The Main Beach Association

Sharing a Vision for Main Beach and The Spit

Letter from one of our residents

Dear Cr Taylor,

We would like you to help us stop night noise from speeding vehicles. We live in Lennie Avenue on Main Beach, close to Waterways Drive. Some vehicles and especially motorbikes turn into Waterways Drive from Gold Coast Highway and speed up resulting in loud noise of revving engines and sometimes back-firing. Especially on Friday and Saturday nights from about 10 pm this area sometimes turns into a race track with vehicles speeding up Waterways Drive, MacArthur Parade and Seaworld Drive. Some drivers even use the carpark at Pelican Beach as starting area for their races. This creates a lot of noise which wakes us up from sleep. This has been going on for months.

We would like the council to stop this by either installing speed cameras or any other traffic calming methods to discourage this behaviour.

Thank you in advance for your help.

Peter and Zuzana Klarfeld
2/28 Lennie Avenue
Main Beach

Letter of response from Councillor Darren Taylor

Good afternoon Peter and Zuzana

Thank you for email regarding noisy vehicles in Main Beach.

Increasingly residents across the City are asking what Council can do about noisy motorcycles and cars. If residents experience excessive noise relating to the movement of motorcycles and vehicles, they are encouraged to notify the Queensland Police Service (QPS) in the first instance as this is the best response and can help direct police resourcing to the issue and location. Policelink can be contacted if dangerous driving needs reporting as well as the Hoon Hotline. So that police can more readily assist, you may be asked to provide the make, model, colour, registration number, type of hooning activity and the date and time where the incident occurred.

In Queensland, the Department of Transport and Main Roads (TMR) is the regulatory agency which administers the requirements for compliance with the relevant legislation including those applicable to modified vehicles. In practice, the QPS conduct on street compliance assessments in relation to modified vehicles. As the City is unable to regulate vehicle construction, modifications and noise from such vehicles, the QPS and TMR have been informed of your concerns.

You may have heard the Queensland government recently introduced tougher anti-hooning legislation making it easier for police to appropriate a number plate or permanently impound a motor vehicle should an offence occur. A recent police clampdown to counter hooning on the Gold Coast resulted in vehicles being seized and several traffic infringements being issued.

Council is unable to directly take action against owners or drivers relating to noisy vehicles. Offending vehicles on the road should be reported to the Department of Main Roads on 13 23 80. You’ll be asked to give the registration number and brief description of the vehicle to Main Roads inspectors to follow up. Any speeding related incident can also be reported by

Phone – via Policelink on 131 444
Phone for traffic related matters – Hoon Hotline 134 666 (131 HOON)
Internet – via Policelink https://www.police.qld.gov.au/policelink-reporting, where photos and videos can also be uploaded as part of the report
In person – via Broadbeach, Surfers Paradise or any local station

This has become such a major issue for residents across the City to contend with and I am hopeful the police will persevere and continue to maintain pressure when and where’s it’s most needed to bring this problem under control.

If you are concerned with how QPS manage the report you can contact your local State Member John-Paul Langbroek who represents you in matters relating to the State Government Surfers.Paradise@parliament.qld.gov.au. Hon Mark Ryan is the Minister for Police and Corrective Services and can be contacted at police@ministerial.qld.gov.au quoting the reference number from your online report.

I realise hooning and noisy vehicles are greatly affecting the residential amenity in so many of our neighbourhoods and I will continue to emphasise with the QPS and our State representatives the significance and importance of increased policing in these areas.

Regards
Darren