3.5.1 Strategic outcomes

1. Communities are well connected to each other. Neighbourhoods are linked to centres, employment and recreation areas by an integrated transport system across a mix of modes that meets a range of mobility needs and offers choice about how to move around the region.
2. Development achieves the efficient use of existing transport and community infrastructure and the timely and equitable delivery of new infrastructure.
3. All communities have access to a range of facilities and services, public spaces, open space, sport and recreation areas.
4. Gladstone City provides the highest level community and health services and facilities for the region. Other major urban places such as Boyne Island / Tannum Sands and Calliope provide regional level sport and recreation facilities. Smaller places provide for community infrastructure to support their local needs.
5. Pedestrian and cycle networks are fundamental to the movement functions of neighbourhoods and centres throughout the region. They are essential components of new neighbourhoods, urban revitalisation neighbourhoods and other urban place types. Road corridors connecting important destinations throughout the region incorporate public transport and active transport modes and are designed to be safe and universally accessible.
6. Public transport links mixed use centres with the region's new neighbourhoods, urban revitalisation neighbourhoods and existing suburban areas so that people have improved access to shopping, health care, community services and cross modal points (airport and railway).
7. The road network ensures the safe and efficient movement of people to employment nodes (including specific use and industrial places) and mixed use centres.
8. The Gladstone airport and major road transport corridors such as the Bruce and Dawson highways and other State controlled roads and arterial routes are protected from inappropriate development that undermines their efficient and safe operation.
9. Major freight and haulage routes avoid sensitive areas and surrounding development does not compromise their important function in servicing specific use and industrial places throughout the region.
10. Homes and businesses benefit from world class telecommunication and information networks to enable efficient business practices, encourage home based business opportunities and ensure community members are connected to their social networks throughout the region and elsewhere.

3.5.2 Elements

Connecting through community wellbeing

Community wellbeing is supported at local and regional scales through development that contributes community services, facilities and infrastructure to meet community needs. The Gladstone CBD accommodates high level services and facilities in health care, education, cultural and community facilities. These service the regional population through an efficient transport and movement network.

The region is well serviced by sport and recreation facilities at local through to regional level. The major sporting facilities include:

1. The Gladstone Showground/Speedway/Racecourse
2. The Rigby Park Complex and Aquatic Centre
3. The Tannum Sports Park
4. Boyne Island / Tannum Sands Recreational Area
5. Calliope Sports Park
6. The Benaraby Motor Sport precinct, and
7. Mt Larcom Showgrounds.

Local communities in urban locations and in coastal and rural places are provided with necessary community services and sporting facilities to meet their local needs.

Community wellbeing is achieved through well located housing (including for older people) that is close to services and facilities, employment areas and public spaces. People have choice about how they access these services that include walking, cycling and public transport. Community facilities are established in mixed use centres and the Gladstone CBD co–located with service, business and entertainment uses that provide multi–purpose destinations.

Connecting people and places

The Gladstone region is serviced by an integrated transport system that achieves the functional and efficient movement network of people, goods and services utilising road, rail, port and air travel modes.

New urban areas such as the region's new neighbourhoods are designed using grid based street patterns that achieve high levels of connectivity and encourage walkability to key destinations for local businesses, community facilities, health services, shopping and entertainment, and recreational and sporting areas. Improvements to connectivity in existing suburban areas in Gladstone and Boyne Island / Tannum Sands will be facilitated wherever possible.

Major urban arterials such as the Bruce Highway, Dawson Highway (between Gladstone and Calliope), Kirkwood Road, Gladstone – Benaraby Road, Boyne Island Road, Tannum Sands Road and Fingerboard, Tableland and Round Hill roads and other state controlled roads perform national and regional functions. Development throughout the region preserves this network and minimises the need for any local level trips on these routes.

Potential new road links will be further investigated to improve road capacity and connectivity between Gladstone and Boyne Island/Tannum Sands through an extension of Glenlyon Road, between Boyne Island and Tannum Sands through a second Boyne River crossing, and to improve access from Agnes Water to Gladstone's higher order social and community facilities by reducing the trip distance, and providing a new access road from the Baffle Creek/Deepwater areas to Agnes Water's infrastructure. The links shown on the map are indicative only and are not intended to illustrate a particular route.

Major industrial and port employment nodes are concentrated in Gladstone and to its north west which reinforces the role of Kirkwood Road, the Dawson Highway (between Gladstone and Calliope), Gladstone Benaraby Road, the Port Access Road and Calliope River Road in facilitating efficient journey to work trips. New neighbourhoods are designed to achieve a high level of connectivity with employment areas along with reducing journey to work travel times and dependency on private motor vehicles.

Gladstone Airport is a key facility in the region, for the movement of passengers and freight, and as a location for special development consistent with the safety and operational requirements of the airport. Development that impedes airport operations is not supported.

Connecting through sustainable transport

The region's urban settlement pattern supports sustainable public transport and active transport modes. New neighbourhoods, urban revitalisation neighbourhoods, existing suburban neighbourhoods, the Gladstone CBD and mixed use centres incorporate public and active transport corridors within roads and other open space areas. Development in these places contributes to greater active transport options to:

• residential neighbourhoods
• activity centres
• health and community services
• employment and education nodes
• multi modal points such as railway stations and the Gladstone Airport, and
• recreation and entertainment areas.

Public transport is dominated by the bus network that links mixed use centres in Calliope, Boyne Island, Tannum Sands and Kin Kora, the Gladstone CBD and other urban communities in existing suburban areas largely surrounding Gladstone city.

Public transport hubs at these key destinations are reinforced through higher density development in well serviced mixed use centres, the Gladstone CBD and urban revitalisation neighbourhoods. This also provides active transport which is made convenient, safe and secure, including the provision of end–of–trip facilities such as bicycle parking, change rooms and amenities.

Connecting freight networks

Gladstone's movement network includes major road, rail and port infrastructure that facilitates the import and export of bulk materials and products across the industry and resource sectors.

Development throughout the region does not undermine the ongoing role of freight routes in realising the efficient movement of freight and bulk materials.

Calliope River Road links the Bruce Highway into the Gladstone State Development Area. Development is limited to the immediate north of the Calliope River and along this road corridor.

Don Young Drive – Red Rover Road functions as a ring road for freight traffic around Gladstone's western urban area. A second crossing of the Calliope River at Mt Miller Road will link to this ring road and provide good access into the Red Rover Road industrial area and Gladstone State Development Area.

The Port Access Road extension will provide an important link between the Gladstone State Development Area, Red Rover Road industrial precinct and the port facilities at the harbour.

Development must ensure:

• freight traffic accesses freight routes and avoid impacts on sensitive areas in new neighbourhoods, urban revitalisation neighbourhoods, existing suburban neighbourhoods, the Gladstone CBD and mixed use centres, and
• sensitive land uses are sufficiently setback from freight routes and do not rely on these routes for access and movement throughout the region.

Connecting people and business

The Gladstone region is connected to global information and communication networks. Development will incorporate high quality broadband, interactive technological systems and fibre optic and telecommunication infrastructure to allow participation in local, regional, national and global information and communication networks.

This supports major industry, local business and home based businesses to function efficiently and contribute to the economic sustainability of the region. It also facilitates community connectedness through ensuring people can be engaged in social and community based networks.

Mapping

Schedule 2 Mapping:

• Strategic framework maps - Strategic Framework Theme: Connecting our places.