It’s the most debated and criticised intersection in Coolum, but some community members fear the first steps in fixing the problem might initially make things worse.
The small roundabout at the intersection of Coolum-Yandina Road, South Coolum Road and School Road is swamped by traffic around school pick-up times as vehicles exiting Sunshine Motorway are funnelled into one lane, which converges with traffic from South Coolum Road and School Road, near Coolum Beach State School.
Member for Ninderry Dan Purdie has announced $5 million in State Government funding to replace the roundabout with traffic lights.
“This is a massive win for our community,” Mr Purdie said.
“Since I was elected, locals have told me their top priority is to upgrade this roundabout and improve the congestion and safety issues for the hundreds of schoolchildren, their families and other motorists who use it on a daily basis.”
The announcement received a mixed response on local social media, with some residents suggesting the idea would cause traffic to bank up even further and create “an absolute nightmare”.
However, others were supportive, with one comment suggesting the lights would deliver “order and communications on when you’re allowed to go and stop. Not like my family and I, stuck in the middle of the road, being abused and honked at.”
Mr Purdie acknowledged the comments, noting that the lights were only one element of an overall plan to fix local traffic issues.
“It won’t solve all our problems – we desperately need a second access, and the roundabout upgrade is only the first stage of a much bigger project, to upgrade the Motorway, and build a second access to the Motorway at Mt Coolum,” he said.
“Detailed design and public consultation for the roundabout upgrade will happen early next year and will be done in consultation with the Coolum State School’s Master Plan.
“Based on initial traffic surveys, engineers have determined that a signalised intersection is the safest way to manage the flow of traffic at this intersection, but we will learn more when the detailed design process gets underway.”
Timeframes for widening the Sunshine Motorway and a second access from the motorway are unknown.
“(Sunshine Coast) Council has recently completed the design for this second access point at Mt Coolum, and this is an important piece of the puzzle,” Mr Purdie explained.
“The second round of consultation for the motorway upgrade, including the preferred design, is due to hit letterboxes very soon, and will have more information about the timing and staging of that project, and I encourage everyone to use this opportunity to have their say.”
Coolum State School P&C president Shane Urban said controlled traffic flow around busy drop-off and pick-up times would help the whole community.
“Over 40 per cent of students travel to school by footpath, and a controlled crossing will make the trip so much safer, not only to and from school, but also outside school times,” Mr Urban said.
“This is another step towards rectifying the traffic issues for both the school and local Coolum community.”
Sunshine Coast Council has been contacted for comment.
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