Dear members,
On Thursday 27 August 2026 a YADCA member alerted me to the AusCycle notification Ninderry and North Arm residents received regarding road closures associated with the Juniors & Masters Road National Championships.
Unlike previous local events held in our area, this 4 day event from 17 – 20 September, is a National Championship for Juniors (some as young as 13, aiming for the Olympics) and Masters (over 30).
AusCycle event organisers told residents and businesses that there would be a complete road closure of Farrell Street (north of Steggalls Road), Ninderry Road, Fairhill Road, North Arm Yandina Creek Road, Bunya Road and Ben Williams Road from 7.00 am to 5.30 pm on both Saturday and Sunday. Residents were told to park their cars outside the affected area the night before and walk if they needed to go out.
I spoke to Mayor Rosanna Natoli and was told that there was “no way the roads will be closed for all of that period”. She said that the event had not been given a permit and Council was working with organisers of the cycling event to get a better outcome.
Many community members and businesses emailed AusCycle and Council about the problems associated with a complete road closure, and last Friday, 4 September, AusCycle announced that the weekend races will be relocated to a location yet to be confirmed. (See email below.)
The Thursday time trails will remain at North Arm and I’m told by AusCycle organisers that residents will be able to “enter / exit and move along the course (under escort) with minimal delays”. The course will start and finish at North Arm State School and go along North Arm Yandina Creek Road, Toolborough Road and Fairhill Road as far as Krause Road. To minimise impact on the School population the event will run from 9.00 am to 2.00 pm.
Friday’s event, the criterium, was relocated to a purpose built facility at Noosa months ago. It was originally planned as a road race around the Yandina Sports Complex.
This fiasco could have been avoided if there had been proper consultation with residents and businesses when planning started. There are lessons to be learnt here, especially as our Council is lobbying for the Olympic Road Cycling Events to be held on the Sunshine Coast.
Kind regards,
Marie
Marie Reeve
President YADCA 0487467270
https://yadca.org/
——– Original Message ——–
Subject: Update – AusCycling Juniors & Masters Road National Championship
Date: 04-09-2026 19:27
From: Road Events <road.events@auscycling.org.au>
To:
Dear resident or business owner,
Thank you for contacting AusCycling regarding the road closures proposed for the 2026 AusCycling Junior & Masters Road National Championships.
We have now heard directly from a significant number of residents and several local businesses. The feedback has been consistent, particularly regarding the length of the weekend closures and confidence in the proposed access arrangements.
Following further consideration with Sunshine Coast Council, DTMR and Queensland Police, the outcome is that AusCycling is seeking to relocate the Saturday and Sunday road races to an alternative location. It remains a work in progress.
This means the previously proposed weekend road closures (19 and 20 September) in Yandina and North Arm will not proceed.
While we remain confident that the motorcycle escort and access plan developed for the course was operationally sound, it became clear that the weekend road races were no longer a suitable fit for the area. The strength of community sentiment, including some comments indicating potential non-compliance with road closures and traffic-control directions, also presented a safety risk that AusCycling could not ignore, unfortunately.
Our intention remains to conduct the time trial on North Arm–Yandina Creek Road on Thursday 17 September as planned. This involves a considerably shorter closure period and has been scheduled to avoid key school arrival and departure times. Appropriate resident access and emergency-service arrangements will remain in place with our motorcycle marshals and gaps in our time trial schedule allowing for escorted movement along the course with minimal delays. We appreciate your support for this.
A more specific updated communication dealing only with the Thursday time trial will be circulated next week. This will again confirm the affected roads, closure times, resident access arrangements and event contact details.
We recognise the disruption and uncertainty the original arrangements have caused. Thank you for raising your concerns directly and allowing us to work with Council and the relevant authorities to find a suitable way forward.
We trust this update provides reassurance regarding the weekend, while allowing the shorter Thursday time trial to be delivered safely.
Kind regards,
AusCycling team
Road Events
