Esplanade Road Closure

Closing the Esplanade to traffic – who wins, who pays

Less than 1% of businesses gain. Everyone else — businesses, residents, ratepayers — pay. It’s time to look broadly at the Surfers Paradise Revitalisation winners and losers.

Who Wins

A dozen cafés & restaurants facing the closed strip (≈ 0.4% of Surfers businesses), maybe.
The Surf Club has better access to the beach.
A handful of event operators who occasionally use the space.
Some pedestrians who enjoy a car-free walkway right beside the beach.

That’s it. It is yet to be established if the number of regular visitors to the Esplanade and Cavill Mall will increase, decrease or stay the same. Councils reports give no targets or estimations.

Less than a dozen busnesses stand to gain by extending their serving area. But that does not mean there are more customers at the Esplanade than before or better opportunities to sell to them.

Who Pays

Approximately 3,000 other Surfers Paradise businesses who face losing customers and more difficult trade.
30,000 residents now facing longer trips, traffic chaos, higher costs, and access problems.
Emergency services delayed by congestion and blocked access.
Visitors and locals who avoid Surfers because of the jams.
The city’s reputation as Australia’s most accessible beachfront playground.

The traffic disruption affects emergency services, tourist services, trades and deliveries. What was once easy and fun is now difficult and unreliable.

Lost Revenue – Shooing the Customers Away

Closure removes ≈3,000 sightseeing car visits per day – prime customers being told to go somewhere else.

The Esplanade is both a stage for parade and a platform to browse from. It is a popular destination for European exotics, vintage classics, hot rods, fun buggies, costume themed cars, muscle cars and low riders. Not just motoring enthusiasts, these are well heeled, touring, browsing customers.

To cruise the Esplanade is to shop the lifestyle.

The Esplanade is a way to see what to return for. One of the few opportunities to see the beach from the road, it is a powerful advertisement.

If we look at 3,000 cars a day as a single person in the car no longer spending in Surfers Paradise then the costs of lost revenue can be looked at this way.

If its $20 → $60,000/day → $21.9M/year
If its $50 → $150,000/day → $54.7M/year
If its $100 → $300,000/day → $109.5M/year

The Costs

Traffic gridlock choking Ferny Ave, Orchid Ave, the Boulevard & quiet side streets.
Emergency response delays: slower fire, ambulance & police access.
Pedestrian safety risks: in the night club strip and across the suburb
Resident frustration: north–south divide, daily delays, higher transport costs.
Economic leakage: visitors spend their money elsewhere.

The Balance

Less than 1% of businesses gain.

Everyone else — businesses, residents, ratepayers — pay.

The Question

Why sacrifice the prosperity of around 3,000 businesses, the amenity of 30,000 residents, and Surfers Paradise’s reputation for the benefit of just 12 cafés?

This trial isn’t fair. It’s not balanced. It’s no fun. It’s not Surfers Paradise.

How malling the Esplanade fails Surfers Paradise

Actions you can take

Ten ways the imported models don’t work

Closing the Esplanade to traffic – who wins, who pays

The direct and indirect costs of closing the Esplanade to traffic

Surfers Paradise Esplanade closure – what’s at stake?

Six strategic blunders in the Surfers Paradise Revitalisation concept

Seven ways the Council dismissed the importance of the Esplanade

The Esplanade’s multi-speed experience economy

The unique car culture of Surfers Paradise

The one big thing missing from the Surfers Paradise Revitalisation plan