10 May 2023: " A bridge too far " (Indooroopilly)

[ozbob]

" A bridge too far "  (Indooroopilly)

10th May 2023

Brisbane City Council's Chelmer to Indooroopilly River Crossing Pre-feasibility Study (1) reminds RAIL Back On Track of Maslow's saying "If all you have is a hammer, everything looks like a nail".

The study, like all of Brisbane City Council's Transport Planning, makes no attempt to consider alternatives like those working in cities across the world.  It simply says "The answer is more roads capacity because just look how bad it is out there."

Together with the Indooroopilly Roundabout Replacement, Brisbane City Council is guaranteeing there will be more congestion.  No city in the world that is actually reducing congestion is building freestyle overpasses next to a commercial centre and prioritising the widening of roads.  In fact they are removing such road centric infrastructure and converting road space into separated bike/mobility and buses lanes.

It is no wonder that Lord Mayor is baying for more transport funding. His own transport planning and investment is making our traffic congestion worse, not better.

It is time for the Lord Mayor and Cr Ryan Murphy to accept that widening roads to "bust congestion" is as futile as "smoking more to cure lung cancer".  It's the cause not the cure.  Engineers Australia noted in 2021 "This makes attempting to "bust traffic congestion" through road construction, self-defeating. In this context, Australia's past transport investment strategy may be seen as questionable."

The estimated $1.3 billion price tag should be invested in active and public transport solutions.

RAIL Back On Track calls for BCC to abandon these futile projects that will only create more congestion and to work collaboratively with the State Government to:

. Build Brand New Station between Allwood and Keating Street with wide, straight platforms and underground bike parking

. Build an inline BRT/Busway Station and Pedestrian Plaza instead of the freeway scale Indooroopilly Roundabout Replacement overpass - there is still time

. Pedestrianise Keating Street

. Pedestrianise/Shared Zone Allwood St/Belgrave Rd

. Implement a faster, more frequent BRT style service between Indro, UQ and the South East/Eastern Busways

. Build safe, protected bike/mobility lanes on roads in the area particularly Moggill Rd, Oxley Rd, Honour Avenue and in and around Indooroopilly Shopping Centre creating a links all the way to the Bicentennial Bikeway and UQ

. Build high-quality bike, mobility parking facilities at railway stations in the area and Indooroopilly Shopping Centre

. work with the Chelmer, Graceville, Sherwood, Corinda and Oxley communities to create 15 minute Neighbourhoods that provide residents with the basic things they need — shops, schools, parks, leisure options, health care within a 15-minute radius by foot or bike.

Greens MP Michael Berkman,  a local MP,  has been reported in the Couriermail today as (2):

"(Berkman) said the best way to cater for local trips, especially school drop off and uni students, was fast, frequent public transport and safe bike lanes.

"If we wasted $1.3 billion on a new road bridge, all we'd get is more dangerous traffic in Sherwood, Chelmer, Indro and Taringa,'' he said.

"Instead, the State Government should upgrade buses to link with trains on both sides, including Indro to UQ and Fig Tree Pocket.

"They should also upgrade our east-west links by reopening the existing Tennyson train line to Yeerongpilly, or creating a cross-campus bus link at UQ."

We agree with Mr Berkman.  A new Indooroopilly bridge will induce even more traffic creating chaos from Taringa to Inala! More lanes crossing the river at Indooroopilly will wreck Indooroopilly to Oxley in time, there will be pressure to upgrade Oxley Road and in turn Blunder Road.  At present the bridge restriction helps to force others to go around.  Leave as is to preserve the suburbs

Robert Dow
Administration
admin@backontrack.org
RAIL Back On Track https://backontrack.org

References:

1. BCC: Chelmer to Indooroopilly river crossing pre-feasibility study
https://www.brisbane.qld.gov.au/traffic-and-transport/roads-infrastructure-and-bikeways/road-and-intersection-projects/chelmer-to-indooroopilly-river-crossing-pre-feasibility-study

2. New Indooroopilly bridge could cost $1.3b: Council study outlines five options to fix traffic horror
https://www.couriermail.com.au/questnews/southwest/new-indooroopilly-bridge-could-cost-13b-most-dont-want-it-council-study/news-story/45018bc98c00a63ef3d2be7e5311b531

[ozbob]

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