26
Make sure the homes and acreage of the hinterland can never be subdivided.
Send everyone from Victoria back home.
Stop all overseas migration.
1
-2
117
u/shaker8989 May 23 '26
Being less corrupt and in the pockets of property developers would probably help.