‘No bikes, please’: Why Brisbane’s newest city bridge is open to walkers only

Brisbane’s newest walking bridge will open to the public by sunrise on Thursday, hours before the opening of the city’s Queen’s Wharf hotel, restaurant and casino precinct.

Spanning 335 metres, the Neville Bonner Bridge was expected to attract about 9500 walkers a day via a ramp or stairs next to the Wheel at South Bank.

The bridge would cross the Brisbane River and the Riverside Expressway into the city, landing in The Terrace, the restaurant and retail level of Queen’s Wharf.

The Neville Bonner Bridge will open to the public by sunrise on Thursday.Credit: Felicity Caldwell

But bikes and e-scooters would be banned from the bridge, with Destination Brisbane Consortium project director Simon Crooks saying: “No bikes, please.”

“We land in a restaurant precinct,” he said.

“It’s a bit like Queen Street Mall, so I hope everybody enjoys it.”

The bridge lands in The Terrace area of the Queen’s Wharf development, travelling over the Riverside Expressway.Credit: Courtney Kruk

William Street would reopen to vehicles and pedestrians for the first time since January 2017 on Thursday morning, the Star Grand hotel would open at 10am, The Star Brisbane casino and its restaurants would open at 2pm, while the Sky Deck would be open from 5pm.

On Wednesday morning, an 80 kilogram cast bronze bust of Neville Bonner, the first Indigenous Australian to hold a seat in federal parliament, was unveiled in a ceremony attended by Bonner’s family, Premier Steven Miles and State Development Minister Grace Grace.

“The only bridge that we had was the Victoria Bridge, and now there’s four of them, over the years, that are connecting the south,” Grace said.

“What a fantastic addition it is to the connectivity of Brisbane.”

The bridge will be for pedestrians only, with no bikes or e-scooters allowed.Credit: Felicity Caldwell

Miles said the decision not to include bikes and e-scooters on the bridge was made “early, based on where the bridge lands”.

“But I think having it arrive in that dining area will make it really great for people moving between the two precincts,” he said.

“You’ll be able to see a show here and have dinner at Queen’s Wharf, or vice versa.”

The fine for disobeying a “no bicycles” sign was $161.

In 2018, Brisbane Times reported cyclists’ concerns the new bridge would not allow bicycles. Since then, plans for a two-way cycleway along the Victoria Bridge, as part of the Brisbane Metro project, have been revealed.

Under a deal with Destination Brisbane Consortium, ownership of the bridge was transferred to the state government last week. It would be managed by Public Works, like the Kurilpa and Goodwill bridges.

Officials suggested the Neville Bonner Bridge would cater for 9500 walkers a day. The Goodwill Bridge carried about 9500 pedestrians, 3200 cyclists and 1400 e-scooter users, the Kurilpa Bridge had 2600 pedestrians, 1000 cyclists and 400 e-scooter users, and the Victoria Bridge had 14,000 pedestrians, 500 cyclists and more than 600 e-scooter users.

Part of the new bridge was temporarily opened to 500 lucky pedestrians last year, but the general public’s first chance would come on Thursday.

It would then shut between 4pm and 10pm this Saturday during Riverfire.

Restaurants and cafes in the Terrace would be opened in September, as part of a staged opening of the development.