Ministerial Statement: Northside growth demands busway to Chermside

[ozbob]

Minister for Transport
The Honourable Rachel Nolan
21/11/2009

Northside growth demands busway to Chermside

The Bligh Government will open talks with northside residents about possible routes for extending the Northern Busway from Kedron to Aspley.

Transport Minister Rachel Nolan said the twin challenges of congestion and climate change were behind the need to connect stage 2 of the Northern Busway (currently under construction from Windsor to Kedron) with Brisbane's growing northside communities.

"Until this Labor government was elected, Brisbane had no dedicated busway network at all," Ms Nolan said.

"Now busways are efficiently moving more than 180,000 passengers a day and this consultation process is the first step in extending this form of green transport to people from Kedron to Bracken Ridge."

"Queensland continues to experience rapid population growth with 100,000 extra people joining our state every year and we can't ignore the impact that such relentless growth will have on road systems and Brisbane's livability unless we act.

"We're planning for that future growth with busways such as this one to ensure we can provide a high-speed, modern public transport system to increasingly compete with the private vehicle.

"The Northern Busway beyond Kedron will connect people to major local destinations such as Westfield Chermside, the Prince Charles Hospital and Chermside Community Hub.

"The Bligh Government is investing more than ever before in infrastructure to support growth - the Northern Busway is a major part of our infrastructure commitment."

Minister Nolan said extending the Northern Busway beyond Kedron would improve public transport options for Brisbane's northside areas.

"With Brisbane City Council forecasting Chermside will grow, and with higher density housing and more commercial activity expected, there will be even more transport demand in the area," Ms Nolan said.

"A busway delivers a fast, reliable and congestion-free run, encouraging more people to use public transport for more of their trips."

The future busway will connect into the section of the Northern Busway currently under construction at Sadlier Street in Kedron, and could either follow the western side of Gympie Road through to Chermside or deviate to the Prince Charles Hospital.

From there, the busway will connect with a busway station and interchange that can serve the Chermside commercial area including Westfield Chermside.

Minister for Infrastructure and Planning and Member for Stafford Stirling Hinchliffe said that community consultation was an important part of the planning process for this project.

"Comments and ideas from the community, together with the results of ongoing technical studies, will help us to determine a draft alignment, station locations and design for the busway," Mr Hinchliffe said.

"During the four-week consultation period, we will be seeking community feedback through information sessions, staffed displays, feedback forms and submissions, stakeholder briefings and the project website.

"Through establishing a community reference group and local community consultation during the study, we aim to capture everybody's input and get the planning right''.

The community reference group will be established early next year to both inform the community of the project and gain feedback on a preferred alignment.

Community consultation on the Northern Busway beyond Kedron will take place from 23 November to 18 December 2009.

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[#Metro]

Yay for Busway!
I hope that they build a parallel bikeway as well.

[ozbob]

From the Brisabanetimes click here!

Govt open to ideas for Northern Busway extension

Govt open to ideas for Northern Busway extension
November 21, 2009 - 12:13PM

The Bligh Government will open talks with Brisbane residents about possible routes for extending the Northern Busway from the northside suburbs Kedron to Bracken Ridge.

Transport Minister Rachel Nolan said the twin challenges of congestion and climate change were behind the need to connect stage two of the Northern Busway - currently under construction from Windsor to Kedron - with Brisbane's growing northside communities.

"This consultation process is the first step in extending this form of green transport to people from Kedron to Bracken Ridge," Ms Nolan said.

"Queensland continues to experience rapid population growth, with 100,000 extra people joining our state every year.

"We can't ignore the impact that such relentless growth will have on road systems and Brisbane's livability, unless we act.

Community consultation on the Northern Busway beyond Kedron will take place from this Monday to Friday, December 18.

AAP