From river to road: Why the new Kangaroo Point Bridge has no Riverwalk

As the Kangaroo Point Bridge opens this weekend and ferry services from Mowbray Park return, those hoping for a riverside bike and walking path all the way to East Brisbane will be left waiting.

Documents obtained by this masthead reveal detailed plans for the once-promised Kangaroo Point Riverwalk, and the complex design requirements that blew out its budget and sank the project.

With the plans shelved, the brand-new pedestrian and cycling bridge from Brisbane’s CBD spits out eastbound travellers into an undesirable choice.

This bridge will open on December 15, but any dedicated connection to Mowbray Park is several years away.Credit: Nick Dent

The options are either to dodge driveways on Shafston Avenue’s narrow footpath, or wind through Kangaroo Point’s side-streets, before people can connect to Mowbray Park’s riverside trails or the dedicated bikeway along Lytton Road.

Following calls to fix the inner-east’s hodgepodge active transport network, the former state government had promised a riverside pedestrian and bike route in 2020 – setting aside $22.5 million for the project.

However, with a final price tag of $93 million – over four times the initial quote – the project was nixed in mid-2023.

Last week, the Brisbane City Council confirmed it had no intention to revive the project with the new state government.

Transport chair Ryan Murphy said the council was instead building a bikeway along Shafston Avenue, connecting the pedestrian and cycling green bridge’s landing site on Deakin Road to the Lytton Road bike lane.

“We know that the Riverwalk is a very expensive project and council and the state government don’t even own all of the land along the riverfront [between Mowbray Park and Dockside],” he said.

“We believe that [the Shafston Avenue bikeway] is a far more cost-effective and direct alternative to a Riverwalk that can be done a bit sooner and can get better results for residents in this East Brisbane area.”

Put together in 2023 and released under Right to Information laws, the concept designs proposed a Riverwalk to connect the green bridge underpass with the Lytton Road bikeway – along with four options for paths through an upgraded Mowbray Park.

But blocking the route were pre-existing pontoons, privately owned riverfront properties, and environmental considerations, which meant almost all 750 metres of walkway would need to be built over the Brisbane River on piles, or over the riverbank on smaller “micropile” stilts.

The construction would have been forced onto the riverbank to skirt a pool at Dundrenan Residences, on Thorn Street, and require negotiations with property owners at Shaftston House – where a 28-storey residential complex is planned.

The plan would have required the Dockside ferry terminal to be demolished and rebuilt to link with the new infrastructure, but avoided major changes to private pontoons and marinas along the stretch, which would be rebuilt to duck under the path or connect to the walkway via locked gates.

The Dockside ferry terminal would have to be demolished and rebuilt to accommodate a riverside path.Credit: Queensland Government

Large parts of the proposed Riverwalk design had to be positioned over the river due to private-owned waterside properties.Credit: Queensland Government

The design also demanded a Deakin Street connection – about 225 metres long – to join the Kangaroo Point Green Bridge via its underpass across the area’s arterial roads.

While most of the plans have been shelved, a bikeway along Deakin Street is part of the council’s current vision for an active transport network, which continues to Mowbray Park with a bikeway along Shafston Avenue, at an estimated total cost of $35 million.

The Riverwalk design documents included a 225m connection, simialar to the connection the council intended to build as part of its Shafston Avenue bikeway project. Credit: Queensland Government

The Department of Transport and Main Roads said in a statement it “agreed to jointly deliver improvements to active transport along Shafston Avenue” at a 50-50 cost split with the council.

“Under a formal funding agreement, the Brisbane City Council will lead the design and construction of the bikeway,” a TMR spokeswoman said.

Active transport users and Kangaroo Point locals have previously expressed support for a connected bikeway, but worried that pursuing the Shafston Avenue project would mean a Riverwalk would never happen.

The council’s Kangaroo Point active transport study – undertaken from 2021 to 2022 and jointly funded with the state government – received over 600 responses, including “six email submissions, three key stakeholder meetings, and one phone call to the project line”.

“The community feedback clearly indicates support for extending the Riverwalk from Dockside to Mowbray Park as well as making improvements to connectivity to the new Kangaroo Point green bridge,” the report says.

Detailed planning was expected in the coming years and the Shafston Avenue bikeway was slated for completion in three to four years’ time.

“While the delivery schedule is yet to be finalised by BCC, the project is expected to be completed during 2027–28,” the TMR spokeswoman said.

Council’s midyear budget update, released on Tuesday, set aside $57.4 million across three years from 2026 to 2029 for several transport projects including the Shafston Avenue bikeway and a connection from the Kangaroo Point Bridge to bike paths in South Bank.

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