Sunshine Coast Council approves $42 million transport plan, faster approvals on housing

Sunshine Coast Regional Council voted 10-4 on Wednesday to approve a $42 million staged transport improvement program spanning five years, with the first $8.6 million allocated to road safety upgrades on Kawana Way and Mountain Creek Road. The decision clears the way for construction to begin on two intersection redesigns expected to reduce bottlenecks during peak hour commutes by late 2027.

The vote reflects growing pressure on council to speed up infrastructure spending. Population on the Coast is expected to grow by 32,000 residents over the next decade, according to the State Government's Queensland Plan. That growth means more cars on roads built for smaller numbers. The transport program signals council's shift toward preventative spending rather than waiting for congestion to worsen. Mountain Creek Road already sees traffic spikes during school drop-off and pickup times; the upgrade includes left-turn slip lanes at three intersections and extended signal timing for northbound traffic during 7-9 am and 3-5 pm windows.

In a separate motion passed 9-5, council moved to streamline development approvals for residential projects under 50 dwelling units. The change cuts the standard assessment timeframe from 20 business days to 12 days for applications meeting planning code requirements. Local developers and building industry representatives have flagged housing approval delays as a cost driver; each month of delay adds roughly $8,000-12,000 to construction costs through extended financing and labor staging, according to the Urban Development Institute's 2025 state report. The Sunshine Coast Housing Affordability Taskforce, convened by council in March, identified approval speed as the second-biggest barrier to new supply after land availability.

What the changes mean for households and workers

For a typical family trying to buy a home on the Coast, the faster approvals could translate into cheaper new construction. If a 35-unit apartment block takes eight fewer days to approve, and contractor overhead costs drop by $2,000-3,000 per dwelling as a result, a $600,000 apartment could theoretically sell at a modest discount. Council officers acknowledged the math is inexact but noted that every acceleration in the approval chain reduces risk premiums developers build into pricing.

The transport vote carries more immediate daily impact. Council's engineering team estimates the Kawana Way and Mountain Creek Road intersections currently generate 4,800 vehicle conflicts per week-instances where drivers brake sharply or slow unexpectedly. The left-turn slip lanes are projected to reduce that figure by 28 percent. For the 18,000 residents living within three kilometers of Mountain Creek Road, the changes mean fewer rear-end collisions, less time idling at lights, and shorter school run times. Sunshine Coast Hospital and University Hospital Maroochydore both sit on or near upgraded corridors; ambulance response times are expected to improve by 1-2 minutes during congested periods.

Budget and next steps

Council allocated the $42 million from a combination of general revenue ($14.2 million), Queensland Government transport grants ($18.8 million), and federal Black Spot Program funding ($9 million). The second funding tranche comes due in late 2027; council staff will report to the finance committee in November on whether any projects can accelerate beyond the original five-year schedule.

The third significant vote, passed 8-6, approved a two-year trial of revised short-term rental regulations in the Maroochydore town center and Mooloolaba beachfront precinct. Operators must now register properties, limiting rentals to 90 days per year in residential zones. Vacation rental advocates say the caps will push their business to the Gold Coast; permanent rental advocates say the rules don't go far enough to protect long-term housing stock. The impact on the Sunshine Coast's 2,400 active short-term rental properties remains unclear, but council expects the registration data to inform a permanent policy by mid-2027.