Thursday 12th
October 2006
Hi Robyn,
I agree with Col
about the inappropriateness of both the environmental and
economic cost of the proposed linkage. This situation is
reinforced by the current suburban roads carrying relatively
low traffic volumes and capable of carrying a suitable
bike-lane. A 'one-way' designation in Lanena Street could
assist the bike-lane and the current pedestrian usage for
strolling/jogging.
These
issues/concerns/reasons are supported by the earlier
planning/developer decision/s to create Jubilee Park, and
not connect Mount Ommaney Drive and Kooringal Drive.
Not being a
'local' resident, I don't intend to contact Felicity Farmer
personally, but I'm certain that BCC's own Biodiversity and
Engineering staff could provide information/reporting that
would support her dissuading local residents from 'getting
their hopes up unreasonably' through supporting the/ir?
petition, and then have to 'manage the dissatisfaction' of
residents/cyclists when the proposal is demonstrated to be
both environmentally and economically inappropriate.
Regards
JCT
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| Thursday 26th October 2006 Hello Robyn,
I have been looking into aspects of the proposal to construct a
pedestrian/bicycle shared path with a bridge over the creek
between the ends of Mount Ommaney Drive and Kooringal Drive and
make the following comments.This project has been on the
books for the last 30 odd years. It was proposed by Centenary
Estates when Jindalee was in the planning stages if my memory
and that of other long term residents serves us well.
The path in this day and age would be a big benefit to the
community. With obesity a big issue, we need facilities which
will encourage people out to exercise and use public facilities.
Jindalee park is an underused facility because of difficult
access at the Brisbane River end.The imminent completion of a
continuous path from the Rocks Riverside park to Kooringal St
and in concert with the one from Westlake to Mount Ommaney Drive
makes the proposed link a necessity.
This forgotten end of Jindalee Park is infested with feral weeds
and trees. Access via the proposed path would encourage people
who are interested in bushcare, similar to those rehabilitating
Jindalee Creek behind the Allsports, to repair this area and
bring it back to an indigenous riparian asset. This would be a
positive benefit for the environment. The topography would
result in a very interesting pathway.It will become a very
desirable and much used facility by the local populace.
Regards,Trevor A.
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| Friday 27th October 2006
Dear All,
Trevor makes it sound good but this
bikeway missing link project has some minuses.
- Firstly, everyone in this
immediate area who chooses to walk/ride has access to quiet
streets and bikeways NOW.
- Secondly, destroying more of
the riverside bush corridor is irresponsible environmental
vandalism.
- Thirdly our money can be
better spent
The so called missing link is not
necessary because the quiet streets including Lanena Street
where I live and the new police "house" is located carries more
people powered traffic than engine powered traffic without road
rage, accidents or conflict with relative SAFETY AT ALL HOURS OF
THE DAY OR NIGHT. The
proposal requires a bridge as well as a planked boardwalk and
probably, to be done properly, land resumptions.
My opinion based on the above is
that it is a bad idea.
Finally, we enjoy the wildlife that inhabits the bush corridor
that abuts our home in our quiet leafy suburb close the CBD so
please dream up another great idea and leave this one alone
Thanks for reading.
Col Griffin
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Saturday
28th October 2006
Hi Everyone
I can understand Colin’s objections to the
proposed bikeway. I would probably object if
my house backed on to the area to be
affected!
However we live in a democracy and the vast
majority of us will enjoy an additional bike
path so for what it’s worth I am in favour
and agree with Trevor’s sentiments.
Regards
Richard Kwiecinski
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|
Saturday 28th
October 2006
In response to
Richards comments,
Richard has it
right or part right anyway -I do not want
the bikeway at the back of my house.
But I was also a
Senior Inspector of Environment for 18 years
and it is pretty basic environmental
management that the bush corridor along the
river should be protected. BCC has so far
failed to put any value whatsoever on the
river bush corridor. Environmentally that
is vandalism.
Richard also
forgot about the recent attacks on people on
bikeways when the alternative - Lanena
Street has a recently purchased Police beat
house.
I do believe
that I am not as selfish in this matter as
the pro bikeway punters.
Spending
ratepayers money responsibly is an issue for
all of us.
A couple of
years back I contacted the BCC about some
shade shelters and seats and water at entry
points on the Centenary bikeway and I was
put off with a load of dribble about duty of
care and not practical etc. But strangely
it is now fashionable to consider this
project?
I find
it difficult to have much confidence in the
BCC related to true duty of care on bikeways
and environmental conservation.
The Rocks
project they assured me would be BRILLIANT
and once again they wiped out the riverside
bush corridor.
Golly gosh, the
poseurs within BCC need to smarten up before
it is all too late.
Col
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Saturday 28th October 2006
Hi all,
I agree with Colin:
• Lanena Street is quiet and safe for cyclists
• A new link would be a waste of money
• I agree we live in a democracy Richard, but the wild life isn't
just for the locals. I think we've destroyed enough wild life
habitat already
Regards,
Alan Carr
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| Saturday 28th October 2006
Obviously our
Lord Mayor has not heard of this proposal; we would have a plan
for a tunnel by now.
Yes, yes yes, I am in favour of more bikeways, however perhaps
we should prioritise on the basis of greatest need first. There
are many parts of the Bikeway Network that are not connected,
and travelling from one path to another is difficult and/or
dangerous. This is not the case in Jindalee. Safe passage is
already available.
I feel that bikeway budgets could be spent for greater benefit
in other areas.
Jeff Brown
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Sun, 29 Oct 2006 05:41:45 +1000
Re
Bush corridors along urban creeks and
rivers.
I have given
it some thought and I think that the
average punter does not understand the
difference between a drainage channel
and a river ecosystem and how it affects
our foreshores and bays.
If we all
want the Brisbane river to become a
drainage channel then we should continue
to shore up the banks and remove the
mangroves and get rid of the bush
corridor. Then we can have our nice
mowed parkland adjacent the water with
no muddy banks and nice rock and
concrete walls.
However if we
want a proper river ecosystem as nature
intended then it includes the bush
corridor along the river bank and the
tidal and or flood plain and the
mangroves as well as the water, the
river bed and other interacting
waterways.
As I
understand it there is a push to
clean up the
Brisbane River but this will
never happen while we continue to
convert it from a river ecosystem into a
drainage channel.
There are
also other issues related to the
Brisbane River which are not worth
bringing up here.
But we
all need to remember that if we have a
huge drainage channel entering Moreton
Bay rather
than a river ecosystem then the bay will
accumulatively pollute.
Have a guess
what is happening with the bay NOW.
Yes, Moreton
Bay is polluting from the West to the
East.
So yes, the
river and creek natural filtration
systems (bush corridors) must be
reinstated or the river and the bay will
progressively get worse.
Did I hear
anyone say sustainable development.
Well they should have, but at this time
our status quo is below par without
extra development.
I apologise
if I have insulted anyone by telling
them something they already knew.
UP.SO.
Where have
all the frogs gone? It is basic stuff
and BCC has not got any concept of it
going yet. There has to be someone in
all of BCC that has a inkling of an idea
of what sustainable development is all
about. Australians bush even with some
ferals is a better option than mowed
lawn and feral flower beds and
concrete. Have any of the readers of
this ever been to an Australian beach
and actually seen a conservation strip -
stay off the grass so the dunes will
last. So what makes everyone around
here think that rivers are any different
to beaches - they need their buffer
zones.
The frogs
the birds and the animals all depend on
TOTAL river systems (not drainage
channels).
I think that
if the adults talked to the kids the
kids would have it sussed but BCC has
not got a clue.
Col Griffin.
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|
Sunday 29th
October 2006
All
I went via the
said area today to familiarise myself and I
am more inclined to agree with Trevor.
I am a regular
trainer/rider through these streets with NRG
of a morning so I do agree that these
streets are pretty safe for riding as they
are, especially at 5.30 in the morning when
we are do our laps at speed. We are in fact
circulating clockwise so there is no safety
benefit for the purpose of training.
However for
recreational cyclist doing a "River Run"
there is indeed a benefit as there is for
walkers especially coming from the "Zest"
end of the bike path. To continue the ride
one must go out to Burrendah Road, cross
over giving way to traffic going both ways
on this at times busy road, then either
cross back over opposite the Child Care
Centre or at the T Junction to turn right
and eventually join Mt Ommaney Drive. From a
pure safety perspective this 2 or 3 bike /
car interactions that would be eliminated.
Not such a problem for experienced riders,
but for young bike path users or
inexperienced nervous older riders that are
doing a ride to and from The Rocks, less
than ideal.
Trevors point
about the restoration of the native flora at
the creek along the freeway is valid.
Another fine example of the work that has
been done is the bush area along the river
under Mt Ommaney where the lantana and other
noxious weeds have been removed and walking
paths created. The reality of the bush in
much of these areas is that they are less
than native and there are a number of very
active groups wanting to restore these to
their original state.
The first thing
that greets you at the end of Kooringal
Drive is 2 magnificent stands of "NATIVE?"
BAMBOO. Further inspection reveals that the
whole area is very similar. Colin, you / we
do not need another vast lawned park such as
at The Rocks, though this was previously an
industrial area, ie a gravel transfer
station for the cement works, and farmland
so not virgin bush by any means.
Couldn't we put
some sort of condition on our support for a
path? This could be that the council is to
restore this area to its native condition,
(or funds and physical support be given to a
local group by the council to do this), to
allow riders and walkers to view this as
they pass much as happens on the boardwalks
through the mangroves at the Botanical
Gardens or at the Boondal Wetlands.
Thus all
interests would be served. Colin would
retain the bush setting behind his home
though in better condition, the walkers and
recreational riders of the area would have a
safer and more diverse river ride, and those
doing their training can still cycle at
speed with less possibility of confronting
slower less experienced riders.
Still it doesn't
effect me directly so it is easy to
pontificate!
Have a good week
all!
Jim Gilligan
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Monday 30th
October 2006
I have very
little at stake in this issue being I live
at Corinda and prefer riding on the road. I
find shared bikepaths seldom shared and
dangerous because walking is too easy,
pedestrians wander both in mind and body and
simply fail to consider other legitimate
users.
That said I understand the
needs of the beginner cyclist... but there
is no need for a bikepath as suggested.
Burrendah Road is not a busy road except
during the twice daily school mum fossil
fuel feeding frenzy. It is a wide road, has
an ample stopping/parking lane and bicycle
warnings painted on the road. The timid
cyclist need only ride this road from
Warandoo Street to Lanena Street about 100
metres and can legally use the footpath if
required. However, where are they coming
from or going too? Mount Ommaney Drive and
Wongarburra Street are the only routes to
anywhere and they are certainly as busy as
if not busier than Burrandah Street . This
link to the Freeway bikeway or one day to
the Rocks River Park does not link to
anything in the other direction. In this
less than prefect world it is a fact of
cycling life that one day you have to ride
on the road. Quiet streets like Lanena
Street are the place to start.
Nevertheless, I do think a
large element of NIMBY is pervading the
arguments on the other side. To describe
this piece of waste ground as ecological
important is foolish. Today, I went for a
walk along this stretch of river bank.
There is a dearth of original plant
species. The area is dominated by weed
trees, weed grasses and creepers. It is
argued that even the mangrove is not native
to the Jindalee Reach. It has spread from
down stream with the dredging the river and
since the destruction of the Seventeen Mile
Rocks in the 1950s it has pushed even
further up stream. (Mangrove is tidal
species and dredging has changed tide
movement). The only things of beauty in
this remnant are the river gums and a
bikepath would have no effect on them. And
it is a very small remnant. The few native
animals it can support is tiny and they are
effectively an island population making the
best of a scrub of exotic species.
If some persons feel strongly
about the condition Jindalee Park may I
suggest forming a Bushcare Group. The City
Council provides everything you will need to
transform this area back to the way it was,
save for the sweat. Just maybe people will
get together and talk about this issue face
to face… as they did in the old days, before
Bikeways, Lanena Street and Jindalee.
Maynard
AKA Laurie Youngberry
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|
Monday 30th
October 2006
Thanks for your
efforts Jim.
But you are
still looking at it from a cyclists point of
view. The environmental view remains the
same if the vege is feral or non feral it
remains a buffer to filter out contaminants
before it reaches the river. Well meaning
environmental landscapers are still clearing
away the filter/buffer and it all looks good
and sounds great but the bay will continue
to pollute.
BCC has recently
done a number up around the boat ramp and
produced more drainage channel.
I am really
shocked that I had to explain all this
because I thought it was a given.
The drainage
channel concept means that urban run off
enters the bay without any biological
filtration. This is not negotiable and
cannot be talked up or down it simply means
that all our worn tyres (where did that worn
part of the tyre go) all the dripping oils
and all that wonderful organic fertilizer
from our yards plus the washed out paint
brushes and the washed away termite poison
ALL ENTERS THE BRISBANE RIVER WITHOUT A
RESIDENCE TIME TO BREAK DOWN IN AN
ENVIRONMENTAL GREEN FILTER ALONG OUR CREEKS
AND RIVER.
What would
this discussion sound like if you were all
kayakers and not cyclists?
So if you do not
care about the big picture and you want nice
landscaping and rock and concrete walls up
the waters edge then lobby the council.
But don't whinge
about the river or the bay or where have all
the frogs gone.
There is a
society who is actually interested in the
area between high and low tide and I cannot
think of their name. John Taylor will tell
you who they are.
There are other
forms of lifestyle and exercise other than
cycling and in fact the percentage of the
community who actually cycle is tiny but we
all share the same world. Moreton Bay is in
dire straits - I am sure that the bulk of
you do not realise how bad it is.
Gee whiz, if you
had to take your bike on the back of the car
somewhere to ride it would it be worth it to
help save the bay? The previous missing
link was years in the pipeline and it was a
risk to life and cyclists limb. Some used
their cars but others biked it up the
highway.
I cannot help
believing that the benefits vs the
disadvantages of this proposal are
completely out of kilter and I will bet with
the hindsight of time I will be proven
correct. The installation of shelter sheds
on the bikeway entrances would at least get
us out of the sun.
My point is your
time and our money could be better used than
chasing up this project. And if you have
never read a report on Moreton Bay than you
are not qualified to try to influence
anyone's decision. A ride up the street and
check out the volunteers landscaping hardly
qualifies as serious research.
I am sorry if I
have insulted anyone but it needs to be
said.
Col Griffin
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|
| Thursday 16th November 2006 Hi Robyn
As discussed, please find below information concerning the
proposed
bikeway link between Mt Ommaney to Kooringal Drive, Jindalee.
Brisbane City Council has sought State Government funding
through the
South East Queensland Infrastructure Plan and Program capital
grants
scheme for feasibility and design of the Mt Ommaney to Kooringal
Drive,
Jindalee in 2006/07. Brisbane City Council are expecting to hear
whether
the funding for the feasibility and design of this bikeway link
has
been
successful in November 2006.
It should be noted that this funding application is for
feasibility and
design of the bikeway link only, not for construction.
Council would be required to fund 50% of the feasibility and
design
cost should the application be successful.
Community consultation would be part of the design process and I
will
ensure that Council liaises with local residents, the local
cycling
group - Centenary Bikeway User Group - and other community
groups,
including local environment groups.
I would appreciate your assistance in sending the below email to
your
mailing list.
Kind regards
We have moved to Level 6 of Brisbane Square
Eleanor Somers
Senior Program Officer Cyclist and Pedestrian Mobility
Brisbane City Council
T: 07 3403 5712
M: 0418 985 147
F: 07 3403 4225
E:
Eleanor.Somers@brisbane.qld.gov.au
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