Council Budgets

[ozbob]

From the Brisbanetimes click here!

New tunnel to dominate Newman's budget

New tunnel to dominate Newman's budget
TONY MOORE
June 9, 2010 - 6:05AM

Peak hour traffic on Brisbane Riverside Expressway.

Over a quarter of a billion dollars of ratepayers' money will be spent on the Northern Link tunnel as part of Brisbane City Council's 2010-11 budget to be handed down today.

Brisbane's third toll tunnel, Northern Link will run between Toowong and the Inner City Bypass.

Council has put aside $288.8 million of the $ 1.8 billion required to build the tunnel for the upcoming financial year, with work expected to begin before Christmas.

Council is basing its business case for the new toll tunnel on an initial traffic estimate of about 24,000 vehicles each day, 3000 fewer than the average number of vehicles using the Clem7 tunnel each day in May.

Council's opposition leader Shayne Sutton said ratepayers ran the risk if the Northern Link tunnel was not popular, unlike the Clem7, where ratepayers did not face any financial risk.

The Labor leader said the September 2009 Northern Link project report, completed after council decided to remove entry tunnels from Milton Road, showed 34,200 vehicles a day using the tunnel.

"Campbell Newman is yet to explain why the number of vehicles expected to use the Northern Link tunnel has dropped by 10,000 since September 2009," Cr Sutton said.

Cr Newman has consistently said council was happy with the traffic modelling.

Cr Sutton said this morning's council budget would be full of "recycled and tokenistic announcements", with little to justify the 5 per cent average rates rise.

Cr Newman has already released significant details of this morning's budget in a week crowded out by yesterday's State Budget.

He has already announced an average residential rates rise of 5.04 per cent, or around $60 a year, rising to an average of 5.39 per cent for unit owners.

Council estimates that 91 per cent of residential ratepayers will pay an increase of less that $25 per quarter.

Some suburbs will be worse hit, with Tennyson, Gumdale, Chandler ratepayers allegedly set to pay an average rate increase of more than $125 extra next year.

In a weekly magazine column, Cr Newman said the Northern Link tunnel was the biggest single project to be funded in Brisbane City Council's 2010-2011 budget.

"Construction will take place over the next four years, with the $1.8 billion project providing a much-needed link between the Western Freeway at Toowong and the Inner City Bypass at Kelvin Grove," he said.

There will be major roadworks on Beckett and Bridgeman Roads ($53.1 million), Blunder Road ($31.46 million) and Kingsford Smith Drive ($43.3 million).

Meanwhile, Bretts Wharf Restaurant at Hamilton yesterday confirmed that council had begun the five-year process of resuming its property for the widening of Kingsford Smith Drive.

"They have written to the landlord with an intention to resume," a spokeswoman said.

"But really it is just good planning and we really hope to still be there for five years."

Work will also be completed on Beenleigh Road ($8.5 million) and $11.9 million will be spent to fix the Padstow Road intersection with Warrigal Road.

This year's budget will also include money for the City Cycle Hire Scheme which is set to start around September, two new CityCats and improvements to ferry terminals at West End, Hawthorne and Bretts Wharf.

[Jon Bryant]

So much for "Rates will not go up due to TransApex". My rates have gone up 20% to pay for roads predominantly used by residents from outside Brisbane City.  Well done Campbell "Has done all the wrong things" Newman.  You have finished off the job of ruining Brisbane.

[O_128]

So much for "Rates will not go up due to TransApex". My rates have gone up 20% to pay for roads predominantly used by residents from outside Brisbane City.  Well done Campbell "Has done all the wrong things" Newman.  You have finished off the job of ruining Brisbane.

I agree why do BCC residents have to pay for infrastructure that all of SEQ uses, Ipswich, logan and gold coast councils should be putting in there fair share

[#Metro]

The tunnel may not be able to be stopped but it can be altered.
If this does what it says it will do, an XBL during peak hour (exclusive bus lane) could be put in the NL tunnel in the am and pm peak exclusively for express buses and rocket buses. (Don't ask me how they might all fit on CBD streets though). A connection to the Inner Northern Busway could also be added.

If the traffic on Coronation drive and Milton road will fall, permanent all day bus lanes (possibly physically separated) could be reclaimed from the road lanes on Coronation drive and potentially Milton road.

[somebody]

I don't think it is too late to stop this tunnel.  The council opposition seem to be against it, the deal has not been signed and it looks very shaky to me.  The advantage to the motorist isn't nearly the same as the Clem 7: you can get from the Western Freeway to the ICB without too much trouble via Milton Rd.  "Can Do" needs an excuse to pull it, but if the Go Between Bridge doesn't succeed as many think, won't the Council need to prop that one up?  It would be prudent management then to pull the Northern Link rather than sell the council's future down the river.

[ozbob]

Brisbanetimes --> Newman takes razor to travel, catering budgets

[ozbob]

Brisbane City Council budget 2010-2011 --> http://www.brisbane.qld.gov.au/BCC:BASE::pc=PC_136

--> Budget summary document Bus/Ferry

--> Moving Brisbane

[somebody]

--> Moving Brisbane

Bitterly disappointing.  There is no mention that further BUZification is even being considered, in spite of the wild success of this program.  There is no real mention of doing anything (besides more buses) other than:
• continuing the roll-out of the $100 million program to connect the missing links in Brisbane's bikeway network
• delivering the CityCycle Bicycle Hire Scheme in the inner city
• continuing the expansion of the CityCat fleet - to a total of 19 by 2012
• commencing the roll-out of the two new ferry terminals and the upgrade of existing terminals
• funding (in conjunction with the State Government) the operation of the CityGlider Bus Rapid Transit Route from West End to Newstead
• continuing implementation of the TransApex plan
• continuing the Road Action Program to improve traffic flows and ease traffic congestion, including major projects such as Beckett Road - Bridgeman Road, Beenleigh Road, Blunder Road, Manly Road and Progress Road improvements and key suburban projects such as Kingsford Smith Drive
• local road improvements.

So no improvements to PT if BCC has anything to do with it, but plenty of improvements to roads.

[#Metro]

Expenses for the CityCycle scheme seem frighteningly high. Capital costs are zero but expenses? What is that all about?

50% growth in 5 years means an average growth of 10% per year? (correct if wrong). A growth of over 6% for the current year means is higher than the "high growth" modelling for PT in the 2007 Mass Transit Report.

Buses are the lead mode, but why is that? Frequency.
Time to amp up frequency on rail. Urgently.

[ozbob]

BCC is fond of pointing out that BT buses do more passenger trips than the rail network.  Hence lead mode.

No real surprise there, as the expansion has been with the bus network over recent times.  Another way of looking at it is in terms of passenger kilometres.

As the rail network is expanded track and frequency increased figures will change.  Mode fit for purpose is what it is all about in the end.

BCC is the only council that runs a major public transport service.

Roads and tunnels are swallowing up funds ...

[#Metro]

BCC is fond of pointing out that BT buses do more passenger trips than the rail network.  Hence lead mode.

Actually the BCC should be focusing on mode share, because population is increasing anyway so we need to know that the gains are not just due to the simple rise in the number of people in the city. Actually CAR is the lead mode. And the tunnels are not helping that!

[stephenk]

I find the Queensland Government's and BCC's road spending quite sickening compared to how little is being spent on public transport.

[Golliwog]

I get that they can't just overnight stop spending entirely on roads and put all of that into public transport. Its not the way you would get people using the system. But they don't seem to be trying to reduce road spending in favour of public transport at all really.

[ozbob]

Minister for Transport
The Honourable Rachel Nolan
10/06/2010

Commuters stranded on Lord Mayor's transport spend

The only LNP administration in the state has cut public transport funding, Transport Minister Rachel Nolan told State Parliament today.

The Brisbane City Council budget handed down yesterday by Lord Mayor Campbell Newman revealed the overal BCC public transport budget had fallen from $231 million in 2009-10 to $205 million for 2010-11.

Budget documents also reveal that the BCC's funding contribution to its own buses fell further over 2009-10.

"When Translink was established in 2004, Brisbane buses were a 50/50 partnership between the state and the council but yesterday's figures reveal that the bcc's cut has now fallen to just 38%," Ms Nolan said.

"Year on year the LNP administration has fallen behind in its funding for public transport.

"The Lord Mayor becomes apoplectic if anyone suggests a change to the livery for BCC buses because six years into his administration, a paint job is about as deep as his commitment to public transport gets."

==============================================================

[ozbob]

 

[ozbob]

From the ABC News click here!

Clem7 a financial disaster: Council Opposition

Clem7 a financial disaster: Council Opposition

By Emma Pollard

Brisbane City Council Opposition Leader Shayne Sutton has attacked Lord Mayor Campbell Newman's focus on road tunnels and record on debt and rates.

Councillor Sutton delivered her council budget reply speech this morning.

She says a Labor administration would boost public transport funding, establish a character protection taskforce and stop the roll-out of new parking metres.

Councillor Sutton says the Lord Mayor's next toll tunnel, the Northern Link, has the potential to financially cripple the council.

"The first of his trans-apex tunnels, the Clem7, has been a financial disaster and its impact on traffic has been underwhelming," she said.

"Motorists have refused to pay the full toll, creating enormous financial headaches for Rivercity Motorways and on several key routes, Clem7 has actually created traffic congestion."

[Jon Bryant]

Go Girl