Article: Green bridge from Bellbowrie 'the way to go'

[ozbob]

From Brisbanetimes click here!


Green bridge from Bellbowrie 'the way to go'

Green bridge from Bellbowrie 'the way to go'
Tony Moore | June 2, 2008 - 5:03AM

A second "green bridge" from Bellbowrie to Wacol could be built for one-tenth of the estimated $500 million Kenmore Bypass price tag - and eliminate traffic congestion, residents say.

Their alternative proposal is to encourage commuiters to travel by rail from Wacol.

Community lobby group Save Our Suburbs Kenmore proposes that  the bus and rail connection to Wacol makes more economic sense than building a road which they claim would contribute to future congestion.

Long-term resident Charles Victor says the bridge was "approved" as part of the original Bellbowrie development.

The community's focus group report of 1999 says: "It is the opinion of the committee that a bridge at Bellbowrie is the most suitable transport solution for Kenmore.

"It would divert much of Kenmore's non-local traffic away from Moggill Road and provide residents west of Kenmore with a direct route to the city, to Logan Motorway, Ipswich Road and the rail facilities at Darra or Wacol."

A 1999 Brisbane City Council study also refers to a bridge at Bellbowrie as part of the original suburban development.

Queensland Rail is now upgrading the Ipswich Rail line to cope with increasing commuter traffic.

Save Our Suburbs Kenmore spokesman Grant Muller, an energy consultant on Lord Mayor Campbell Newman's City Smart Board, said the Main Roads' Kenmore Bypass project was trying to find a roads' solution to a transport problem.

He said the best solution was to reverse the traffic flow and use the existing Ipswich rail line.

Mr Muller said it made more sense to build a "green bridge" for buses from a location near Ellerby Road across to Grindle Road at Wacol, and allow rapid transit buses to connect to Wacol train station.

The green bridge from Dutton Park to the University of Queensland's St Lucia campus has been successful in reducing traffic.

"The exact location of any Bellbowrie bridge should be a community decision," Mr Muller said.

The main problem on Moggill Road was the "massive congestion" caused by 5000 commuters who squeezed onto Moggill Road during the weekday morning peak hour, he said.

"When you go from a school, to a non-school day there is only a 10 per cent reduction in the traffic volumes," Mr Muller said.

"And when that happens, you have a 30 per cent improvement in traffic flow.

"That marginal drop in traffic, has a huge impact in traffic. It is the concentration in the traffic volume."

Mr Muller said the cost of the Kenmore Bypass for the extra 5000 peak hour commuters was the biggest problem for the project.

"It is a $50 to $60 a trip (per person) for something that is going to shave a few minutes off for five or six thousand people in the morning peak."

Mr Muller said the better option was to encourage a 10 minute bus trip to the existing Ipswich rail line, using a bridge link

Public submissions on the Western Brisbane Transport Network Investigation (WBTNI) closed on Friday.

Information on the alternative Kenmore proposal at www.saveourkenmore.com

This is similar to a previous call by RAIL Back On Track and others and makes a lot of sense.  We have gone further and suggested the possibility of even a rail line from the Kenmore / Belbowrie regions to connect around Wacol.  Using integrated buses would also work in the absence of a spur line.

[mufreight]

This strengthens the argument for additional track capacity west of Corinda over and above the present effectively only tripication of the track Corinda to Darra to meet the presently projected needs of the Springfield line without addressing the needed additional services for the Ipswich line.

Additional rolling stock is also needed.

But even so an additional road crossing of the river between Birkin Road Bellbowrie to Summers Road at Riverhills to enable residents from that area to access the Ipswich rail link.

Any bridge crossing the river in that area should be for general traffic as most commuters would drive to the station rather than travel by bus.  Such a bridge should be designed to be able to be expanded so as to be able accomodate either light or heavy rail as a feeder to the Ipswich line at some future time.

[ozbob]

It is essential that the fourth line between Corinda and Darra be electrified too.

I will contact Trackstar to see if there has been any change.