Seven years after the GFC dealt a major blow to the Sunshine Coast, the region is well and truly back in business.
Projects such as the $1.8 billion university hospital, the Sunshine Coast airport expansion and development of the new Maroochydore CBD have buoyed business confidence – but a vital piece of the puzzle remains orphaned on the sideline.
There needs to be a clearer government commitment to improving the public transport network serving Australia's 10th largest city.
Its passenger rail line currently connects smaller hinterland communities, while coastal centres such as Maroochydore and Caloundra are only served by buses.
The inadequacy of public transport infrastructure investment on the Sunshine Coast is well known. It is considered to be the least well-serviced urban area of its size and significance in Australia.
And as demographer and commentator Bernard Salt detailed in his recent Sunshine Coast report, the chronic underinvestment has not stopped the region's population from surging to 340,000 today.
Politicians, planners and decision makers can no longer afford to ignore the region's transport needs.
The state government's draft SEQ Regional Plan, now being finalised following public consultation, envisages the Sunshine Coast will receive a huge increase in population to 560,000 by 2041.
Furthermore, 64 per cent of new homes will be built on "infill" sites, mostly in the Maroochydore-Caloundra corridor.
The plan states that these homes will be built around a "passenger transport trunk corridor" – but sheds no light on what transport will be provided, or more importantly what strategic transport investment would be transformational and act as a catalyst for significant city-shaping.
The answer must be a light rail system connecting Maroochydore's new CBD with Mooloolaba, Kawana, Caloundra and many points in between.
The Sunshine Coast Regional Council has conducted a light rail feasibility study and the arguments in its favour are compelling.
Crucially, by connecting urban centres to employment hubs such as Maroochydore and Kawana, light rail would preserve the Sunshine Coast's precious lifestyle and natural environment.
Compared with relentless investment in roads, light rail is cost-efficient and over time can significantly improve urban development along its route. A funding mechanism which captures part of this additional value would help make light rail more financially viable.
Crucially, by connecting urban centres to employment hubs such as Maroochydore and Kawana, light rail would preserve the Sunshine Coast's precious lifestyle and natural environment.
The Coast is perfectly suited to light rail. Almost 90 per cent of its workforce is employed locally and as a "linear" city, it can be served by one line and potentially use part of the state government's already gazetted public transport corridor.
For proof of its suitability, look no further than the Gold Coast. Last year the G:link carried 640,000 people a month and a third stage to Burleigh Heads is now planned.
The benefits of light rail are well known internationally and Sydney, Parramatta, Canberra and Newcastle are all joining the light rail renaissance. The ACT is a city of similar size and current density to the Sunshine Coast and demonstrates how a local administration is able to plan, fund and deliver a light rail project in partnership with all levels of government and the private sector.
But the most compelling argument for Sunshine Coast light rail is to imagine a future without it.
Without action, the number of car journeys in the region will increase by 60 per cent by 2031.
The additional traffic will damage the Coast's environment, quality of life and economy.
The rail-public transport corridor into the heart of the Maroochydore city centre, existing since 1997, and the Sunshine Coast Regional Council's connecting light rail plan, present real opportunities to harness private sector interest in the delivery of regional infrastructure on the Coast.
A smart, 21st-century integrated public transport system and the infrastructure delivery options that go with it, will not only connect communities, reduce traffic congestion and protect the environment, it will also create jobs, attract investment and generate growth.
It's time to set the infrastructure in train that will allow the Sunshine Coast to realise its potential.
Michael Kerry was responsible for all urban planning and infrastructure for the City of Brisbane for 12 years, including South Bank and Springfield. He is currently a Director of SunCentral Maroochydore, the company tasked with designing and delivering the new CBD on the Sunshine Coast.