Traffic management and transport options for a tourist hotspot have been confirmed for this year’s peak Christmas and new year period.
Community feedback has shaped Noosa Council’s Go Noosa program, which includes measures designed to help residents and visitors to get around Noosa more easily, including free buses and satellite car parking stations.
From December 23 to January 5, the Main Beach car park near the surf club will become a dedicated scooter, motorcycle and disability parking area, with a drop-off zone where motorists can quickly drop their passengers for easy access to the beach.
The car park will be fully closed for two days to become a base for support services to monitor and manage patrons’ behaviour on New Year’s Eve.
Last Christmas the council trialled the car park as a family-friendly gathering place dubbed the Main Beach People’s Park, decked out with marquees, tables and chairs.
A report presented to Monday’s Noosa Council General Committee meeting said “feedback from the community indicated a mixed response” to the trial, and on July 18 a petition titled ‘Return the People’s Park to a Carpark’, containing 1022 e-signatures and 18 physical signatures, was presented to the council.
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The report recommended that the site again be used as an “operational area incorporating community suggestions, such as keeping the drop-off zone”, and be rebranded as the ‘Main Beach Drop Off Zone’ to “better describe its purpose and intent”.
“The name People’s Park particularly conjured up negative connotations due to the need for a park to cater for tourists, and giving the park back to the people, when the many respondents are seeking more parking,” the report said.
Mayor Frank Wilkie said the council, which on Monday voted six votes to one to approve the recommendations, had acted on feedback about last year’s People’s Park trial.
“Regardless of how congested the roads are, or how full the 1000-plus car parks are in the precinct, these changes will allow vehicles to drop off and collect passengers and their gear directly at Main Beach,” Cr Wilkie said.
“This will also again free up the Hastings Street roundabout, which traditionally becomes blocked with cars seeking parks, backing up and down the entrance ramp and onto the road.
“Like last year, there will be a dedicated area for our surf lifesavers’ vehicles, so they can get to the beach quickly, plus additional disability parking.”
Acting infrastructure services director Shaun Walsh said the aim was to make best possible use of the space.
“The feedback from last year’s trial is that many users appreciated the functional aspects of the drop-off zone so close to the beach during an incredibly busy period,” he said.
“We are really wanting to make it safer for everyone and keep traffic moving through the Hastings Street/Noosa Drive roundabout.
“The impact of everyone trying to park as close as possible to the beach results in so many vehicles queuing, circling and waiting, which has a huge congestive impact on the traffic functionality of Hastings Street.”
Mr Walsh said queues of vehicles looking for parking spaces and large numbers of pedestrians needing to access the beach and toilets were not a good mix at a critical entry point.
The Noosa Heads Lions Park will again be available for parking over the Christmas and 2025 Easter period, ahead of future public consultation as promised.
Cr Wilkie said the decision to continue to use Lions Park, which provides parking for an additional 300 vehicles, was strongly supported by the council.
“We have an obligation to honour what we said back in March 2023 as part of a council resolution,” Cr Wilkie said.
“We had wanted to specifically ask the community about whether they support using public open spaces for car parking, particularly Lions Park, and we’ve yet to do that.
“So this decision gives us a timeframe to complete that engagement and again shows we’re listening to the community.”
Cr Wilkie said council’s intention was to carefully plan and design the entry to Main Beach through an integrated approach, to make the best use of the space and improve its connection with the surrounding areas.
“We need to try innovative ideas, as we simply can’t handle that volume of cars without risking the very essence of what makes Noosa special,” he said.
Tewantin-Noosa Lions Club will again be asked to operate the car park at Lions Park.
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