Article: State Government's Eastern Busway delay leaves owners in limbo

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State Government's Eastern Busway delay leaves owners in limbo

State Government's Eastern Busway delay leaves owners in limbo
Article from: The Courier-Mail

Steven Wardill

August 17, 2009 12:00am

HUNDREDS of property owners have been left in limbo by the cash-strapped State Government which is unable to commit to a deadline on the $3.3b Eastern Busway.

Owners along the busway route from Coorparoo to Capalaba are trapped in properties no one wants and are clueless about resumptions.

Once vibrant shopping strips are being turned into urban ghost towns as businesses shut down because of uncertainty.

Coorparoo has been hardest hit with commercial properties acquired by the Government, including the old Myer building and the Coorparoo Mall, almost completely empty.

Construction of the busway between Buranda and Mains Ave Coorparoo has begun and is scheduled to be completed by 2012 while resumptions are occurring up to Cavendish Rd.

However, there is no construction timetable for the rest of the route from Mains Ave onwards other than a promise to finish by 2026 as funds become available.

The only certainty appears to be a rapidly escalating cost. The busway has jumped from $530 million proposal in 2005 to $3.3 billion in the latest edition of the Southeast Queensland Infrastructure Plan.

LJ Hooker Coorparoo owner Peter Weiss said the Government promised to "fast-track" the busway in 2006 and locals had believed construction would be well under way. "None of us really had an understanding how long the construction would take but we expected to be bothered by noise and the rest of it by now," he said.

Mr Weiss said retail and food business in particular were hurting.

"I think it is really breaking some hearts that it is taking longer than necessary," Mr Weiss said.

Other business owners described the uncertainty as a "disaster", saying the empty former Myer centre had driven away shoppers.

Transport Minister Rachel Nolan conceded the Government did not know when the next section of the busway would be undertaken.

"The next stages do not yet have a start date but we're planning and acquiring land so we can start straight away should federal funding become available," she said.

Ms Nolan said owners could apply under hardship provisions to have their property acquired early.

In a bid to sustain the Coorparoo area until the busway eventually arrives, the Department of Transport and Main Roads is now considering leasing the empty space it owns.

"There may also be an opportunity to redevelop the space," a department spokesman said.

"The assessment process is expected to be complete in about a month."