10:01 AM Mon 25 May 2009 GMT
 | | 'The Southport Broadwater - sand banks in every direction waiting to ground unwary skippers. - Southport Broadwater'
Gold Coast City Marina
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A network of water highways that will open up the canals and rivers of the Gold Coast and allow boat owners unsurpassed access to the region's attractions, including Skilled Stadium, Surfers Paradise, Broadwater Parklands, Wavebreak, South Stradbroke and Macintosh Islands, is underway, thanks to funding commitments form the GC City Council and Queensland government.
The plan, which stretches from Southern Moreton Bay to the Broadwater, will open up a vast array of venues and entertainment precincts on the Gold Coast, linked by Solar Cat ferries, water taxis and in many cases, private vessels.
Mayor Ron Clarke said: 'We've got 487km of waterways -- that's more than Amsterdam and Venice combined. It's a feature of the Gold Coast which is unique and something we should use to promote lifestyle for our residents and among tourists. Certainly the waterways are a great way of getting traffic around without clogging the roads.'
Cr Clarke said boats with limited wake could be exempt from the current six-knot speed limit on canals.
Surfers Paradise Cr Susie Douglas said there was already a plan to install a jetty near Temple Bar at the end of Cavill Avenue.
'That way people can pull up at the jetty for a limited time and go and have lunch in Surfers Paradise,' she said. 'So many people live on the water ... it will make it easier for people to run their own water taxis. When there is a big event at Doug Jennings Park, people can come in by boat.'
Cr Douglas said 'parking meters' for boats were considered but ruled out and the council now needed to find another way to police short-term moorings.
The council has already taken steps to improve boating access by rebuilding boat ramps and replacing pontoons to accommodate the increasing number of vessels in the waterways.
Boat ownership has grown by more than 118 per cent on the Gold Coast since 1996 with more boats registered here than anywhere else in the state.
There are approximately 223,000 registered boats in Queensland, with almost 30,000 on the Gold Coast.
Much-needed dredging has begun on the Gold Coast, funded by the Gold Coast City Council and the State Government plans to contribute. Local company McQuade Dredging has been contracted to carry out the work.
The southern channel, from the Seaway to the Southport Yacht Club has been completed and work has begun on the West Crab Island channel and north channel.
The project is estimated to dredge 37,500 cubic metres of sand.
Despite the water body being under the trusteeship of the Department of Transport, funding for the Broadwater dredging project has come primarily from the council. Gold Coast City Councillors agreed to contribute $1 million in the 2009-10 budget to be added to the State Government's proposed $1.5 million contribution and $500,000 from the marine industry.
Mayor, Ron Clarke and Transport Minister, Rachel Nolan were expected to sign the agreement by the end of September. Further dredging projects in the northern side of the Broadwater and in the Coomera River will start later in the year.
by Jeni Bone
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Sellicks Hill, SA
