North Brisbane Bikeway
A petition sponsored by Member for Clayfield, Tim Nicholls MP on behalf of some residents who don’t want the North Brisbane Bikeway route following ‘their’ street has received a reply from the Queensland State Government. Petitioners complained about the “lack of community consultation about the proposed route” and petitioned the state government “to investigate alternative routes” for stage 5 of the North Brisbane Bikeway.
Transport and Main Roads Minister, Mark Bailey MP has responded advising that although stages 1 to 4 of the North Brisbane Bikeway (as far as Price St, Wooloowin) were designed and funded by the state government, stage 5 is the responsibility of Brisbane City Council. That is consistent with a 2013 memorandum of understanding between TMR and BCC.
Despite claims by some residents, there has been extensive consultation for earlier stages of the North Brisbane Bikeway, and consultation is currently underway for stage 5. This is not even the first round of consultation for the latest stage; alternative routes have already been proposed and rejected following opposition stoked by the local councillor.
We are sure once the bikeway is installed, those opposed to it will see that it does not cause disruption to the streets, but instead adds value to their neighbourhood.
We look forward to this long-anticipated safe and direct connection from the City to Toombul and beyond for people of all ages and abilities.
Nudgee Rd
Nudgee Road needs better bikelanes. It’s an important cycle connection between Kingsford Smith Drive (Lores Bonney Riverwalk) and the Kedron Brook Bikeway, and is also a critical cycle route to workplaces at Brisbane Airport and surrounding industrial estates, as well as to the Gateway North Bikeway. Many commuter cyclists use Nudge Road because it’s direct, flat and has some bicycle infrastructure. However the bikelanes are often blocked by parked cars, which render the lane unusable and force people riding bicycles into conflict with passing cars and trucks. The bike lanes also stop and start unexpectedly.
Please sign the petition asking Brisbane City Council to remove the parked cars from the bikelanes and to fill in the missing sections to make Nudgee Road more bike friendly.
Around the suburbs
East BUG report that there was another crash this week on the roundabout at the intersection of Thynne Rd, Burrai St, and Pashen St in Morningside – in front of the childcare centre, and just up the road from Morningside Primary School. Brisbane City Council apparently don’t keep a record of crashes that only involve mangled street furniture.
There are designs and plenty of evidence about how to build safer suburban roundabouts. But Council simply replace the signs and fences and insist these regular crashes (what crashes??) are not evidence of a problem.
With high tides this week, a number of Brisbane’s major bikeways were under water – including the Jim Soorley Bikeway under Nudgee Rd. This should be a warning, as global heating makes such events more prevalent and more severe.
International News
Meanwhile, this is how to tackle the impact of city transport on the climate crisis and create a safer healthier city at the same time: the Italian city of Milan is rolling out a network of 750km of connected bikeways that will ensure 80% of homes and services such as hospitals, schools and railway and underground links, are located within one kilometre of a bike route. The first path is scheduled to be ready this summer, while the entire network is due to be completed by 2035.
Finally, check out the ‘share the road’ costume worn by Merryn Roberts-Huntley representing Oregon in the Mrs America Pageant. Such style! 😍
Of course we’d like to see the latest designer fashion being a fully protected bike lane. It’s what every modern city should be wearing!
Space for Cycling Brisbane 