Loved and loathed: green bridge sites divide suburbs

A green bridge landing at the old ABC Toowong site has delighted residents, but another bridge at St Lucia has infuriated others.

Residents in riverfront westside suburb St Lucia are furious their beloved park will become the landing site for the latest Council green bridge.

But Toowong locals have welcomed Council’s announcement this morning that another green bridge would land at the old ABC site, which means only two highrises will be built there.

Consolidated Properties Group was planning three 15-level towers for the 600 Coronation Drive site but will now only build two, meaning as few as 220 units.

This will greatly reduce traffic and other impacts on nearby congested roads.

CPG chair Don O’Rorke said the green bridge would “showcase’’ Middenbury House, one of Brisbane’s grandest colonial residences, which CPG plans to renovate and reuse as a day spa or restaurant.

Middenbury House.

Members of Guyatt Park Action Group, which has lobbied tirelessly to stop a landing site at the St Lucia park, were furious.

“The under surface (of the bridge) will be 11m high at the river bank and will need a

circle about 50m in diameter to get the walkers and cyclists to ground level, where they will enter the park,’’ the group said.

“It would trash Guyatt Park. The area from the river bank to Macquarie St would be devoted to bridge works.

“A bridge would duplicate the CityCat, which already runs from West End to Guyatt Park.’’

About 83 per cent of respondents voted in favour of the ABC alignment and about two-thirds voted for the Guyatt Park alignment.

But St Lucia Community Association secretary, John Brannock, said the vote waas irrelevant.

“It seems as if Council has thought it is a popularity survey contest between three alignments where anyone in Brisbane can vote, rather than whether it is required at all,’’ he said.

“No business case has been provided by Council even though it will cost in the order of $100 million.

“Our requests to Council’s engineers for the assumptions for patronage modelling have been ignored.

“About all that we have been told is that the land is free because it is park - apparently parkland has no value.’’

The two bridges are part of Lord Mayor Adrian Schrinner’s first promise upon taking on the city’s top job.

He vowed to build five bridges worth $550 million.

Two other bridges, the $190 million Kangaroo Point bridge and the $67 million Breakfast Creek bridge, are further ahead in planning, with construction contracts expected to be awarded for both in the coming months.

The fifth bridge, from Bellbowrie to Wacol, was shot down by angry locals who did not want it because of the correctional facility at Wacol.

A site for the fifth bridge has still not been announced but Fig Tree Pocket is one option some residents want.

Local councillor, James Mackay, said in a Facebook post that while his personal preference was for a site other than Guyatt Park “the community has spoken’’.

“The message is clear: the majority of respondents indicated support for a green bridge to land at Guyatt Park,’’ Cr Mackay said.

Councillor James Mackay

“At the end of the day, these green bridges will play an important role in encouraging more people to walk or cycle and ensure Brisbane continues to be a sustainable city.

“Given the St Lucia Green Bridge won’t commence until the construction of the Toowong Green Bridge, there’s still plenty of time to address concerns relating to Guyatt Park.

“We will continue consultation to ensure minimal impact on green space and a design that’s sympathetic to the location.

Importantly, we need to remember this is just a report on the community consultation that was conducted from November 2020 to March 2021.

“Council will now develop business cases and proceed with discussions for land at 600 Coronation Drive, so there will be plenty of time to discuss design options with the community.’’

CPG chief operating officer, James MacGinley, said they were “thrilled to hear this morning’s announcement”.

“We already consider the site to be one of Brisbane’s most connected riverfront addresses, and the addition of the green bridge really cements its position as a catalyst and destination site just 10 minutes from the CBD,” he said.

“Given the overwhelming interest we’ve received to date, I’d expect that this news will only further propel inquiries to purchase at this unique and sought after address.”

The West End landing sites for the two newly announced bridges have also been highly contentious.

The Guyatt Park bridge will land at Orleigh Park and the Toowong Bridge will land at Forbes St, further downstream at Orleigh Park.

“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.

“With 83 per cent of survey respondents supporting 600 Coronation Drive and 64 per cent backing Guyatt Park, it’s crystal clear that Brisbane residents want green bridges and know exactly where they want them.

“The first two green bridges at Kangaroo Point and Breakfast Creek 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.

Artist impression of the triple tower that Sunland was going to build on the old ABC site. Consolidated Proeprties Group will now plan a much less dense two-tower project after buying the site for $43 million earlier this year.

“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.”

Toowong Residents Group said they hoped the green bridges would act as a catalyst for Council to come up with a plan for infrastructure sustainability.

“We would also like to see this used as an opportunity to maximise green space on the ABC site,’’ spokeswoman Freya Robertson said.

Local state Greens MP, Michael Berkman, said the Toowong bridge was great news because it showed his campaign to buy back the ABC site for a public park was achievable.

“Council already needs to buy a chunk of the site to land the bridge,’’ he said.

“They also say they’ll be approaching other levels of government to contribute funding for the bridge, so I reckon they should ask them to chip in an additional $10 million each (a tiny fraction of State and Federal budgets to buy back the entire site for the community.

“I’ve already asked the State Government to consider this in their upcoming 2021/22 Budget.’’

Mr Berkman said opinion was divided on the Guyatt Park bridge, although it was still the most preferred of three St Lucia landing sites.

Sandford Rd residents Ron and Sheila Morgan protested against earlier plans for a bridge from Guyatt Park to West End that was proposed by the University of Queensland. Photo: Claudia Baxter

“While I know there’s support for the landing point at Guyatt Park, I also acknowledge and share concern from locals about losing amenity at the park,’’ he said.

Labor Opposition Leader, Jared Cassidy, said it was blatant self-promotion by the Lord Mayor.

“The LNP Lord Mayor doesn’t even have the funding to build these two inner-city pedestrian bridges,’’ Cr Cassidy said.

“He’s hoping other levels of government will come to his rescue and provide hundreds of millions of dollars.

“Adrian Schrinner has also made sure these hypothetical bridges won’t cater for public transport, so even if they are eventually built they’re going to do nothing to break the back of congestion in Brisbane.

“This LNP Lord Mayor has proven he can’t manage ratepayers’ money.’’