One of the great dangers facing Noosa today is ‘development by stealth’ now that we no longer have our own council and the terrors flowing from Sustainable Planning Act are becoming apparent.   One such example is the new Transit Centre set to be developed at the eastern end of the Junction.  Only through the action of a small group of residents who will be affected by the noise factor from this development, did it come to our attention.

Virtually considered a fait accompli with Energex already engaged in laying underground cable, this transit facility has never been  the subject of a ‘Development Application’ by council.  No Noise Impact assessment or traffic impact study has been conducted by council or for that matter   a proper understanding of its visual impact. To the contrary, 150 metres of mature trees will be cut down to enable Greyhound buses and other less formidable coaches to slide off Sunshine Beach Road to a platform running parallel to the road, currently lined by trees.

So if this proceeds in its present format the first glimpse of Noosa by visitors to this internationally recognised Biosphere Reserve will be an unsightly bus terminal with huge busses lined up belching carbon monoxide into the atmosphere. Behind the terminal will be a concrete jungle with people switching from large to smaller buses.  ‘Welcome to Noosa’ home of Man & the Biosphere an environmental model for councils around Australia to emulate.

Already 16,000 vehicles use the Shell Service Station roundabout daily with considerably more during peak periods.  Now it is proposed huge Greyhound buses load and unload passengers alongside the Sunshine Beach Road, then move out from the current car park around the Cooyar St Roundabout, then back around the Shell Station Roundabout before heading off down David Lowe Highway.  Meanwhile the majority of those who have alighted from the Greyhound buses will board smaller busses to take them into Hastings St.  So traffic through the junction will also increase substantially.   As anyone negotiating these roundabouts during peak periods knows well, the potential for accidents is increased exponentially and will be even more so with huge buses circumventing them day and night.

Since the council has not lodged a ‘Development Application’ and claims it doesn’t have to, there has been   little scrutiny or input from the community and the ‘Iconic Panel’,   responsible for assessing every development application relating to the former Noosa Shire, will have no input. 

The noise factor effecting local residents is only now being considered with an impact assessment study about to commence, but like everything else associated with this project, it’s after the fact.  All a bit like Peter Garrett’s    insulation scheme which was kicked off in haste without determining the capability of his Department to conduct the roll-out or testing  industry’s capacity to safely install the batts in such numbers.  The safety issues of this roundabout are just as alarming as many disembarking bus passengers will  want to cross  Sunshine Beach Road, often stepping out from behind a line of coaches and running the risk of being hit by an oncoming vehicle.  
Then there is the visual pollution caused by the removal of trees, a rather unsightly terminal protruding into the landscape and the backing up of buses adjacent to Sunshine Beach Road, all abhorrent to Noosa’s green image.
This project commenced several years ago with a design concept prepared by British Consultants at a cost of $130,000 dollars. The original plan was much more user friendly,  didn’t adversely impact the environment for the trees would have remained, and created less traffic congestion than this revised scheme now proposed by Council.  

Do we really want the first glimpse of Noosa to be an ugly Transit Centre surrounded by huge buses emitting carbon monoxide into the atmosphere with few if any trees to soak up the pollutants?  Add to that the dangerous traffic congestion and you have all the ingredients for one almighty ‘balls up’.
This potential debacle is one more reason why Noosa must regain its right to self govern and once again control its own destiny.

Bob Ansett
Friends of Noosa