Brisbane’s new Lord Mayor Adrian Schrinner has promised five new green bridges across the city and two of them will be in West End.
One of the proposed connections would be from West End to St Lucia whilst the other one will be connecting the suburb to Toowong.
There are possibilities that the bridges will be like the Eleanor Schonell Bridge, the first bridge in Australia exclusively designed for buses, cyclists and pedestrians.
Cr Schrinner shared a picture of the Eleanor Schonell bridge on his Twitter account, along with an announcement that his team is committed to building new green bridges in the Brisbane River to “ensure the city is cleaner, greener, and more active.”
As Lord Mayor elect, today I have announced that our team is committed to building 5 new Green Bridges on the Brisbane River. This is all about ensuring our city is cleaner, greener & more active. #buildingandprotectingBNE pic.twitter.com/bI9B45FiCw— Adrian Schrinner (@Schrinner) March 31, 2019
The new green bridges, which could cost more than half a billion dollars, are expected to be delivered within five to 10 years.
Cr Schrinner, who wants to focus on green spaces and liveability, added that the three other proposed connections would be in Kangaroo Point, Breakfast Creek and Bellbowrie.
West End to Toowong
Cr Schrinner said they are looking at options regarding the best location of the bridge and among the considered locations is the former ABC site in Toowong.
He revealed that they are considering purchasing the now privately owned former ABC site for the West End to Toowong bridge.
“There are a number of locations where a bridge can be built between West End and Toowong, we want to get the right location,” he said.
Earlier this month, State Greens MP for Maiwar Michael Berkman and Councillor for The Gabba Jonathan Sri launched a community survey in Toowong and found that majority of the residents surveyed support a new footbridge for pedestrians and cyclists connecting the suburb to West End.
Mr Berkman said the former ABC site could be an idyllic riverfront park and a perfect landing point for a walking and cycling bridge connecting West End and Toowong.
Apart from further discussions with residents, Mr Berkman said they will be consulting engineering, planning and design experts for the exact location and design of the footbridge.
West End to St Lucia
In 2017, the University of Queensland already proposed a master plan for their St Lucia campus, calling for a new pedestrian bridge linking the campus to West End.
The university backed down from their plans after Brisbane City Council said it had no intentions of funding construction of the bridge, which UQ said it would not be offering to build itself.
As of 2017, there were 99,000 commuter trips to the university each day and 63 percent of them made by public transport or bike.
Cr Schrinner said this just shows the demand for a new bridge going to the University of Queensland.
