Dave Norris, Pottsville
According to council planning, 36,500 people will take up residency in the Tweed Shire over the next few years, including 11,000 at Kings Forest west of Casuarina. The project application for this highly contentious urban development was approved in 2013 after a long losing battle to protect the koala corridor. A new battle is about to unfold. There is only one way in and one way out and all traffic will empty onto Tweed Coast Road 1km north of Coles. There is already peak hour traffic congestion at the Tweed Coast/Cudgen Roads intersection. This is a snapshot of what’s ahead.
The increased traffic generated by such a large residential development will cause Gold Coast-style chaos between Cabarita and Cudgen and put further pressure on the already limited beachside parking opportunities between Kingscliff and Casuarina.
Kings Forest is deemed a state significant development and therefore warrants an entry/exit point onto a state controlled road. If elected, Katie Milne will advocate an investigation into the construction of a direct link to the highway west of Kings Forest, significantly reducing the amount of traffic on Tweed Coast Road. Pro-development and middle of the road candidates will deliver the traffic frustration and anger that now often characterises driver mentality on the Gold Coast strip.
The 36,500 new residents planned for the Tweed Shire include 12,000 at Cobaki Lakes, 11,000 at Kings Forest, 3,500 at Bilambil Rise, 4,000+ at Area E Terranora and 6,000 at Dunloe Park west of Pottsville. Let’s learn from the mistakes of successive conservative Councils on the Gold Coast.
A community-minded and environmentally conscious Council would stage developments so that they are only approved once infrastructure is in place to cope with the traffic increase. On Saturday please vote for candidates with a proven track record in protecting the environment who will deliver community-friendly development, not Gold Coast style traffic congestion.
