PEREGIAN BEACH ACTIVE STREET - STAGE 1 PROGRESS UPDATE AND NEXT STEPS

Background and Strategic Foundations

Highest Priority Cycle Route Corridor Study (HPCR)

In 2021, Noosa Council completed the Coastal Pathway Corridor Study or Highest Priority Cycle Route Corridor Study (HPCR) to plan safer, more connected walking and cycling routes between Peregian Beach and Tewantin, including a link to the Sunshine Coast Coastal Pathway. The study reviewed existing paths, identified safety gaps, and assessed possible routes. To ensure community alignment, Council formed a Project Reference Group (PRG) with community members, local associations, and walking and cycling groups. The PRG members were nominated and endorsed by Noosa Council.

Three segments were identified on Corridor 1, Tewantin to Noosa Heads, and 6 segments on Corridor 2, Noosa Head to Peregian for options analysis and further design work.

Engagement activities were undertaken with the PRG at key milestones and decision points throughout the project. Specifically, this included engagement at the route selection, design treatment selection and concept design review stages

For Peregian Beach South (Segment 6 of Corridor 2), four route options, as indicated in figure 1 below, were assessed against the following criteria:

• Safety • Comfort • Directness and Coherence • Connectivity • Strategic alignment; and • Feasibility.

Figure 1 – Route Options Analysis Route B (Lorikeet Drive) scored the highest or equal to the highest across all criteria and ranked the highest in both total unweighted and weighted scoring. Key differentiators in scoring between Route A (David Low Way) and Route B (Lorikeet, Shearwater, Piper, Plover) were Connectivity, Strategic Alignment and Feasibility. Route A considered pathways on alternate sides of David Low Way, whereas Route C and partially Route D considered pathway locations in the coastal foreshore reserve. Route B was considered to connect with more attractors, align closer to the coast, be easiest to implement and the lowest cost.

Several design treatments were also explored, including a Cycle St (Active Street), Advisory Bicycle Lanes and a Shared Path. The treatment types were scored against the following criteria:

• Safety • Connectivity • Feasibility; and • Impact.

The Active Street concept - supported by TMR - performed best for safety and feasibility.

The Peregian Beach south project was given a high priority (on a scale of low to very high) and tentatively scheduled for 2023/24 and 2024/25 financial years in a draft implementation plan within the final report. The priority ranking was based on:

• High existing and potential walking and cycling demand.

• Its ability to close gaps in the local network and connect key destinations.

• Logical sequencing with other current and planned projects to build a safer, continuous corridor.

• Proximity to key attractors such as local schools, beaches, shops, and community facilities.

Further community consultation was proposed to be undertaken on a project-by-project basis, noting that some of the projects identified within the Corridor Study may never proceed. The results of the corridor study were incorporated into the Noosa Cycling and Walking Strategy, which was being undertaken concurrently, and consequently endorsed by Council.

These key background documents to the Noosa Cycling and Walking Strategy, being the 'Noosa High Priority Cycle Route Corridor Study and Concept Design' (Corridor 2) were made public on Council's website in early 2026 due to an expression of interest from the South Peregian Beach community during the Peregian Beach Active Street Stage 1 Consultation phase.

The Noosa Cycling and Walking Strategy and Implementation Plan (NCWSIP)

Council adopted the Noosa Cycling and Walking Strategy and Implementation Plan 2020 – 2040 on

15 July 2021. The Strategy and Plan re-established Council's vision for bike riding and walking

across Noosa Shire for the next 20 years with the vision to get 'more people riding a bike and walking for health, transport, tourism and the environment'. Council's goal is to make riding a bike and walking so convenient and safe that it is the preferred mode of transport for the Shire's residents and visitors. The Plan has been guiding Council's planning, development and promotion of bike riding and walking networks.

Engagement activities were undertaken during the development of a draft plan with the same Project Reference Group as nominated and endorsed by Council for the HPCR project.

During the "Your Say" consultation period for the NCWSIP (19 March to 16 April 2021), 260 submissions were received from the community on the draft Strategy. The information gathered from this process provided local insights and helped to identify additional missing links and route refinements, which have been adopted in the Plan. Feedback also defined barriers to bike riding and walking, reiterating those already identified in the Strategy.

The proposed use of existing streets throughout the Shire for improved safe shared vehicle, cyclist and pedestrian movements, such as an Active Street, is a consistent approach in the Noosa Cycling and Walking Strategy due to unavailability of other routes due to environmental constraints and construction costs.

The Peregian Beach Active St project (Project ID 361) was scored in the 201-300 priority band (moderate) within the Walking and Cycling Strategy. It was initially not scheduled in the 10- year implementation plan, however opportunistic grant funding to align with regional liveability and active transport provided impetus for grant submission.

Further analysis of the project scoring indicates that if the project is combined with Project IDs 359 and 360 (continuation through to the village) that the project would score a ranking of 28.

Customer Requests

South Peregian residents have long raised concerns about speeding, pedestrian safety and difficult driveway and waste service access compounded by unmarked parking bays and lane congestion arising from parking on both sides of the narrow roadway. A key design consideration for the proposed Active Street is to address these issues through a dedicated pedestrian pathway, improved kerb and channel, reduced-speed signage, formalised parking, landscaping and road resurfacing.

Together, these upgrades will deliver a safer, greener and more attractive active transport experience for users.

Grant Funding Opportunity

The project's high priority in the State funded corridor study, along with the community concerns raised regarding speeding and pedestrian safety along and around Lorikeet Drive, made it an excellent candidate for external funding. The project is 100% Grant funded through the South East Queensland Liveability Fund and the Active Transport Fund.

The SEQ Liveability fund is Supporting Local Government projects that create liveable, creative, sustainable and healthy communities. Projects funded will be of a regional or sub-regional scale that leave a legacy in the community. The funding through the SEQ Liveability grant covers design and construction works.

The Active Transport Fund (ATF), provides funding for the design and construction of new or existing bicycle and walking pathways to encourage the use of active transport.

The focus areas for the program are:

• road safety • reducing transport emissions • active and liveable communities

The ATF grant funding for this project is specific to construction only.

Program

The project program is governed by Council's Annual Capital Works Programs and two separate external funding agreements as outlined below.

SEQ Liveability

The last possible dates for milestones as listed in the executed SEQ Liveability funding agreement, are:

Active Transport Fund

The last possible dates for milestones as listed in the executed ATF funding agreement, is:

Current Project Program

The current program, not accounting for any further delays as a result of this report, narrowly meets the critical project construction end date of 30 June 2027. With no remaining float/program contingency, this is a significant risk for the project.

Table 1 below indicates current forecast milestone dates as per the project program.

Table 1: Program Milestones

Program risk mitigation - extension of time

Anecdotal advice received from ATF and SEQ Liveability Funding authorities have indicated that both would be amenable to an extension of time request provided clear rationale is included in the submission. The project team is working through extension of time requests with the grant funding bodies.

The full program, including additional project consultation activities contributing to the extension of time required is provided at attachment 8.

Community Engagement Findings

From March 2025 to February 2026, the Peregian Beach Active Street Project team undertook targeted community engagement throughout the concept and detailed design stages, focusing on residents of South Peregian as well as key community and stakeholder groups. Wider community consultation on previous planning studies is provided in the 'Background and Strategic Foundations' section of the report. Project specific engagement activities are summarised below:

Key Findings from Community Engagement

Feedback on the Peregian Beach Active Street Project was mixed. While many residents and stakeholders supported the project's core objectives - slower traffic, safer pedestrian movements, and improved walking and cycling connections - concerns were also raised. This was evident at popup sessions where the majority of questions and points raised by residents in group discussion were harshly negative towards the project whilst the underlying objectives of the project were still supported.

Submissions from active transport groups (Sunshine Coast Bicycle User Group (SCBUG) and Zero Emissions Noosa (ZEN) highlighted alignment with Council's strategic transport framework and the broader Coastal Pathway vision.

The report includes extensive attachments in the form of community feedback on the proposal, this feedback has been provided as confidential attachments due to the inclusion of personal information.

Whilst they have been redacted to protect personal information, the documents have continued to be marked as confidential as an extra precaution to ensure privacy is maintained.

Engagement activities at the developed design stages - including pop-up sessions at Victory Park and the Walkshop - revealed several consistent themes:

Parking Impacts

• Loss and redistribution of on-street parking, particularly on Lorikeet Drive • Flow-on effects for nearby residents, including higher-density areas • Concerns from dog owners and volunteer marine wildlife responders regarding access and proximity parking • Requests for resident permit parking or other measures to maintain accessibility

Traffic Access, Property Access & Displacement

• Concerns about vehicles diverting to neighbouring streets, including Oriole Avenue • Desire for mitigation measures to reduce rat-running and maintain local access • Difficulty accessing properties with boats and trailers (including 7m trailers)

• Concerns about reversing movements near traffic calming devices and U-turn maneuvers • Requests to widen driveways or adjust kerb clearances where required

Safety, Speed & E-Bikes

• Broad support for slower traffic and a 30 km/h speed environment, particularly where paired with traffic calming • Concerns about interactions between fast-moving e-bikes, pedestrians and vehicles • Vehicles driving in bike lanes and through roundabouts • Preference for clearly marked pedestrian crossings (e.g. zebra crossings) or higher-contrast shared zones • Requests for education and enforcement to support compliance

Vegetation, Drainage & Neighbourhood Character

• Strong preference to retain mature trees, including pandanus • Desire to minimise visual and environmental impacts • Concerns about stormwater runoff and drainage near driveways • Noise concerns associated with overrun areas (described as rumble strips) and raised treatments and increased cyclist use

Design Alternatives & Route Considerations

• Some residents suggested relocating cycling infrastructure to David Low Way or adjusting pathway alignment (including the western side).

• Requests for wider pathways (suitable for two cyclists side-by-side)

• Desire to extend pathway connections fully to the village • CPTED issues associated with the boardwalk and path diversion at Lorikeet Park

Other Key Feedback

• Support for stormwater upgrades and road repairs • Requests for consistent pathway connections rather than partial sections • Mixed views on speed reductions, with stronger support where clearly linked to improved safety outcomes • A small number of submissions expressing full objection to the project in addition to the petitions listed below

Pop Up Display Boards (Attachment 1)

The collated post it notes from the pop-up display boards and the typed summary notes is included as Attachment 1 to the Report.

Customer Requests (Attachment 2)

During the engagement period, Council received 37 formal customer enquiries relating to the project.

These enquiries primarily concerned parking impacts, traffic displacement, proposed speed limit changes, and requests to reconsider corridor alignment and are included at Attachment 2 to the

Report.

Petition (Attachment 3)

A petition – 'Residents Against Active Street' was formally tabled with Council which raised concerns about parking loss, traffic congestion, and safety, and requested that the project be halted entirely, requests for additional consultation and route options review. The petition is included at Attachment

3 to the report.

The petition was a catalyst for additional community consultation activities in recent weeks including additional pop-up events, one on one meetings, preparation and distribution of additional project materials and this report.

Community-led Proposed Adjustments (Attachment 4)

Received by the project team recently (19/02/2026), the submission includes a proposal for one-way traffic (Oriole southbound, Lorikeet northbound), retention of most on-street parking, adjustments to cyclist access, and potential residential parking permits. The submission is included at Attachment 4.

The proposal for one way traffic would require traffic modelling and design of traffic controls throughout the whole southern Peregian Beach area to ensure that one waying of the network would not have adverse effects on vehicle speeding, pedestrian safety and convenience of movement, as well as broad community consultation to understand if there is further support for the proposals outside of the group who made the submission. The significance of these changes are outside the scope of the current project.

Other aspects of the submission can be investigated further and incorporated into the project where possible, including increasing parking yield and managing bike speeds on footpath areas. These have been accommodated in the recommended design changes.

Community-led Facebook Poll Submission (Attachment 5)

A community led Facebook poll is included at Attachment 5. The poll reflected a divided community response, highlighting concerns over tree removal, parking, and increased bike traffic, alongside support for traffic calming and maintaining neighbourhood character.

SCBUG, ZEN & Other Letters of Support (Attachment 6)

The Sunshine Coast Bicycle User Group (SCBUG) and Zero Emissions Noosa (ZEN) made submissions supporting the project, citing alignment with strategic transport objectives and the promotion of active travel safety and have been included at Attachment 6. In addition, 4 other individual resident submissions supporting the project were received.

One on One Meetings (Attachment 7)

In addition, one on one meetings were undertaken with various residents and stakeholders, including Peregian Beach Residents Against Active Streets. Meeting notes are included at Attachment 7.

Summary of Community Engagement

Community feedback on the Peregian Beach Active Street Project was mixed. Many residents supported the project's goals of improving safety, calming traffic and strengthening walking and cycling connections. However, others expressed concerns about parking impacts, potential traffic displacement, increased bike activity and associated safety issues, as well as changes to neighbourhood character. Some residents also questioned how the new road design concept would function in practice and what it would mean for day-to-day property access and vehicle manoeuvrability.

Overall, engagement confirms that while there is on balance strategic and safety-based support for the project's intent, particularly in regard to improved vehicle safety and the need for a shared path, careful design refinement and targeted responses to property access, parking, localised safety concerns as well as ongoing education and enforcement remain critical to achieving community confidence.

This feedback has informed targeted refinements to the design, where possible, helping to address key issues while preserving the project's overarching aim of creating a safer, more accessible active transport corridor for Peregian Beach.

Design changes arising from Community Engagement

The following design changes are proposed arising from community engagement

Proposed Design Change

Rationale

Traffic engineering advice recommended that consideration be given to the installation of local area traffic management measures, such as traffic calming devices at appropriate locations

Improved Local Area Traffic Management

on Oriole Avenue. The project team committed

(LATM) measures on surrounding streets to

to monitoring traffic in Oriole Avenue following

improve vehicle speed and safety

the implementation of the Active St however, the significant community concern raised during the consultation period suggests a more immediate implementation of traffic control devices is supported.

Whilst the project would result in a net loss of

Investigation into increasing formalised parking

parking in the study area, the traffic advice

yield across the Peregian Beach South area

received indicated that the available parking

including within Victory Park and along Lorikeet

provision is expected to accommodate the

Drive. Ongoing investigations include, but are

expected maximum parking demand

not limited to: one way circulation through

experienced in the study area of 191 vehicles.

Victory Park; angled parking within Victory Park,

Notwithstanding the traffic advice, 'parking

parallel parking on Lorikeet Drive adjacent high

impacts' was identified as one of the key themes

density residential zone and formalised parking

through the consultation period. Further

at the eastern end of Pitta St

investigations seek to reduce this impact as much as possible.

Investigation into a softer colour palette and/or a reduction in perceived over development to

Community feedback indicated a strong desire to

lesser impact, village scale raised intersections,

preserve village character and avoid over

priority crossings, chicanes, speed bumps and

development.

overrun areas where possible within statutory traffic requirements.

Widening of the existing boardwalk through Lorikeet Park and maintenance of the current

The local bush care group originally constructed

alignment as well as inclusion of speed

the existing timber structure including

management devices to control bike speeds on

surrounding landscaping. They have expressed

approach to shared path and boardwalk through

a preference for its retention.

Lorikeet Park.

Improvements to Victory Park to least impactful

Community feedback has highlighted concerns

carparking layout but including no-parking zone

with the proposed formalisation at Victory Park,

in front of the two beach entrances, provision of

including limited capacity for longer vehicles, the

limited long vehicle parking bays and of end-ofneed to maintain clear access to beach entry trip facilities such as improved water points and

points, and the importance of providing suitable

bike racks

facilities for active transport users.

Community feedback has been received

Inclusion of additional street tree planting

recommending additional street tree planting to provide shade along the proposed pathway.

Resident concerns regarding potential misuse of

Investigation of additional signage for user

the pathway including unsafe e-bike speeds

behaviour at key entry locations and nodes

have informed the inclusion of additional user behaviour signage in the design

The inclusion of a pedestrian crossing at Pitta

Retain vehicle turning at the southern end of

Street may compromise existing vehicle

Lorikeet Drive, currently provided at the

movements and the design requires further

intersection of Pitta Street and Lorikeet Drive

refinement

Investigation into land tenure south of Lorikeet

Resident concerns over CPTED Issues with

Park bridge to facilitate the continued use and

proposed new alignment. Community bushcare

upgrade of the pathway on the existing

group advocating for existing alignment that they

alignment.

maintain and planted.

A key theme raised throughout the consultation period was the request for continuation of the Active Street Stage 1 through to the Peregian Beach Village. A recommendation of the report is to support the CEO to submit available grant funding applications for Stage 2 of the Active Street/Coastal Pathway extension to commence design and construction as soon as practicably possible.

Ongoing Community Engagement

The ultimate success of the Noosa Cycling and Walking Strategy, and the Noosa Transport Strategy relies on improved active transport to reduce reliance on private motor vehicles, as well as achieve a mode of movement aligned to the Noosa lifestyle.

There is an ongoing need for community engagement to ensure long term success of the program.

The report recommends the development of an "Active Street" and "Coastal Pathway" awareness and education campaign across the shire to raise awareness of the safety and active transport benefits associated with Active Streets and the ultimate delivery of the Noosa Cycling and Walking Strategy and Noosa Transport Strategy. Some initial considerations for such a program include:

Phase 1 – Broader shire wide awareness campaign to communicate Coastal Pathway corridor strategy (HPCR), Active Street features and functionality and general walking and cycling safety through:

• Multi-channel approach: social media, short videos, school talks, case studies, etc.

• Collaboration with QPS & TMR Stakeholders Key messages:

Coastal Pathway Vision ▪

Missing section identification and proposed projects ▪

What is an Active St and how do I use it ▪

"Share the path," "Shoulder check," "Leave 1.5m"

▪ Phase 2 – Targeted audience for the Peregian Beach Stage 1 Active St to ensure the community and visitors understand how to safely use the new Active Street:

• Short "how to use" video • School education sessions – street etiquette/understand the signs • Local ambassadors and community walkthroughs • Targeted social media and local media content • Liaison with enforcement agencies including blitz campaigns