Minister for Transport and Main Roads Mark Bailey has responded to questions asked by local Member for Condamine Pat Weir in Parliament regarding the Toowoomba North South Transport Corridor.
How many residents participated?
As of 9 October 2023, the Department of Transport and Main Roads (TMR) received 467 responses to the online survey.
The number of residents directly affected by the proposed corridor?
The proposed corridor directly affects 293 parcels of land which are owned by 200 property owners.
Among these parcels, there are 81 houses, with 79 already constructed and two under construction.
The number of residents indirectly affected by the proposed corridor?
TMR estimated that approximately 699 residents living within 400 metres of the edges of the proposed corridor would be indirectly affected by project.
An outline of the alternatives proposed by those completing the survey or via other correspondence received by the department?
The community has proposed many alternatives in response to the project.
These include not protecting any part of the proposed corridor, upgrading the existing local road network, linking the Toowoomba North South Transport Corridor with the Toowoomba Bypass near the Wellcamp airport, and connecting the New England Highway at Mt Kynoch to the Toowoomba Bypass somewhere between Boundary and Mort streets. There were also variations on these themes proposed.
If the department will conduct any community meetings?
TMR conducted a series of eight community drop-in information sessions from 16 August to 6 September 2023.
However, attendance numbers at these sessions were low, and no further sessions are planned.
There was a total of 166 customer interactions at these sessions, including repeat attendances by concerned community members.
If the Minister will address any community meetings?
I will continue to support and monitor the activities of TMR staff and encourage the community to provide feedback through the consultation phase.
The feedback will be used to inform the decision-making process regarding the protection of a Future State Transport Corridor.
This article appeared in On Our Selection News, 26 October 2023.
