September 5, 2021eastbug

5 Sep 2021

Green Bridges Update

On Tuesday, Council’s Transport Committee received an update on the CBD to Kangaroo Point Green Bridge. It is estimated that by 2036 this bridge will facilitate an extra 6100 cycling & pedestrian trips per day.

The ‘commercial potential’ of the bridge will include a restaurant & cafe at the city side and ‘smaller opportunities’ at the Kangaroo Point side and on viewing platforms along the span. The presenter did make the point that the restaurant is to be constructed a level above the cycling/pedestrian path, leaving the corridor unadulterated.

The bridge will provide dedicated/separated cycling and pedestrian lanes, with the pedestrian lane to be shaded by overhead solar panels. Construction, by contractors BESIX should be ‘out of the water’ next year, and completed mid/late 2023.

Council will themselves be designing the connection to Deakin Street to include a shared raised crossing, a 2 way off road cycle path, and the investigation of lowing the speed limit on Main street. (Cr Sri requested the same for Deakin St.)

Also covered in the presentation, the Breakfast Creek Green Bridge. We’ve seen a preview of the final design for this bridge and the connections at either end. We’re happy to confirm that it includes separate space for people walking and people cycling from the current end of the Lores Bonney Riverwalk, across the bridge, along Breakfast Creek Road to Newstead Ave, and from there to Newstead Tce. We think the design team have done a great job finding a solution that addresses our concerns with the initial version, and which should also help address some of the traffic issues experienced by residents along Newstead Ave, plus improve safety for the bus stop on Breakfast Creek Road.

We’re also very happy to hear that the construction will not require closures to the current cycling corridor, as the riverwalk extension will be built out over the water. We understand that the final design will be released for public consultation next month.

Introducing Brisbane North West BUG

Joel is keen to amplify local voices for new and improved bikeways in the north-western suburbs of Brisbane, and has kicked off a new bicycle users group to focus on the suburbs of Ashgrove, Brookfield, The Gap, Mt Nebo, Mt Glorious, Samford Valley, Upper Kedron, Ferny Grove, Ferny Hills, Keperra, Arana Hills, Bunya, Eatons Hill, Albany Creek, Mitchelton, Enoggera and Stafford.

We’re delighted to introduce Brisbane North West BUG, joining the campaign with neighbours Brisbane West BUG and Brisbane North BUG for more and improved paths, crossings and calmer streets to help people in Brisbane’s north-west to enjoy more trips by bike.

Web site: https://brisnorthwestbug.com/
Facebook: Brisbane North West BUG
Twitter: https://twitter.com/BrisNWBUG
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/brisnorthwestbug/

Lytton Road, Morningside – petition rejected

On the opposite side of town, East BUG are very disappointed in the response from Brisbane City Council to our request for safety upgrades to Lytton Road, Morningside – including the intersections with Thynne Rd and Junction Rd, the pinch point across Perrin Creek Bridge, the lack of crossing points, and the disconnected and broken footpaths.
The response mentions “future widening” of Lytton Rd, but confirms Council has no plans to upgrade the bridge at Perrin Creek. They also mention future intersection upgrades that will see signals installed at the intersections of Lytton Rd with Thynne Rd and with Junction/Colmslie Roads.

In the Brisbane City Council Meeting of 31 May 2016, then Infrastructure Chair, Cr Amanda Cooper confirmed that the project MOR-­R1­-001 to upgrade the intersection of Lytton Rd, Junction Rd, and Colmslie Rd remained on the Local Government Infrastructure Plan, with an estimated completion date in the 2016­-2021 period. Since then, Council has permitted massive development along this corridor, but the necessary infrastructure upgrades are still “future” while other areas of the city are prioritised. The problems on Lytton Road are not “future”; they are very real and immediate.

You can read the full petition and response on Council’s website.

Park Ave, East Brisbane

This is a small but welcome improvement: the Give Way line on Park Ave, East Brisbane has now been moved back to help make it clearer to drivers that they are required to give way to people using the path. (But will they?).

This intersection should always have had a priority crossing for the bikeway (shared path), as East BUG consistently requested in feedback on the Lytton Road widening project since 2014. There is plenty of room to have curved the path away from Lytton Rd, giving vehicles entering and exiting Park Ave space to store and give way to path users on a raised priority crossing. Others have suggested that it might be even better to close Park Ave at this end, with entry to this area via the signalised intersection at Wellington Rd.

Paris streets set to 30kph

Residents of Paris are about to enjoy all the benefits of safer, healthier, quieter, calmer streets, as the default speed limit in the city is set to 30kph. 60% of residents reportedly support the changes, and we suspect many of those currently opposed will soon appreciate the difference once they experience it. The French capital joins other cities like Grenoble and Lille, as well as Bilbao in Spain, and the Belgian capital, Brussels with the 30kph default limit.

Paris, the host of the 2024 Olympics and Paralympics has already made a gold-medal performance transforming to a cycling city, and the moves have seen Mayor Anne Hidalgo popularly re-elected. There are lessons here for Brisbane!!

After all, nothing quite says “this is a safe crossing point” like a crumpled ‘pedestrian refuge’ cage where the mangled fence panels are held on with cable ties… (This one is on Riding Rd, Hawthorne near Lawson St)

Big Bike Film Night

Bike fans, you won’t want to miss this one: the Big Bike Film Night is riding into town. Tuesday, 7th Sep 6:30pm at the New Farm Cinema.

This is a collection of the most inspiring bike films from around the world, including: one man’s mission to ride every street across New Zealand; an unusual Victorian pastime taking place in modern London; an Australian female rider who goes back in time to carry the stories of the past into the future; a rider who has a burden of blindness and its vulnerabilities to contend with while undertaking a gruelling self-supported fat bike race across the frozen tussocks of Finland; four adventurers bikerafting and exploring historical trails to and from one of New Zealand’s most significant rivers; a humble BMX Club with big dreams of becoming the number one Club in the UK; a film that celebrates the growing, sustainable type of tourism where everyone is a winner; and a unique bike builder who builds off-road cycles that help change people’s lives.

Lomandra Drive connection

Airport BUG is asking the Brisbane Airport Corporation to complete the path along Lomandra Drive for people who walk, bike and scoot to their workplaces at Brisbane Airport.

The Airport Corporation has constructed the path half the way along Lomandra Drive and were due to have built it through to Sugarmill Road by now, but progress has stalled. Brenda Bones shows why a safe route is necessary for people who want to use active transport from the Gateway Bridge Bikeway to their workplaces at Brisbane Airport.

CityCycle becomes art

Following the end of the CityCycle program, people have been asking: What happened to all the CityCycle bikes?

The bikes were the property of JCDecaux and we know some of them were given to charity and to the winners of a Brisbane City Council competition. One was raffled as a prize at our Brisbane Bicycle Film Night. Many were stripped down for materials reclaiming by specialist recyclers.

JCDecaux gave a few of the decommissioned CityCycle bicycles to Metro Arts who commissioned five local artists to use them to produce works of art. Together with students from Sycamore School and Traction For Young People, the artists used the City Cycle bicycles to produce a variety of experimental artworks. The artworks are playful and visually engaging, yet also thought provoking, connecting the bicycle to themes of environmental awareness and sustainability.

The artworks in The Mechanics of Adaption are on display at Metro Art Galleries, in West Village at 97 Boundary Street, West End from 4th to 26th September.