With the Sunshine Coast anticipated to grow by 54% to 500,000 (from 293,000), our local transport networks will be under significant pressure to adapt. Alternatives to the car that offer more sustainable and accessible options are needed to ensure we can grow while preserving our lifestyle and amenity.

Read this interactive article to learn more about the challenges and share your thoughts and opinions on the best way to achieve these goals.

Connected Centres

Within the City there is a well-defined network of centres that are hubs for activity in the community. These range in size and scope, and are connected mostly by road and bus routes. The bigger centres which include Nambour, Landsborough and Beerway are connected by rail, but the largest centres along the coast including Maroochydoore, Kawana and Caloundra rely on dedicated road networks to integrate them indirectly into the rail network.

Linking our largest centres into the rail network, which provides connections outside of the City, is one of the biggest challenges we face when planning our transport networks.

Explore the Centre plan to learn more, and share your thoughts on the best ways to connect our centres.

Mass Transit

Mass transit provides an efficient way to move high volumes of people along transport infrastructure to key destinations. It can take a variety of forms including buses, trains and light rail, each of which has their advantages and weaknesses.

Read further to learn about each of the options, and weigh in on your preferences.

Light Rail (LRT)

The light rail technology being considered for the Sunshine Coast is similar to systems already operating in other Australian cities. The key feature of such a system is a dedicated trackway, often in the centre of the road. This allows the light rail vehicles (LRVs) to avoid congestion by having their own right-of-way.

Bus Rapid Transit (BRT)

Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) is very similar to light rail with the main difference being that the vehicles have rubber tyred wheels rather than tracks. The system being considered for the Sunshine Coast includes a dedicated busway, typically in the centre of the road.

The location in the road centre improves efficiency in travel time as the vehicles are not impacted by use of kerbside lanes from turning vehicles, car parking and cyclists. The bus vehicles are also equipped with sensors that trigger green lights as they approach intersections, saving time and making travel more reliable.The BRT system would also have high quality stops and stations, level boarding, and on-platform ticketing.

You Decide

Would you use either of these forms of transport? What are the pros and cons of each? Answer the following questions to tell us.

When building the transport network, we need to balance the quality of service (how much it costs, where it goes, how frequently it comes) with the cost to build it. Getting this right will in part depend on ensuring it goes to the places people most want to travel to in their daily lives.

Use the map to help us identify the places you most want to travel to.

Learn more

Want to learn more about planning mass transit in the City? We undertaken a range of background research to inform our planning, and discuss the details further in a number of key resources you can find below.

Discuss

Now that you've had the opportunity to learn more about the options, join in the community discussion to share your deeper thoughts and views on the topic. Remember to keep it polite and constructive - we're all in this together.