GREEN BRIDGES

Toowong to West End, St Lucia to West End

Brisbane City Council proposed, as part of it’s Green Bridges program, a bridge between Saint Lucia and West End and another between Toowong and West End. Three options were given for each, these options were voted on by the community (with no option for No Bridge). Details for each of these bridges can be found at:

In relation to this is the Transport and Mobility Study  – “a multi-modal study of the ongoing and increasing transport pressures relating to road, active transport and public transport modes in Brisbane’s inner south” undertaken by the State Government in 2018-2019.

SUBMISSION TO BCC GREEN BRIDGES TEAM – Members of the community were invited to have their say with respect to the positioning of the two bridges. There were 2 issues that were identified,

1. The nominated deadline which occurred during the Christmas period, and

2. The lack of a ‘No Bridge’ option.

At Community request the deadline was extended to the 31st March, 2021 but no change was made to the options for each bridge.

As a result of a ‘No Bridge’ option not being included for either bridge, Kurilpa Futures sent the following submission to Council – KURILPA FUTURES’ SUBMISSION

RESUMPTION OF TREES -In response to the proposed options for these green bridges Kurilpa Futures examined the trees that would be lost as a result of construction in each case. The tree listings were included in the table below. This table only includes trees on the Kurilpa Peninsula and does not take into consideration tree resumption on the Toowong or Saint Lucia reaches of the river.

Option AOption BOption C
Saint Lucia to
West End

Threatened TreesTrees will not be resumedThreatened Trees
– 3 houses will also be resumed
Toowong
to
West End		Threatened TreesThreatened TreesThreatened
trees are very
young

PREVIOUS COMMUNICATION TO OUR MEMBERS – sent on the 8th December, 2020

Dear Resident

Two weeks ago, Brisbane City Council opened the second round of consultations for its Green Bridges program. You can see details of Council’s Green Bridges program at this link: 

Extension of consultation period

The consultation period is open until 29 January 2021 with six community consultation sessions, all to be held before the New Year, between 28 November and 12 December. Kurilpa Futures considers that the consultation period is too short given the seriousness of the issues under consideration. This is compounded by having the consultations during the Christmas and New Year period when many people are away.

For these reasons, we are calling for an extension to this timeline to the end of March with community information sessions after the Christmas, New Year season. We encourage you to use the attached letter to write to the Lord Mayor seeking an extension of time. 

On-line Survey

Kurilpa Futures is also critical of Council’s online survey which we think is tantamount to push-polling. See link to article here.

Kurilpa Futures recommends that residents do not fill out the survey, but instead email your response directly to the Lord Mayor and the Green Bridges team at the following email addresses: 

GreenBridges@brisbane.qld.gov.au lordmayor@brisbane.qld.gov.au 

Principles for considering landing options

Kurilpa Futures is still developing its position on the bridges. Our concern is to ensure the process leads to good decision making. There will be pros and cons whatever the final outcome, but we think the process that Council has adopted is, in its current form, divisive and limiting.

We have set out the following principles which we think should guide consideration of the proposed options.

  1. We do not support any bridge until the Council demonstrates how it will implement the findings of the South Brisbane Transport and Mobility Study.
  2. No one option should impact adversely on any other community on either side of the river.
  3. A ‘no bridge’ option for all sites in the Council’s online survey
  4. Supporting data and business case should be made available before the community is expected to comment on options, rather than the other way around.
  5. There should be no net loss of public green space.
  6. Compulsory acquisitions of private property should be avoided unless no other acceptable option is available, in which case, here should be respectful and accessible engagement with affected property owners and fair compensation for any residential properties acquired.
  7. Connected Active Transport Networks should be included as part of the overall bridge design and business case calculations.
  8. All designs should include infrastructure for the connecting routes that enables safe access for pedestrians, cyclists, and users with impaired mobility.
  9. The Indigenous ‘Sorry’ site including Cranbrook Place, at the end of Forbes St West End should be protected.
  10. Membership of the State /Council Active Transport Advisory Committee should be extended to include representatives of the impacted communities, to meet for regular and timely updates. 

Please see our draft letter, included here, for you to use to write to the Lord Mayor and the Green Bridges Team.