Islanders claim ‘broken promise’ led to carparking nightmare at Redland Bay ferry terminal

Island residents have accused a local council of breaking a promise to provide 2000 car parks at a busy ferry terminal where a new hospital and boat ramp have put parking at a premium.

Bay island residents are angry over the lack of carparking at the Redland Bay ferry terminal and blame the council for failing to build a promised multistorey carpark. Pictures: Contributed

Council workers at a busy southside ferry terminal were forced to stop work when a group of angry bay island residents held a protest over the lack of marina carparking on Monday.

Members of the “Our Parking Spots” group formed a human barrier in front of a Redland City Council construction depot near the Weinam Creek ferry terminal at Redland Bay on Monday.

Police were called and told the group to move aside and stop blocking access to two work sites. Nobody was arrested.

Island group spokesperson Gayle Nemeth said the residents rallied to vent their anger after a council promise of a 2000-space multi-level carpark had dropped to 1200 spaces.

Island residents blocked the entry to a council work site as part of their protest over what they call a broken council promise over carparking at Weinam Creek ferry terminal. Picture: Contributed

“The council made the promise to us in 2018 and we were overjoyed with that and we backed down,” Ms Nemeth said.

“But we have ramped up our campaign again after the council has kept changing the plans and we are now likely to end up with a maximum of 1200 parks.

“We were originally told that there would be some free car parks and the rest would be dedicated parking for islanders to rent long-term.

“We also lost about 100 carparking spaces when council land was recently given to the state for the new hospital but we expected those spaces to be compensated for in the multistorey carpark.

“Now we are ready to take legal action and engage lawyers to fight this in the courts.”

Council records show there are currently about 1689 council controlled car parks within the Weinam Creek precinct which includes the ferry and barge terminals.

The nearby Moores Rd carpark, where a teen was hospitalised after being knocked off his bicycle, currently has 500 carparks.

Protesters said parking at Moores Rd would be further reduced when 204 spaces will be sectioned off for boat trailers when a new public boat ramp opens on the southern side of Weinam Creek this year.

Protesters say the council has broken a promise to build a minimum of 2000 car parks in a multistorey carpark. Picture: Contributed

Redland City Council was asked to comment.

Its website said the number of parks in the multi-level carpark would not be finalised until after a development partner was found to deliver the commercial precinct.

It said construction was expected to start in mid-2025 with the carpark opening in late-2026.

“To provide the maximum amount of carparking for island commuters during this construction phase, only 45 of the planned 90 boat trailer parks will be provided at the Moores Rd carpark with the remainder available when the multi-level car park is completed in a future stage,” the council said online.

“To further reduce parking pressures during the next construction stages, more than 140 parking spaces will be provided in a temporary car park on Banana St that will open in December, subject to approvals and weather constraints.”

The protest followed island residents raising concerns that plans to build a supermarket, restaurant and cafes at the terminal would also bump up parking congestion.

The council move to axe free carparking will affect some of the lowest socio-economic communities in the state, according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics Relative Socio-Economic Disadvantage Status report from the 2021.