Title says it all, I wasn’t aware that this had happened, it seems really ridiculous how car-centric the bridge already was with barely any buses using it despite the fact it connects two of the most population dense suburbs being connected by it.
As a personal anecdote I actually use to live on the very edge of South Brisbane, right next to kangaroo point and every time I had to go somewhere in Kangaroo point google maps almost always told me to just walk because none of the buses went anywhere near there, and while I could have walked I’m not a very physically active and prefer taking a bus even if it takes a bit longer, so I found the lack of any option pretty ridiculous, and people I know who live there or in east Brisbane and commute to UQ are basically stuck with walking all the way to Woolloongabba busway station because the buses there are so infrequent.
Agreed. I used to live at the southern end of KP, and the the only decent bus service was at the Gabba Busway Station. There’s now the 234 bus (which has somewhat replaced the southern end of the 475; it no longer goes to Buranda, but now services the northern part of the peninsula), but it only runs every 20 minutes.
Ferries are somewhat useful for where they go, but their coverage is quite limited.
This is really troubling. There are footpaths on either side. There is no good reason for both sides to be closed simultaneously. It just goes to show… Car is still King in Brisbane .
Brisbane Times are drawing attention to the closed footpaths. It’s paywalled but the headline and tagline make the point: Here’s what walking the council’s Story Bridge footpath detour is really like: “It is possible to take council’s detour since it closed the Story Bridge footpaths more than two months ago. But would you want to?”
Due to the pressure on the Brisbane City Council regarding the footpaths closure, and apparent claims of a coverup, council are releasing the documentation regarding the maintenance of, and required works to, the Story Bridge footpaths.
Seems like Friday morning could turn out to be fun. At least the new bridge over to Alice St is now open so you don’t have to go all the way around to Southbank anymore. Still a substantial detour, especially for pedestrians.
Obviously the only solution would be to close the bridge as soon as possible and begin the repairs.
BTQ’s position should be to advocate for the Story Bridge to converted to a green bridge and close the bridge to traffic completely and any restorative works should possibly include reinforcing the bridge to handle buses and/or light rail.
The Story Bridge is an important freight route for the inner suburbs, especially for DGs that cannot be transported through tunnels.
Making it a green bridge would result in more heavy vehicles going through the heart of the CBD (Turbot/Ann Sts) to access the Riverside Expressway and Captain Cook Bridge.
I agree with Axilya, I would not advocate for the Story Bridge to be converted to a green bridge in any way, shape or form.
This is not like kicking two limited use car lanes off the Victoria Bridge, the Story Bridge is a 6 lane arterial “highway” that forms an important part of the inner city ring road network. It allows vehicles from the south to access the inner northern suburbs without travelling through the CBD or using the tunnels, which aren’t suitable for all vehicles, loads or destinations (and vice versa as well).
Closing this bridge would be an absolute traffic disaster for the inner city!
I received an email this morning from a Brisbane activist newsletter about this protest and I honestly am thinking about heading over to there, and reporting back to the forum if anything interesting happens. What do you guys think?
Also want to add that I really think that if one of the lanes shouldn’t even be taking heavy vehicles anyway I don’t see how dedicating one lane to pedestrians would cause much of a problem, really it would probably buy time for the council to fix it because a pedestrian/bike lane would damage the bridge a lot less.
I think it will be non event. I understand Queensland Police and the BCC will be seeking court injunctions to block the protest. The organiser of the protest has said she will obey any injunctions.
Why increase rates if you are not going to fix the damn bridge properly?
This band-aid approach is political bullshit.
It gonna have to happen one day like it or not. There is no other way to fix bridges with serious problems the Story Bridge has. The longer you put it off, the more expensive it gets.
Car is still King in Brisbane 