Cr Fiona Cunningham

Last week, Mary and John from Brisbane South BUG met with Councillor Fiona Cunningham (LNP) at her Coorparoo ward office at Greenslopes to discuss her plans for active transport if she is re-elected in March. Mary and John highlighted the document outlining the key priorities for bike riders in Brisbane (as agreed between the BUGs and Bicycle Queensland), and chatted about the bike riding issues identified by members within her ward.

Fiona explained that she is not a confident or regular rider but does own a bike. She is keen for her kids to learn to ride and her hubby is busy teaching them road and path sharing etiquette. Fiona outlined Council’s key cycling plans for the next four years including the Kingfisher Creek corridor (design not yet settled and question mark over cycle paths), the Kangaroo Point green bridge (though just outside of the ward), and a new bit of cycling infrastructure to be announced in a few weeks…

Mary and John raised the issues that local bike riders encountered on their daily travels and Fiona said she understood why traffic calming, additional street crossings, shared paths and bridge widening to allow for active travel were needed. The discussion also covered issues like lack of bike lanes on main roads through the area, lack of connectivity of bike infrastructure, problems around access and crossing of Turbo Drive and Deshon St, flooding debris and inadequate lighting in numerous tunnels along Norman Creek and Morley Street, and a general concern about the safety of slip lanes for pedestrians and riders particularly when they are intermittently signalled. Fiona indicated that she shared many of these concerns and understood why these were being raised.

They also discussed the benefits of traffic calming and slower speeds in residential streets, so communities can walk, ride and generally move through the area safely.

Thanks for taking the time to meet with us Cr Cunningham.