Kenmore Community Rallies Against Bypass Proposal

West Brisbane Greens invited Ronan Lee MP and local community groups to join joined in a new conversation on alternatives to redirecting cars as a means of relieving traffic congestion. Liberal member for Moggill, Dr Bruce Flegg MP and Councillor Margaret de Wit were invited but did not attend.

The audience strongly supported proposals to make public transport more viable, endorsing the view of one speaker that it is unacceptable that bus trips to popular destinations like the University of Queensland can take an hour.

Presentations were made by West Brisbane Greens member, Anne Gardiner (branch spokesperson) and Dr Philip Machanick, along with Ronan Lee MP, ALP state member for Indooroopilly, Save Our Suburbs Kenmore's Grant Muller and Bellbowrie Bridge campaigner Margaret Gross.

Grant Muller put the case that alternatives had not been considered. 'The Kenmore Bypass is a con, not a congestion solution.  At $500 Million, it will waste taxpayers money and waste commuters time. It will see increased congestion on Centenary Highway. There are quicker, better and cheaper alternatives - a bridge from Moggill to Wacol would cut trip times in half, save hundreds of millions and not involve a devastating impact on thousands of local families. Building a local bridge with a link to the Wacol Station would take the pressure off of working families budgets by giving access to affordable and quick rail transport. With petrol over $1.50 a litre, a long term solution is needed.'

Many local bottlenecks that slowed traffic were not under consideration, Muller continued, nor was the possibility that congestion would be shifted to the Centenary Highway. 'We told them about the Kenmore roundabout, and they ignored us,' he said to strong applause. Other solutions included expanding local services so residents did not need to travel as much, and a bridge at Bellbowrie. 'Over the years residents, some extremely well qualified, have made many suggestions to Main Roads - better alternatives that have been ignored. Now they say there is no alternative.' He added to sustained applause: 'And when are they going to finish the work they're doing now on Moggill Road?'

Anne Gardner acknowledged that she too was frustrated with sitting in traffic in Moggill Road. 'But building roads is not a solution to congestion. You just move it from one place to another. Have you seen how light traffic suddenly becomes on a school holiday? Why don't we have school buses to take students safely to the schools they go to rather than leaving them at the side of the road to wait an hour for the next bus?' She outlined the Greens proposal for light rail to sustained applause. 'A light rail scheme was ditched by the Labor State Government in 2000 because of the 'huge costs' of $230 million and the expected $80 million in subsidies needed to make it work. Main Roads' road construction program is worth more than $16.2 billion over the next five years. $80 million is a lot?' She also spoke to other ideas like a green bridge at Bellbowrie and bus routes to Mount Crosby and Karana Downs.

'Why don't we improve the facilities at Bellbowrie to reduce the need for car journeys ? Where is the nearest library?' Dr Gardiner asked. 'Why is Brisbane City Council planning to build a library in Kenmore less than 10 minutes drive from an existing library at Indooroopilly?'

Ronan Lee spoke in favour of a rail spur from Darra or Wacol across to Bellbowrie. 'This would be much cheaper than the road proposal, and would address the environmental issue of cutting greenhouse gas emissions. And the age of cheap oil is over.' In response to questions from the audience, he promised to support the community in taking the matter to State Cabinet, where there would be a stronger chance of overturning the road than via submissions to Main Roads.

Margaret Gross made an impassioned plea to make access to the other side of the river easier, as a solution to the lack of local services and dependence on one road for emergency access. 'Houses will not be lost - lives will not be destroyed. Putting in a local bridge with a strong public transport component and access to Wacol Station would give access to services, cut trip time in half and give our kids and grandkids a better future.'

Dr Machanick spoke to the wider issues. To laughter, he put to the audience: 'Campbell Newman has invented a new kind of socialism, that involves redistributing wealth from property owners to tunnel diggers.' He explained how climate change and peak oil were powerful reasons to get people out of their cars. To the notion that the increase in petrol prices was good because it forced us to think of alternatives, he said: 'It's rough justice for someone who's just bought an SUV. Rather than punish people for doing the wrong thing, we should be supplying alternatives. Sitting in a bus for an hour is not an alternative. That is punishment.' He presented alternatives of urban design, showing how cities like Los Angeles and Tokyo had not solved congestion with decades of freeway construction, while other cities like Seoul, Paris, London and Bogota had switched from favoring cars to building infrastructure for buses, pedestrians and cyclists.

The Greens say that the Kenmore Bypass is an unpopular development in the community, but an opportunity to think about change. Change in the way we prioritize spending on roads versus public transport and developing infrastructure that does not increase our dependence on private cars. Says spokesperson Anne Gardiner: 'We put this to the community, and found they were there already. So where is the city council? Where is the state government?'

Background

The Department of Main Roads is conducting a study in relation to the Moggill Pocket Arterial Road/Moggill-Warrego Highway Connection.

www.mainroads.qld.gov.au/web/publicCR.nsf/0/E7D4B4C09C557FF64A25738D0009802A?OpenDocument

The community group Save Our Kenmore position is, 'though we are just as aggravated by traffic as anyone, we know there are better solutions'.

http://www.saveourkenmore.com/

The Greens BCC election light rail proposal for Moggill Road:

http://www.greenupbrisbane.net/files/lr_network_a4.pdf

Contact

Contact: Dr Anne Gardiner, spokesperson for the West Brisbane Greens Branch
Email: agar@people.net.au
Phone: 0415 692976
Website: www.qld.greens.org.au

Philip Machanick (Visiting Academic, School of ITEE, University of Queensland)
39 Cunningham Street, Taringa, Qld 4068, Australia http://opinion-nation.blogspot.com/
+61-7-3871-0963 (office 3365-1624) skype philipmach