We are planning to extend Goshawk Boulevard 700 metres east to connect Stringybark Road to Power Road in Buderim.

The extension will give local residents easier access to local shops, provide walking and riding pathways and reduce traffic congestion on adjacent streets.

The extension will deliver:

• two traffic lanes (one lane each direction)
• two-way riding paths (separated from the road)
• walking paths
• landscaping and street trees.

Constructing this missing link in the transport network will give locals easier access and reduce traffic volumes on Stringybark Road, Ballinger Road and the eastern end of Sippy Downs Drive.

It will bring the local shops on Goshawk Boulevard within walking distance for current or future residents near Power Road and give them access to the new Stringybark Road pedestrian and riding bridge across the Sunshine Motorway, making it feasible to walk or ride to the town centre.

It will also provide a second road access to the existing Atrium Buderim residents, as required in the development condition, to aid in managing traffic safely during an emergency such as a bushfire.

The proposed speed limit for Goshawk Boulevard extension is 50 km/h. This will be confirmed in the next phase of the project, detailed design.

Detailed design is planned to be undertaken after this round of community engagement. Construction is dependent on future budget considerations, however currently planned to be undertaken before or in conjunction with any development on 77 Power Road.

Planning for the Goshawk Boulevard extension has been in place since the late 1990s. Goshawk Boulevard was nominated as a transport connection between Stringybark Road and Dixon Road. You can see the road network originally planned in the Sippy Downs Township Structure Plan map contained in the former Maroochy Plan 2000.

Land was progressively developed for homes and the first section of Goshawk Boulevard between Stringybark Road and Figbird Crescent was constructed.

In 2003 Council purchased land to provide two important outcomes for the community:

• an environmental reserve
• a transport corridor.

In 2007 Council completed a planning study on the connection of Stringybark Road to Power Road via Goshawk Boulevard. This planning study considered environmental, social and economic issues.

Community consultation was undertaken on many potential alignment options. Council used the feedback to identify the preferred alignment for the transport corridor, which was mostly located on land that had been cleared of vegetation. Council adopted the Goshawk Boulevard extension at its Ordinary Meeting of September 2007 (endorsed modified Option 3B). Additional land was purchased in 2013.

Council selected the alignment to maximise environmental outcomes and provide a greater contiguous area of environmental reserve.

Once the alignment was established for the road, the remaining land was used to expand The Springs Conservation Area to the north.

Council reinforced its position on the need to provide the Goshawk Boulevard extension in the:

• Sunshine Coast Planning Scheme (adopted in 2014)
• Sunshine Coast Council Local Government Infrastructure Plan (LGIP) (adopted in 2018)
• Sunshine Coast Council Local Government Infrastructure Plan (LGIP) interim amendment (adopted in 2023).
• Proposed Sunshine Coast Planning Scheme (consultation in 2025).

All plans involved community consultation and stakeholder engagement.

Community members are invited to view the concept design and complete the survey (click on the survey tab above). You can also attend a community pop-up at Chancellor Park Marketplace:

• Thursday, 13 November 2025 (3pm - 6pm)
• Saturday, 22 November 2025 (11am - 2pm)

Feedback will be used to inform detailed design work. Council will continue to keep the community updated as the project progresses.

All works will be undertaken within existing road reserve and no further private properties will be acquired.

Under the concept design, existing access to homes or properties will not be reconfigured, altered or removed.

Council purchased land to create the Springs conservation area and provide for the transport link. About 250 metres of the Goshawk Boulevard extension passes through a vegetated area alongside The Springs Conservation Area. The preferred alignment passes along the southern edge of the vegetated area to maximise the land available that council dedicated as conservation area to the north. It also reduces impacts on specific environmentally valuable trees such as the endangered swamp stringybark (Eucalyptus conglomerata).

Council referred the proposed project to the Australian Government to determine whether it requires approval under the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 (EPBC Act). The EPBC Act makes sure that nationally significant animals, plants, habitats and places are identified, and any potential negative impacts on them are carefully considered before new developments are approved. The federal government ruled that the road extension is not likely to have a significant impact on a matter of national environmental significance and is not a ‘controlled action’. Given this, EPBC approval is not required.

The concept design has included further refinements to ensure that the project minimises impacts on matters of State Environmental Significance. Where the design cannot avoid impacts Council will ensure that offsets are provided where applicable. Mitigation of impacts will be achieved through implementation of a construction Environmental Management Plan. The Australian Government has determined that further investigation of Matters of National Environmental Significance is not required.

Council aims to beautify roads as they are constructed. Verges will be landscaped along the road extension and new plantings will be considered on median strips. Trees are proposed alongside the walking and riding pathways to provide shade.

As part of Council’s commitment to sustainability, Council purchased land to create a transport link (Goshawk Boulevard extension) and an environmental reserve (The Springs Conservation Area).

An environmental offset compensates for unavoidable impacts on significant environmental matters (for example, valuable species and ecosystems) on one site, by securing land at another site, and managing that land over a period of time to replace those significant environmental matters which were lost.

The project will first seek to avoid impacts on significantly valued environment and then mitigate impacts through appropriate design features, where possible. Where impacts cannot be mitigated, an offset will be provided. As per standard tree offsetting process, the habitat will be offset at a minimum 3:1 ratio. Our Natural Areas Management team will seek to salvage debris such as hollow logs and use it to provide fauna habitat, as well as providing offset planting.

An experienced fauna spotter-catcher will be in attendance to manage and supervise all terrestrial fauna management activities prior to and during tree removal works.

Council is also planning to extend Power Road south over the Sunshine Motorway via a new overpass to reconnect with Sippy Downs Drive. The Power Road overpass is proposed to feature new walking and riding infrastructure and signalised intersections where Power Road meets Goshawk Boulevard (on the northern side of the overpass) and Sippy Downs Drive (on the southern side). Walking and riding crossings are also planned however delivery of both intersections, and the Power Road overpass are subject to funding.

Constructing the Goshawk Boulevard extension and Power Road overpass will better connect southern Buderim neighbourhoods to the University of the Sunshine Coast and surrounding shops, schools and businesses. It will give locals a shorter trip home from the eastern end of the Sippy Downs town centre, diverting traffic away from the busy eastern end of Sippy Downs Drive, and make walking and riding to the shops more appealing. Traffic volumes at the eastern end of Sippy Downs Drive near the Chancellor State College Secondary Campus and fast-food hub is forecast to drop by around 30 per cent with these two projects in place.

In 2024, Council upgraded the intersection of Power and Dixon roads to support these congestion-reducing projects. Traffic signals were installed, turning lanes were added and dedicated crossings for walking and riding were constructed.

The LGIP is included in the Sunshine Coast Council Planning Scheme and is a plan that Council is legally required to prepare that identifies what infrastructure local communities and the region will need over the next 20 years from roads to bikeways and parks. It provides transparency so the community, developers and investors all know what infrastructure is proposed. It also means Council can levy infrastructure charges on developers for ‘trunk’ infrastructure that is used by both the wider community and those who will live or work in the new development. This ensures developers pay their fair share of the infrastructure they use.

The Goshawk Boulevard extension is part of a limited road construction program Council maintains to keep the Coast moving. It also includes investments in walking and riding infrastructure.

Daily car trips on the Sunshine Coast are predicted to jump from 1.2 million to 2 million by 2041, as the population expands by more than half a million. Council aims to get more people walking, riding and taking public transport, but road network upgrades and improvements are still needed to support the region’s growth.

Council’s road construction program is funded by revenue from rates, developer contributions and state and federal government grants. Currently, developer contributions account for about 70 per cent of funding.

Council undertakes extensive research, detailed modelling and regular traffic assessments to pinpoint congestion hotspots, work out where road upgrades or new roads are needed and prioritise projects. Strategic transport projects planned for the next 20 years are listed in the Local Government Infrastructure Plan (LGIP). Priority projects in the LGIP become part of Council’s 10-year capital works program.