Minister to approve $480m Cleveland Private Hospital, more lights for Finucane Rd
Traffic experts have given the green light to a new intersection on one of the busiest stretches of road east of Brisbane, allowing access to a proposed $480 million private hospital. But the Planning Minister will intervene and the public gets their say.
Redlands Coast
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Traffic experts have given approval to a new intersection on one of the busiest stretches of road east of Brisbane to allow access to a proposed $480 million private hospital and aged care home.
Updated plans for the Cleveland Private Hospital show a set of lights will be installed on the busy state-owned Finucane Rd, midway between the Alexandra Hills Hotel and the Delancey St intersection, the former Fairfax printing hall.
The new lights will be the third set within a 2km radius.
They will stop traffic on the busy state-owned road to safely allow vehicles to turn into the 148-bed hospital and 80-bed nursing home.
There will also be a 150-place childcare centre at the precinct, to be called Hub68.
Plans show Hub68 Centre for Excellence will include up to 14 surgery theatres, 18 day beds, medical specialist suites along with 200 units, a research institute and a community centre.
Hub68 developer Steve Lambourne said there was a desperate need for a second private hospital in Redland.
Estimates from consultancy Foresight showed a 140-bed shortage across the city at the moment, with the facility more than two years away from being built.
Mr Lambourne and his project partners, Warren Pryde, Craig McCombe and former ALP politician Michael Choi, have asked Planning Minister Steven Miles to use his powers and approve the project.
They believed obtaining a “ministerial designation” will speed up the development application process by removing the need for local council approval.
However, the Redland council will remain a major stakeholder and will have significant input into the approval process.
“We were told by state planners that a project of this size was really the domain of the state government,” Mr Lambourne said.
“No one else is putting their hand up to solve this hospital bed shortage and we want to.
“As soon as we have ministerial approval, we will hit the ground and start building straight away.
“We have a few changes to the roads with a left-in, left-out to the site on Delancey St, but main access will revolve around the new intersection on Finucane Rd.”
Two traffic reports found the new hospital and health care hub would cause delays on nearby roads, including the state-owned Finucane Rd.
Both reports found the new traffic lights would not comply with the state government Limited Access Roads policy, which stipulates that sets of traffic lights must be at least 400m apart.
The proposed lights would be 370m from the existing intersection with Delancey St.
However, engineers from consultancy Adanner said a series of upgrades to turning lanes and timing of lights could result in similar peak-hour traffic flows when the facility opened.
The Adanner report also said extending a left-turn slip-lane westbound from Delancey St to Finucane Rd would “mitigate delays to some extent”, but not during the morning peak.
The report also suggested a second right-turn lane from Finucane Rd eastbound to Delancey St southbound would cut delays at both peak times.
Traffic engineers from Lambert & Rehbein also found the new intersection would have “a relatively significant impact on the net delays through the network”.
But their summary analysis found the proposed traffic lights and new intersection could be incorporated on Finucane Rd and still achieve “an acceptable level of operational efficiency” consistent with state guidelines.
Submissions and comments about allowing the minister to approve the project close on Monday.
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