Category: Homepage Latest News

Four Green Laneways Planned for West Village in West End

The love for laneways is strong in the inner city Brisbane area. In West End, four new green laneways will be developed as part of the West Village project.

Developer Sekisui House intends to provide walking and cycling spaces to the $800-million West Village precinct. Mollison Lane, Peters Lane, Wilson Lane and Factory Lane will be different from the usual laneways that are predominantly concrete.

Artist’s impression of Peters Lane. (Photo credit: westvillage.com.au)

The four laneways will have a total length of more than 250 metres if fully landscaped lanes.

Each laneway will have its distinct character and set of amenities, but they will all provide a sub-tropical atmosphere to West Village.

The West Village laneways capitalise on the success of laneways in the inner city. Laneway development has become an excellent way of revitalising what could have been a forgotten lane. Fish Lane in South Brisbane and Winn Lane in Fortitude Valley are two of the top success stories of laneway culture in Brisbane.

Photo credit: westvillage.com.au

Laneway Design

The design of the four laneways represents the demand for green spaces in West End. Wilson Lane, which will be an extension of Wilson Street, will provide a fresh sub-tropical feel to the area. Peters Lane will feature all the colours culture and aroma of cosmopolitan West End in one intimate and buzzing laneway.

Mollison Green is envisioned to be an open space that would allow the family to enjoy the retail space while the kids explore the play area. Factory Lane is planned to provide residents and visitors the lure of the historic charm of West End.

Uniting all the laneways is the common green park where anyone can simply relax, sit on the lawn and grab a drink. Providing the backdrop is the heritage-listed Peters Ice Cream factory.

The Peters Square will be turned into an experiential open-air market with a fusion of culinary and urban culture.

Photo credit: westvillage.com.au

Green Movement

The local clamour for more green spaces in the suburb is a huge consideration in the design for the West Village open space. Currently, West Village has a GoGet car sharing service. In the near future, West Village will provide 1,600 bicycle spaces and end-of-trip services for residents and visitors.

The 2.6-hectare West Village project is a mixed residential and retail precinct with 192 apartments, restaurants, boutiques, galleries, shops, parks and squares. Development of the first stage of the project is currently ongoing and will be completed by the end of 2018.

Thirty-percent of the precinct will be accessible to the public. Included in the public areas are the four laneways and almost one hectare of open spaces in two new parks.

Find out more about the West Village project.

West Enders to Form Line of Human Bollards to Demand Biker Safety

In a bid to press politicians into providing safe dedicated bike lanes, bike-loving West End residents are gathering on Friday to create a pop-up protected bike lane.

The event will be on 8 September 2017, from 7:30 a.m. to 9:00 a.m. at Hardgrave Road, West End. The event will coincide with the Bling Your Bike Day event organised by West End State School.

Participants will be using witches hats, traffic markers and other items to create a separate cycle lane on Hardgrave Road heading to West End State School. From 8:15 a.m. to 8:45 a.m., participants will be creating a line of human bollards on the street.

Dozens of people are expected to stand hand in hand on Hardgrave Road to create a human barrier inside the witches hats and traffic markers.

During the event, commuters will be requested not to park along the west side of Hardgrave Road from Skinner Street to Scott Street. Parking will be available again after 9:00 a.m.

Raising Awareness

The activity is intended to emphasise the call for safe lanes for bikers, thus help encourage commuters to trade their cars for environmentally sound bicycles.

Through the Pop-Up Bike Lane, the activists want to raise awareness and make people feel how it is to feel safe while riding the bike along a protected space.

The event is hosted by Right to the City, Space for Cycling Brisbane, West End Community Association, and Councillor Jonathan Sri (Gabba).

Find out more about the event here.

Celebrate Vegan Lifestyle at Brisbane Vegan Markets at West End

Twice each month, local vegans converge in West End to celebrate everything vegan at Brisbane Vegan Markets.

Leading a vegan lifestyle is not an easy choice. Eating out would be agonisingly difficult considering the minimal choices of restaurants and menus offering plant-based dishes. Thankfully, Brisbane is home to select restaurants and retail establishments catering to vegans and those converting to a vegan lifestyle.

Photo credit: brisbaneveganmarkets/Instagram

Every second and fourth Sunday of the month, West End becomes the centre of everything vegan, including the choicest food, drinks, cosmetic products, clothes and everyday essentials.

The markets open at Russell Street corner Boundary Street in West End from 9:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m every second Sunday of the month. The fourth Sunday of the month is a twilight event that happens from 12:00 noon up to 8:00 p.m.

Brisbane Vegan Markets Schedule:

Dates: 2nd Sunday of the Month
9:00 a.m. – 3:00 p.m.

4th Sunday of the Month
12:00 noon – 8:00 p.m.
Venue: Russell Street corner Boundary Street, West End

Supporting Vegan Community

Brisbane Vegan Markets, which started in November 2016, aims to support vegan traders, producers, charities and the entire community moving to end animal cruelty.

Photo credit: brisbaneveganmarkets/Instagram

The event is the perfect place for anyone starting to adopt a vegan lifestyle as there is plenty to learn just moving around the venue. The markets also provide live entertainment and cooking demonstrations aside from delectable treats from various food stalls.

Vegan lifestyle does not have to be insipid. Food can be scrumptious and healthy at the same time and that is what Brisbane Vegan Markets is all about.

At each Brisbane Vegan Markets, people can appreciate that animals need not be sacrificed for human survival and satisfaction.

Visit the Facebook page of Brisbane Vegan Markets to find updates on upcoming events and list of participating shops.

Read: Learn and Enjoy Vegetarian and Vegan Cooking at West End

Learn and Enjoy Vegetarian and Vegan Cooking at West End

It’s always a challenge finding vegetarian and vegan food around. That’s why the best weapon that any vegetarian and vegan can have is the ability to prepare their own food.

Three times a year, the West End branch of the Australian School of Meditation and Yoga (ASMY) presents ‘Hands-On Interactive Vegan/Vegetarian Cooking Class‘ suited for beginners and experienced cooks looking for new ideas and techniques.

Each class is different and the same class is never repeated. The next cooking classes for 2017 are on Saturday, 12 August 2017 and Saturday, 11 November 2017.

Upcoming Event Details

What: Hands-On Interactive Vegetarian/Vegan Cooking Class
When: Saturday, 12 August 2017
1:00 p.m. – 4:30 p.m.Saturday, 11 November 2017
1:00 p.m. – 4:30 p.m.
Where: Australian School of Meditation and Yoga
236 Montague Rd, West End
Cost: $60 per person

Register
Photo credit: asmy.org.au

The classes present fresh food ideas and cooking tips for vegetarians and vegans. Attendees will be able to take home a comprehensive cookbook with vegan recipes. Only 24 participants can be accepted at the classes.

All the recipes for breakfast, lunch, dinner and desserts presented at the classes are guaranteed healthy and delectable at the same time. The Hands-On Interactive Vegan/Vegetarian Cooking Class is also an ideal event for those needing advice and tips as they transition into this new lifestyle.

Aside from the cooking class, participants will get a glimpse of what’s being offered at ASMY, including meditation, gentle stretching, breathing and kirtan.

Visit the ASMY website to find out more.

Get Directions

Confidence Man – The West End Human Earthquake Hits BigSound

East End Boys, West End Girls, West End Girls … dududududu

Timeless lyrics from the Pet Shop Boys circa 1984. Those words came of age at Splendour in the Grass 2 weeks ago, when a West End-based funky foursome absolutely tore the house down with their set — in particular, Boyfriend (Repeat), led by a West End Girl … dudududu.

There was more energy on the stage than a nuclear power station! Triple J lauded the band from the rooftops and then took a pounding. Love ’em or hate them, Confidence Man has set tongues wagging and brought a fresh dimension to the live gig scene at festivals around the world in 2017. Glastonbury, A UK tour, raising the roof at Golden Plains and a swathe of gigs in Europe, tell you that these guys have caught fire, having been learning their electro-pop trade from various Brisbane bands including Moses Gunn Collective for years.

Janet Planet (aka Grace “no names, no packdrill, no not the stateside jazz singer with the same pseudonym!”) hanging out by day at a funky startup in West End, performs in combination with the well-named Sugar Bones (aka Aidan “no names, no packdrill”), along with Reggie Goodchild and Clarence McGuffie (Lewis and Sam) under beekeeper hats.

Having witnessed this maelstrom of flailing limbs to a bass line that demanded attention with a massive tongue-in-cheek humour and a substantial dose of sass … you may want to get on down to BigSound here in Brisvegas in September.

This wild West End crowd has been booked! Assuming Janet Planet (ahem, Grace…) can find a decent chiropractor; Sugar Bones can continue his “confidence-inducing,” zero calorie intake diet; and ‘vegas doesn’t suffer from a mass bee infestation, these crazy cats will definitely be causing a minor earthquake across the Valley of Fortitude.

West End Boys and West End Girls … dududududu

West End and Other Inner-City Suburbs Lead Rise in Graffiti Tags

After years of decline, graffiti tags have spiked in the 2016-17 financial year in Brisbane, with West End topping the list with the most number of tags.

Graffiti data from Brisbane City Council revealed that there were 83,334 graffiti tags, up from 59,278 in 2016-16. This was a huge surge, considering that since 2009-10 financial year, the number of tags has gone down each year from 139,891 tags in 2009-10 down to 59,278 in 2015-16.

Inner City Graffiti

The concentration of vandalism for the past two years has been in the Brisbane CBD and the inner-city suburbs. West End registered the most number of tags in the past year, with 4,229 tags, followed by Brisbane CBD with 4,017.

Other suburbs in the top 10 are South Brisbane, Fortitude Valley, Fitzgibbon, Woolloongabba, Forest Lake, Greenslopes, Oxley and Calamvale.

Cost of Vandalism

Photo credit: Bin im Garten/Wikimedia Commons

The cost for the council to remove and prevent vandalism is over $3 million each year. Last year, the council spent more than $4 million to remove 83,000 graffiti tags.

In the next three financial years, the council intends to enhance its graffiti intelligence system, with funds allocated to upgrade how it catalogues graffiti tags.

Vandalism Prevention

To reduce the incidence of graffiti tagging in Brisbane, the council is urging citizens to report if they see vandalism in their area. The council also provided information on how locals can prevent vandalism in their area.

Some of the effective ways of preventing graffiti through environmental design include maintaining clear sight lines, providing adequate lighting, using wall texture or colours that are not amenable to graffiti tagging.

The council also engages groups involved in community mural art projects to provide young people with an artistic outlet, thereby reducing the inclination to vandalise.

Mural projects can help prevent vandalism. (Photo credit: Brisbane Graffiti/Facebook)

In case that there is vandalism in the area, locals should report immediately. They can do any of the following:

Big Win for Petitioners as State Government Directs LCCH, PAH & Other Public Hospitals to Reduce Parking Fees

Petitioner sees the government action as a victory for patients and carers.

After an online petition, the Queensland Government has ordered state public hospitals, a number of which are in the inner-city Brisbane area, to lower their parking fees.

A petition filed on Change.org by health support worker Justine Christerson was signed by almost 17,000 Queensland residents. The petition detailed the additional burden on the part of the patients, their friends and family as well as carers, who have to pay high prices for parking.

Parking Policy

The Health Service Directive, released by the state government on 1 July 2017, instructs all Queensland hospital and health services to develop a local policy that will make car parking accessible and affordable for patients, their carers, visitors and hospital staff.

The directive also requires hospital and health services to create a local staff car parking policy to address the safety of staff completing or starting shifts between 6:00 p.m. and 6:00 a.m. The policy should also ensure that on-call staff will have ready workplace access for emergency needs.

Petitioners’ Voice

Ms Christerson filed the petition in April 2017 asking authorities to investigate the car park pricing at hospitals. Examples cited are inner-city hospitals Royal Brisbane and Women’s Hospital,  Princess Alexandra Hospital, Lady Cilento Children’s Hospital and Mater.

Mater Hospitals provide parking access to Mater Children’s Private Hospital and Lady Cilento Children’s Hospital, which happens to be the only public Children’s Hospital in Queensland. The following are the parking rates at Mater’s multi-storey car park.

Photo credit: www.change.org

The petition also mentioned how parents who stayed at the new Ronald McDonald House also needed to pay around $30 per day or $110 each week, in addition to travel expenses and being away from home.

Some petitioners expressed how they had to cancel several appointments because they did not have the funds for parking. Petitioners also voiced out that metered street parking was not a viable option for patients and their families because of the time limit. Most people with hospital appointments ended up paying fines when they used metered street parking.

The petition pointed out that hospital car park fees are bigger than Brisbane Airport parking fees.

Ms Christerson asked the state government to follow the example of New South Wales, which cut parking fees after a petition filed a 13-year-old patient.

Directive Requirements

Having received the petition,  the state government issued a directive requiring all hospitals to come up with a local car parking concessions policy by 1 October 2017. The local staff car parking policy should be done by 31 December 2017.

The hospital and health services must also consult with hospital employees, consumer groups and patients during the creation of the parking policies. The strategy, policies and procedures must also be communicated appropriately to the patients, visitors, carers and hospital staff.

Read the Health Service Directive in detail.

First Brisbane Japanese Festival Happening in West End, Tickets to Japan at Stake

West Village in West End will turn into a Japanese getaway celebrating all things ‘Japan’ in August.

As part of Japan Week Brisbane celebrations, West Village is hosting the first-ever Brisbane Japanese Festival.

Attendees will be immersed in Japanese culture, from everybody’s favourite Japanese cuisine to dance and music. Japanese personalities based in Brisbane will be at the event to provide entertainment, while chefs will teach a thing or two about Japanese cuisine.

Photo credit: CC-BY/Rool Paap/Flickr

West Village will host street food stalls where people can get their fill of yakitori, gyoza, sushi, tempura, karaage, poke bowls and bento boxes with their choice of Japanese dishes. The gastronomic experience won’t be complete without the sake, whiskey and bubble. There will be bars to serve Japanese drinks.

Bonsai gardens, origami folding, lanterns and Japanese drumming will provide the perfect atmosphere to give guests a sampling of Japanese culture.

 

Event Details:

What: Brisbane Japanese Festival
When: Saturday, 19 August 2017
11:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.
Where: West Village
97 Boundary Street, West End
Cost:

 

 

 

 Adult (18yo+) – $10 + booking fee
Youth (6yo-17yo) – $5 + booking fee
Child (5yo and under) – FREE

Buy Tickets

 

Trip for 2 to Japan

Brisbane Japanese Festival should be a good preview for a lucky guest who will win two roundtrip tickets to Japan. The prize is valued at $3,000 and will be given as a travel voucher.

All tickets booked online will go into the draw. The winner must be at least 18 years old to be eligible.

Buy Tickets

Visit the festival website

Get directions to the venue

West End State School to be Expanded, Two New Schools Opening in Inner City

Inner city Brisbane locals are soon to see their wish for additional schools become a reality, with two new schools set to be built and West End State School slated to be expanded.

The positive news was announced by the Queensland government, which is allotting $500 million for the three projects. This is in response to the clamour of parents in the inner city area for additional schools as current schools are over their capacity. The budget falls within the Building Future Schools Fund of the government.

Part of the plan is the use of the former site of Fortitude Valley State School, which was previously planned to be sold. A new school will be constructed on that site and classes should start by 2020. This school will be built in partnership with the Queensland University of Technology.

A new location is yet to be determined for the other new school planned to be built in the inner-south. This will be delivered with the help of the University of Queensland. Once built, it would become an alternative to Brisbane State High School.

West End State School will also receive funding for its expansion to accommodate an increasing number of students. The plan involves the purchase of a lot parallel to the school, on Horan Street. This lot will be used for the additional classrooms.

Responding to Population Growth

The $500-million fund is a direct response of the government to the long-standing education issue in the inner-city area.  Parents have been expressing concern over the inadequate number of schools to meet the demand of a growing population in the area.

The stronger demand for schools is a result of the rapid increase in the number of apartments in the area. In fact, a large number of students in the inner city area was found to be living in apartments.

Read:  West End Apartment Boom Causing Public School Overcrowding
Read:  How the Apartment Industry in West End is Causing Problems for Schools

Because of the lure of the inner city in terms of lifestyle and the quality of education, people from the outer suburbs are trading their houses for apartment life in the inner city.

Each of the two new schools will have a capacity of 1,200 to 1,500 students, while West End State School will increase capacity from 952 students to 1,500 students.

West End Charity Delivers Mobile Medical Service to the Homeless and Disadvantaged

Micah Projects of West End is taking social services a notch higher with its mobile medical service for homeless and disadvantaged individuals.

The charitable organisation was chosen by Brisbane City Council in December 2016 from a group of charity organisations that expressed interest in running the mobile health service. The council provided Micah Projects with a funding of $1 million to kick-start the program which will bring health services to people who are rough sleeping and those who are still transitioning from homelessness to housing.

It is through its Inclusive Health Partnerships that Micah Projects is providing mobile healthcare services. With the funding from the city council, Micah Projects was able to roll out three mobile health vans across the city to provide services such as wound care, medical support and management, chronic disease management and direct nursing services to vulnerable people.

Not only are the health workers giving medical attention to homeless people, they are also taking care of anyone who is in danger of losing their home or those who are suffering from social isolation or victims of domestic violence.

Micah Projects is delivering the mobile healthcare service with the help of partners Mater Queensland, St. Vincent’s Private Hospital Brisbane, Brisbane North PHN, Brisbane South PHN, Tzu Chi and Brisbane City Council.

The Inclusive Health program aims to address health inequality in the city, helping ensure that everyone regardless of economic or life circumstances can get high-quality health services. Health workers also ensure that people who receive their services are treated with dignity and respect.

Addressing Homelessness

The mobile healthcare service is part of the broader task of Micah Projects to address homelessness. Through its Inclusive Health program, health workers can connect and collaborate with other Micah Projects support teams that can provide housing support, domestic violence assistance, family support, disability assistance, social inclusion support and assistance in hospital discharge and follow-up medical care.

The core commitment of Micah Projects is to end homelessness in Brisbane, one person at a time. The group’s work revolves around breaking barriers that block some members of society from accessing housing, health care, employment and meaningful connections.

The non-for-profit group counts on good-hearted people to support them in this endeavour. Anyone who wishes to help may volunteer their time or donate money to the cause.

Visit Micah Projects’ website to learn more about the health and other services of Micah Projects.