On one side, not the other
A MISSING bus stop on the southern side of Cooroy-Noosa Rd is adding unwanted time and money to commuters' travel.
The northern side of the road, for vehicles travelling east towards Tewantin, has a bus stop, thanks to a $2 million upgrade this year.
But anyone looking to come from Tewantin and disembark near Tinbeerwah Rd, on Cooroy-Noosa Rd, is unable to stop on the southern side of the road.
They must continue travelling to Cooroy and take a bus back towards Tewantin so they can get off on the northern side of the road.
Tinbeerwah Action Group's Stuart Baird said it was an issue that had been raised many times.
"If you want to get dropped off, coming from Noosa, you can't get off the bus without going into Cooroy and getting a bus back," he said.
"If you're coming from Cooroy you have a beautiful bus stop but the other side of the road there is nothing.
"We want a bus stop on other side of road.
"Or we want provisions for a bus to take a diversion, to take the service road and stop."
According to Translink's Journey Planner a 7km trip from Poinciana Ave, Tewantin, to Tinbeerwah Rd, Tinbeerwah, on a Friday afternoon can take 43 minutes or 1hour and 23 minutes.
They involved catching the 623 bus from Tewantin to Cooroy, before transferring back on to the same bus route to head back to Tewantin so the bus can stop at the designated stop on the northern side of Cooroy-Noosa Rd.
However, anyone looking to go from Tinbeerwah Rd to Tewantin need only take a 10-minute trip on the 632 bus as it heads east from the bus stop on the northern side of the road, about 150m west of the entrance to Tinbeerwah Rd.
Tinbeerwah resident John Burrow said he could not understand why a matching stop for west-bound buses wasn't provided when the intersection was upgraded.
"The upgrade did nothing to fix a puzzling anomaly," he said.
"What's the point in having a bus stop on one side of the road only?
"They have missed out on a great opportunity here. I know a lot of people who would use the bus if it was on both sides of the road."
A spokeswoman from Translink said a joint investigation with Sunshine Coast Council looked into the possibility of installing bus stops along Cooroy-Noosa Rd near Tinbeerwah.
"The investigation deemed the location unsafe for passengers and pedestrians," the spokeswoman said.
"The speed limit along that section of road is 100kmh, which does not meet safety and bus placement requirements as there are no indented bays.
"The Cooroy-Noosa Rd near Tinbeerwah currently has no provision for local pedestrian crossings."
