Council plans new riverwalk for Indooroopilly

THE riverwalk of the west is being planned for a Brisbane suburb - and this one won’t get washed away by a flood.

THE Riverwalk of the west is being planned for a Brisbane suburb.

Stretching 400 metres along the Brisbane River at Indooroopilly, the bikeway and pedestrian path would be similar in design to the 900m Riverwalk at New Farm.

Brisbane City Council unveiled plans for the path from Witton Rd to Radnor St at today’s Public and Active Transport Committee meeting.

The council did not reveal the total cost of the 6m-wide pathway but has allocated $700,000 this year for works such as river surveys.

The New Farm Riverwalk cost $70 million.

The Indooroopilly bikeway would be built to be flood resistant, based on the council’s learnings following the 2011 flood when the battered Riverwalk was washed downstream.

Construction would be in 2019 and 2020.

The council claims the Indooroopilly bikeway is the “signature project” of the its $100 million active transport spend, which aims to increase the number of people walking or cycling to work to one-in-five commuters by 2026.

Stretching 400 metres along the Brisbane River at Indooroopilly, the bikeway and pedestrian path would be similar in design to the 900m Riverwalk at New Farm.

The river path would be the first stage in a bikeway connecting the Western Freeway to the University of Queensland.

The dedicated bike path on the river would act as a substitute to Radnor St, which the council deemed too steep and windy to use as a dedicated bike path.

It considered a full or partial closure of the street, but decided against it due to traffic impacts.

The path would have several access points, be disability compliant, well-lit and feature viewing platforms.

The early tender process for design of the project has begun, and it will be put to community consultation once a detailed design has been decided.

Rowing and canoeing clubs would still be able to access the river from current entry points by going underneath the raised walkway.