Brisbane City Council 2015-16 Budget & Annual Plan

[ozbob]

Council Annual Plan and Budget 2015-16

>> http://www.brisbane.qld.gov.au/about-council/council-information-rates/news-publications/council-annual-plan-budget-2015-16

[verbatim9]

What happened to proposed BCC buses to the Airport. They can run via the Northern busway and Airport Link DFO route 787? Stopping at Inner city Northern Busway stops until RBWH, express DFO, express Intl then Domestic Terminal

[ozbob]

Twitter

Brisbane Times ‏@brisbanetimes 28 minutes ago

Kangaroo Point pedestrian bridge plans scrapped: #bccbudget #qldpol http://bit.ly/1Gs5oRm 



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More trips by pedestrians than any other mode.  New world cities do not prioritise cars, cars and cars .. just sayin' ..

[verbatim9]

A few more Green Bridges would be good including funding for one at Bellbowrie to Wacol  to convey busses, cyclists and pedestrians. The busses then be used as feeder buses to the rail with a loop around Moggill Bellbowrie Wacol Riverhills Middle Park Darra Wacol Bellbowrie Moggill Clockwise and Anti Clockwise every 30 mins from 6 am till midnight. This would also alleviate congestion on Moggill road and improve travel times

[ozbob]

^  yep.

[ozbob]

Brisbanetimes --> Fountains & lights in BCC budget short of surprises

[ozbob]

Couriermail --> Brisbane City Council budget: Rates up, lights on, water fountains flow

[ozbob]

Twitter

Katherine Feeney ‏@katherinefeeney 1m

Council opposition warns of pain come the post-election budget. Mayoral hope @Rod4Bris promises Kangaroo Pt Bridge

[James]

A few more Green Bridges would be good including funding for one at Bellbowrie to Wacol  to convey busses, cyclists and pedestrians. The busses then be used as feeder buses to the rail with a loop around Moggill Bellbowrie Wacol Riverhills Middle Park Darra Wacol Bellbowrie Moggill Clockwise and Anti Clockwise every 30 mins from 6 am till midnight. This would also alleviate congestion on Moggill road and improve travel times

Are we sure there is the demand there?

There are only ~15,000 people in this area at the most, and very few people who live over there have much of a reason to want to go to that side of the river (the only thing of interest is Mt Ommaney, that's it). I'm not sure if there is even the demand there for a car bridge, yet alone a bus bridge.

People's lives are shaped around the river - cross river connectivity, particularly in the outer suburbs, isn't a big issue.

[ozbob]

Will come eventually. For now, be nice if the basics could be done eg. network reform and fixing the fare structure.

[verbatim9]

👍

[ozbob]

Lord Mayor Graham Quirk's 2015-6 Brisbane City Council budget speech

http://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/queensland/lord-mayor-graham-quirks-20156-brisbane-city-council-budget-speech-20150617-ghpsd6

Buses, CityCats and bikeways

Madam Chairman, my commitment to public transport is again evident in this budget. Gone are the days where Labor thought it was okay to deliver only 240 buses over an eight year period.

This budget is very focused on public transport infrastructure, building an environment where it is easier for public transport to operate and in turn making it more reliable and efficient for the travelling public.

As part of my commitment to making bus stops disability accessible, $7.6 million will be allocated towards this project. This will go towards an overall commitment that will see the upgrade of more than 2,500 bus stops over the next three years making public transport more accessible for all residents.

Madam Chairman, as I have said in past years, Brisbane City Council does not have responsibility for pricing of fares. However, commuters are telling me that this is a key factor influencing their decision on whether to catch public transport or drive their car. In an effort to help those commuters who do want to choose the public transport option, I will continue to advocate for fares at an affordable level.

But what is indisputable is that despite this key influencing factor, Council is doing its share on behalf of ratepayers. This budget will see the ratepayers subsidy towards the bus network increase to a record $81.9 million - this is up from $60 million under Labor, a 36% increase. On top of this is a combined capital improvement program which, excluding flood recovery work, has totalled $59 million over the last three years with a further $11 million included in this year's budget.

Madam Chairman, you would have seen recently that the 21st Citycat was launched. I shared this honour with the Queensland Firebirds whose logos are displayed as livery on this vessel.

It is my pleasure today to announce that $5.2 million has been allocated over three years towards re-life of the older Generation 1 Citycats.

Some of these vessels have now been operating since the 1990's transporting commuters and visitors around our City. This funding will ensure they can undertake many more years of service. As these refurbished Citycats are rolled out they will have livery designs featuring Brisbane and Queensland sporting teams to make them more vibrant and attractive on our river.

In addition to the new Citycat terminal at Park Road, Milton delivered in the past year, commuters would have seen other refurbished and upgraded Citycat terminals being rolled out at Bulimba, the Regatta at Toowong and the University of Queensland over the past year. These new terminals and, where possible, existing terminals are being converted to be disability friendly. The new terminals are also being delivered as 'double headers' which makes it easier and faster for our growing fleet to service our passengers.

In relation to bikeways, the cycling public whether for leisure or commuting should have noticed the significant investment over the past three years.

My commitment to spend $120 million on bikeways during this term of office is well on track to be completed this financial year and the networks are now seeing more cycle traffic. In fact the 8% growth per year in cycling is in no small way attributable to the improving network opportunities.

Major new bikeway projects to be constructed as part of the $28 million allocated in the 2015-16 year will include:

    Logan Road to Woolloongabba Rotary Park;
    Deshon Street to Burke Street;
    Burke Street to Bennetts Road; and;
    Continuation of the CBD to Wynnum Manly Corridor which includes the Norman Creek pedestrian and cycle crossing.

Madam Chairman, these investments quadruple the spending of past Labor administrations, are important to the travelling public and deliver the infrastructure for Brisbane's future sustainable growth.

An important omission from this budget however is the Kangaroo Point Pedestrian Bridge. This is a worthy initiative and one that Council will continue to explore however over the last financial year it has become clear that to complete this project in an iconic way estimates have ranged up to $120 million. This is due to the size of the span across the river and the challenges involved in river based construction.

Unashamedly my priorities have in the short term led me to move away from such a large spending inner city project and focus instead on the suburban projects we need to undertake to continue to tackle traffic congestion and improve our suburbs.

This project was of course originally proposed some years ago by a previous Labor State Government and given that pedestrian river crossings have traditionally been undertaken at that level of government, I will continue to explore partnership opportunities with them

[ozbob]

Twitter

Cr Milton Dick ‏@CrMiltonDick 7h

@Rod4Bris fighting for a fair go Brisbane residents. A tired Budget from a tired Council and LM. http://tenplay.com.au/news/brisbane/2015/6/17/Council%20rate%20hike ...

[ozbob]

Brisbanetimes --> Kingsford Smith Drive money better spent elsewhere: RACQ

Must be bad when the RACQ cans the KSD works .. 

... But Mr Turner said the $689 million to be spent on Kingsford Smith Drive over the next four years "could be better spent elsewhere".

"Kingsford Smith Drive is a major artery, but it is duplicated by the Airport Link toll tunnels, so we think spending $600 million over the next few years on Kingsford Smith Drive is probably money that could be better spent elsewhere," he said.

Mr Turner said the Coopers Plains and Coorparoo rail crossings were "major crisis points" in the transport network that should have received the funding ..

Grade separation is very good 'bang for the buck' value.  Quirk et al are yesterdays men and women ...

[Jonno]

Brisbanetimes --> Kingsford Smith Drive money better spent elsewhere: RACQ

Must be bad when the RACQ cans the KSD works .. 

... But Mr Turner said the $689 million to be spent on Kingsford Smith Drive over the next four years "could be better spent elsewhere".

"Kingsford Smith Drive is a major artery, but it is duplicated by the Airport Link toll tunnels, so we think spending $600 million over the next few years on Kingsford Smith Drive is probably money that could be better spent elsewhere," he said.

Mr Turner said the Coopers Plains and Coorparoo rail crossings were "major crisis points" in the transport network that should have received the funding ..

Grade separation is very good 'bang for the buck' value.  Quirk et al are yesterdays men and women ...

Major crisis point is our continuing belief that we are going to out-build congestion by increasing road capacity

[hU0N]

Brisbanetimes --> Kingsford Smith Drive money better spent elsewhere: RACQ

Must be bad when the RACQ cans the KSD works .. 

... But Mr Turner said the $689 million to be spent on Kingsford Smith Drive over the next four years "could be better spent elsewhere".

"Kingsford Smith Drive is a major artery, but it is duplicated by the Airport Link toll tunnels, so we think spending $600 million over the next few years on Kingsford Smith Drive is probably money that could be better spent elsewhere," he said.

Mr Turner said the Coopers Plains and Coorparoo rail crossings were "major crisis points" in the transport network that should have received the funding ..

Grade separation is very good 'bang for the buck' value.  Quirk et al are yesterdays men and women ...

Major crisis point is our continuing belief that we are going to out-build congestion by increasing road capacity

Or indeed believing that we are going to out-build congestion.

[red dragin]

When the "Roads, roads and more roads" lobby (RACQ) are against you know your wrong.

Didn't we have a premier recently with similar stubbornness?