By Juliano Oliveira
The locations of the following two new green bridges have been unveiled as Brisbane City Council received more than 4000 feedback responses from the community over the subject.
The Toowong to West End Green Bridge will connect 600 Coronation Drive, Toowong to Forbes Street, Orleigh Park. St Lucia to West End Green Bridge will connect Guyatt Park, St Lucia with Orleigh Park, West End.
An insight on the feedback released by Lord Mayor Adrian Schrinner showed that 83% supported the final decision on the Toowong to West End Green Bridge. Over 2300 opinions were received.
More than 1900 pieces of feedback on St Lucia to West End Green Bridge were registered, with 64% of respondents supporting the Guyatt Park alignment.
“The level of community feedback on the alignment options was impressive with more than 4000 responses received during the four-month consultation period,” Cr Schrinner said.
The first two green bridges at Kangaroo Point and Breakfast Creek, according to Cr Schrinner, are on track to start construction later this year, supporting 440 jobs.
“The Kangaroo Point Green Bridge will not only result in 83,690 fewer car trips using river crossing every year, it will also provide a direct walking link between the CBD and the Olympics venue at the Gabba.
“We will now start preparing the concept designs and preliminary business cases for the two West End bridges, so we are ready to seek funding support from other levels of government.”
Public and Active Transport Chair Ryan Murphy said the Toowong green bridge would be prioritised to meet the public expectations.
“Residents have told us that this bridge [Toowong] is the priority and that we should focus on building it before we proceed with construction of the St Lucia to West End link,” Cr Murphy said.
“We expect the detailed business cases will be completed this year, which we will then discuss with the Queensland and Australian governments to determine the next steps for these projects, including funding and delivery timeframes.”
Council has allocated $550 million in the green bridge program, with additional funds being sought from other levels of government.