Brisbane's Queen St Mall to be transformed with huge pedestrian-only expansion

Queen Street Mall is set for an overhaul, with traffic to be banned along a two-block strip of a major CBD street as part of the project.

Queen St Mall will be extended for the first time in 15 years, with the pedestrian-only mall to continue along Albert St from Elizabeth St all the way to Mary St and traffic re-routed.

The work would be undertaken in three stages from next month when a footpath dining precinct between Elizabeth St, partway to Charlotte St, would open.

Early next year the rest of the stretch of mall as far as Charlotte St would be completed, with work on the final stage from Charlotte to Mary streets starting late next year, council planning chair Councillor Adam Allan announced at Tuesday’s council meeting.

The changes were promised as part of Cross River Rail which would attract 75,000 people a day to the CBD when a new Albert St rail station opened.

Mr Allan said it would create a lifestyle precinct to rival Howard Smith Wharves, South Bank, West Village in West End and Fish Lane in South Brisbane.

The final stage of the plan will start in late 2026.

The staged openings formed part of a new public plaza being delivered outside the new Albert St underground station, featuring a tree-lined walkway and new seating options.

The project marked a key step towards delivering a direct, walkable link between Roma Street Parkland and the City Botanic Gardens.

Queen Street Mall was opened by Queen Elizabeth II in 1982, ahead of the Commonwealth Games and grew in popularity during Expo 88.

Major upgrades followed in 1999 and 2007, with Burnett Lane refurbished and incorporated into the Mall in 2009 and Reddacliff Place in 2010.

In October, an average of more than 220,000 pedestrians passed through the Mall each day, with July recording the highest daily average this year at over 248,000.

Albert Street traders will be incorporated into the Queen Street Mall Central Area Plan in the 2026/27 financial year.

Renders of how Albert Street will look after the area is pedestrianised to Mary St.

The Mall was set to benefit from a pipeline of major developments and investment in coming years including: Griffith University converting the heritage‑listed Treasury Building into a new CBD campus; rebranding of the Hilton Hotel as the luxury Intercontinental Brisbane; ISPT’s plans to redevelop the Wintergarden ahead of the 2032 Games; Charter Hall’s plan to transform the former St George Bank site at the top of the Queen Street Mall into a modern tower with streetscape activation; and the revitalisation of the old Myer Centre, now known as Uptown.

“Queen Street Mall is a major economic engine for our city and a must-visit destination for locals and visitors alike,” Mr Allan said.

Cross River Rail Delivery Authority CEO Graeme Newton said Albert St would be the first new CBD train station in 120 years.

“It is also helping to reshape the city and improve liveability,” he said.

“Significant progress is being made on the new Albert Street station, including the installation of all the underground station’s escalators and construction beginning on the station’s massive 153-tonne canopy.”

Meanwhile, new data has revealed trips between South Bank and Queen Street bus stations are now more than 40 per cent faster.

Controversial changes to southside bus routes which forced commuters to change buses partway through their journey to avoid the congested Victoria Bridge had also increased the speed of trips in the westside and northside, even though routes there were unchanged.

According to data from TransLink, more than 23 million trips have been taken on the city’s new bus network, which launched in June.

A new Adelaide St tunnel has already reduced congestion on Victoria Bridge by 30 per cent, partly contributing to the time savings revealed by TransLink.

Data from the first quarter of Brisbane’s New Bus Network showed travel times between Queen Street and South Bank bus stations were on average 43.75 per cent faster compared to the same period last year.

Council Labor Opposition Leader Jared Cassidy “this Council is just piggy backing off the green spine as part of the Albert Street station design for Cross River Rail, started by the former Labor state government.’’

“If Council want to provide a useful contribution to city life, fix the footpaths, invest in active travel, and unlock Brisbane’s nighttime economic potential.”

Originally published as Brisbane's Queen St Mall to be transformed with huge pedestrian-only expansion