Expanding the Boggo Rd/Dutton Park Busway

[Ari 🚋]

The current bus network has a pretty big gap in it, since the branch of the SE busway terminates at UQ Lakes. Obviously this is great if you want to go to UQ, but it also forces high-frequency routes (namely the 66 and 29) to stop there rather than continue onwards into St Lucia/Indro/other western destinations. With the 'metro' planned to stop there as well, surely it's about time to get rid of the weird cul-de-sac and extend the route to allow through service.

The question is, how do you think that would look? UQ's development plan is calling for an underground second level at UQ Chancellor's Place, and presumably a tunnel at least part of the way there, which would be ideal in terms of separation but also stupidly expensive (and they can't cut-and-cover because of all the buildings). The only other option I could think of would be to route the buses via Sir William-MacGregor drive, but then you either have to convert that road to a busway (which I doubt will happen), or have the busway run via a relatively small shared road (which also isn't great).

[OzGamer]

When the Eleanor Schonell Bridge was first proposed the UQ Senate was dead against any through running of the uni, but there was also huge opposition from St Lucia residents, and they are wealthy, older, and connected, ie the sort of people with a lot of political influence. I honestly think the only way you could get major transport infrastructure from UQ to Indooroopilly would be to tunnel all the way.

I think it might actually be worth it also - UQ is a huge trip generator, and the biggest problem is a decent connection to the Ipswich/Springfield rail line and buses from further south and west. A tunneled busway express from Indooroopilly station to Chancellors Place at UQ with local services still on surface streets would be a great solution, and provide for cross town services to the southeast and eastern busways from the southwestern suburbs, but it's certainly not cheap.

[timh]

UQ's Master Plan does include the Tunnel connection to Chancellor's Place - but I don't think they're too keen on paying for it! I expect they want the Govt. To build it


I note that there is a "public transport investigation corridor" on the map through UQ in the new Creating Better Connections document. So I guess the state govt is probably thinking about the Chancellor's place tunnel at least. Running buses around is not a good outcome

Beyond UQ to indro is an excellent idea for a trunk corridor as you've said Oz Gamer but it is expensive. Yeah, it would pretty much have to be fully tunneled. I believe there is reference for a need to investigate a corridor along this route in the SEQ Regional Transport plan but I'll have to double check.

A tunnel that long would be outrageously expensive so I doubt we would see it any time soon, but I reckon it would be popular!

Verbatim LOOOVES to push this idea every time it's brought up. His plan is to extend it past Indro to Kenmore. Personally I think that's gonna be beyond my lifetime and is a much lower priority, but getting to Indro would be nice

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[Ari 🚋]

It's good to see that they're at least looking into tunneling it. Considering how the current stop is positioned, I think they'd have to move UQ Lakes while they're at it - there's not really enough space to have a station and then also fit in a tunnel entrance. Going full foam here, but if I was going to dig a tunnel anyway I'd probably put the new stop underground a bit closer into campus.

Tunnel all the way to Indro and beyond is something I didn't even think about honestly, but considering the proximity and potential for increased density I agree, it'd definitely get used.

[Gazza]

Hot take - Running buses around COULD be a good outcome.

11 mins from Toowong to UQ Chancellors Place.
3 mins from UQ Lakes to Boggo Rd
I would estimate 4 mins or so going along the internal roads, so a 17 min journey.

OTOH it's a 24 min journey via rail (With a 7 min transfer window at Roma St)
If we cut that down to 5 mins and knock another 5 off with CRR it's a 17 min journey.

So basically neck and neck.

The reason why I say surface running would be better is because the buildings at UQ are overwhelmingly south of the great court and most of the colleges  are down there too, so a stop at the bottom of staff house road would be the ducks nuts and SO central to everything.

So I don't think a tunnel would save enough end to end journey time to warrant spending probably $500m when you could just run buses along College Rd and have a very popular stop there.

[aldonius]

The most useful part of a "St Lucia tunnel" is going under Indooroopilly.