Public transport angst pushing towards more pedestrian, cycle paths

Brisbane City Council is looking to accelerate the improvement of pedestrian and cycling facilities in the inner city as more people shun public transport over COVID-19 fears.

INNER-city Brisbane could see a mobility boost with Council hoping to accelerate pedestrian and cycling facilities following a dramatic uptake in bikeway traffic and an emerging ‘lack of confidence in public transport’.

During the Public and Active Transport Committee meeting this morning, Committee Chair Councillor Ryan Murphy said that Council would be meeting with the Transport Minister to identify opportunities to accelerate cycling and pedestrian works in the CBD.

Committee Chair Councillor Ryan Murphy. Picture: Peter Cronin

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The announcement came in response to data that showed Brisbane bikeways operating at 200 per cent of their normal traffic during COVID-19.

Figures showed the Bicentennial bikeway attracting some 5,500 daily users juxtaposed with its 3,500 daily users prior to the pandemic.

“There has been a dramatic update in the number of people out walking and cycling recently,” said committee chair Mr Murphy.

Despite that increase, Mr Murphy said he feared intensified congestion in the inner city with COVID concerns driving residents away from public transport.

“Public transport is picking up again but it’s not picking up at the pace that car traffic is picking up,” he said.

“I’m concerned that within a few months we might be in a situation where we have worse car congestion than we did before COVID because people don’t have confidence to get back on public transport.”

Mr Murphy emphasised that Council had implemented a spate of coronavirus safety measures to ensure that its public transport fleet was stringently sanitised,

“Council wants passengers to travel with confidence on public transport and will continue to take advice from Queensland Health on the operation of public transport,” he said.

“We are doing a body of work… to look at what opportunities there might be to accelerate cycling and pedestrian works in the CBD.”

Council is expected to meet with the Transport Minister on Thursday this week “to take those discussions further”.