This was published 7 months ago
Games legacy transport projects in focus after venue plan scrutiny
By Matt Dennien
South-east Queensland’s next transport projects need to be the focus for legacy building in the lead-up to the 2032 Olympic Games, Brisbane Lord Mayor Adrian Schrinner has declared.
Schrinner and Premier Steven Miles made clear any budget savings found by the new 60-day review of venue plans should be directed elsewhere.
Both stressed the importance of transport.
“I want to see even more”, Premier Steven Miles said of 2032 Games-related legacy transport projects.Credit: Matt Dennien
With flagship Metro and Cross River Rail work set to wind up in the next two years, Schrinner said now was the time those with responsibility for country’s the fastest-growing city needed to look ahead to ensure it did not face the same pressures as Sydney or Los Angeles.
“We cannot let that happen,” he told journalists at a briefing on the review alongside Graham Quirk, Miles and Infrastructure Minister Grace Grace.
“What’s the next round of projects that we need to deliver? What are the extensions in Metro? What further rail extensions can be made? What road upgrades are required to move people around the region?”
Schrinner reiterated this was a key focus of the early push by south-east mayors led by his predecessor Quirk, who was now tasked with leading the venue review due back by March 18.
He said this was a discussion being had between all three levels of government.
“So there’s a three-to-four year timeframe that’s funded in council and state budgets at the moment. What’s beyond that? What’s next?
“That needs to be the focus now. What are the next-generation projects between then and the 2032 Games?”
Miles pointed to work by the council and the state government to make the significantly upgraded Woolloongabba station a major interchange for their flagship Metro and Cross River Rail projects, respectively, as one example of such a project.
“And I want to see even more,” Miles said, adding that while the review might still find the current $2.7 billion Gabba rebuild plan the best option, he hoped something else might emerge.
“I certainly hope that this review identifies a better value-for-money option, and then those funds can be put to other uses.”
One such use long-floated by Schrinner is an extension of the Metro rapid bus services to the airport – which would require recent federal efforts to restart state government negotiations with Airtrain to end its monopoly deal for the route early.
A key rail extension on the Sunshine Coast, which the federal government has said needs more planning, is another project already in focus.
As is the so-called Project Polaris proposal for an underground Gympie Road bypass. The Greens recently suggested 15 new high-frequency bus routes.
Transport Minister Bart Mellish suggested at the weekend Labor was looking to sharpen its sights on the “systemic” removal of level crossings as Cross River Rail boosted services on the rail network, too.
Get the inside word on the news, sport, food, people and places Brisbane is talking about. Sign up for our City Talk newsletter here.