I’ve got it in front of me. The main thing we will benefit from in The Grove will be a doubling in frequency of Ferny Grove line trains to every 15 minutes.
The Connecting SEQ 2031 draft plan asks us to change our average weekly travel patterns as follows:
[ul]increase walking and bike trips from 2.5 to 5 trips/week
increase bus & rail trips from 1.5 to 4 trips/week
reduce car trips from 21 to 16 trips/week[/ul]
We could all aim to do that right now. It gives us a clear goal to aim for. Easy.
Across Brisbane and SEQ a big upgrade in public transport and cycleways means that when we do use public transport to travel outside The Grove we will be part of an increasingly better system IF population growth does not swamp it.
There does not seem to be anything in the publication in front of me linking the expected population growth (which our politicians always seem to be pushing for) and the public transport services that will be needed so that we are not all crammed into over-used services.
The 3000-kilometre network of bikeways planned by 2031 is definitely a good thing but there is no diagram of where they will go.
As yet we have nothing to say that The Grove suburbs of Ferny Grove Upper Kedron Ferny Hills or Arana Hills will be serviced by good bikeways linking in to the bikeway network.
There is a plan to remove heavy vehicles from suburban roads and provide a ‘ring road’ system to navigate around Brisbane – including the [b]new north-south connection between Toowong and Everton Park.[/b] (Tunnel currently under construction). This is then shown on the diagram connecting through to a proposed motorway (to be investigated whether in tunnel) from Everton Hills across to the M1 well north. All very major work that would have a big effect on road transport in the North West. It also means that more of the 340000 heavy vehicle movements in Brisbane each day would be on motorways rather than the suburban network. NOT in The Grove though. We’d still have quarry trucks going along Samford Rd under this model.
For information www.connectingseq.qld.gov.au or phone 1800 038 178
A full 6-carriage train carries 750 people the equivalent of taking 625 cars off the road. A bus (full) carries 50 people the equivalent of taking 40 cars off the road.
The draft plan outlines a vision of a two-wheeled future setting an ambitious target to double the share of walking and cycling trips. We can meet this is we change just 2 of our average 25 trips a week from driving to walking or cycling.
WE CAN DO IT.
The draft plan aims to deliver (by 2031)new walking and cycling paths within 5 kilometres of major activity centres and within 2 kilometres of local school and universities.
WHAT DOES THAT MEAN FOR THE GROVE? Does that mean we can expect cycle tracks within 2 kilometres of all schools in The Grove? What about our major activity centres such as Arana and Great Western?
The draft plan aims to deliver end-of-trip facilities like bike storage showers and lockers in public transport centres and new buildings… WHAT DOES THAT MEAN FOR THE GROVE? Does it mean there’d be a Green Pod at the Ferny Grove Station? At Grovely Station? At Keperra Station?
The draft plan outlines 207 kilometres of new railway lines (not around here) and the UrbanLink service which will have 15 minute turn around time at least 6am to 9pm 7 days a week with simplified high-frequency network maps and quality shelters and passenger information.
The CoastLink train from Petrie to Kippa-Ring will give public transport access from here to the Redcliffe Peninsula.
The Cross River Rail project is essential to be able to increase the number of trains passing through Central and double services to suburbs such as Ferny Grove.
They will be moving up to 240000 people from around SEQ to the CBD during the 2-hour morning peak compared to 54000 now. That is quite an increase. A rail revolution. Capacity will be increased by deploying new trains that can carry 1000 people each.
For rail plan info go to www.connectingseq.qld.gov.au/About/Rail.aspx
The UrbanLink bus network planned to be delivered by 2031 is very extensive around Brisbane but show absolutely nothing at all in The Grove or across the North West linking The Grove and Chermside or The Gap. The nearest connection is at Mitchelton.
There is not even any sign that residents from The Grove will be able to get to Royal Brisbane Hospital or Prince Charles Hospital in any straight-forward manner even in 2031. For example at present if you catch a train to Windsor you then need to find your way across Gympie Rd (wide and heavy traffic) to catch a bus to Royal Brisbane Hospital. All very well if you are fit but if you are ill or frail aged or disabled this is no mean challenge.
[b]With all the UrbanLink bus network upgrades you’d think the very least we could hope for would be public transport directly from The Grove to our major public hospitals servicing this area![/b]
Busways have delivered huge benefits to other parts of Brisbane with some parts carrying more than 12400 passengers one-way while a typical motorway lane carries about 2000 people per hour (by car).
With the very heavy load of cars driving along Samford Rd it looks ideal for a busway from Samford. Don’t stop at Mitchelton. 13000 motorists drive across the range from Samford via Samford Rd each day and there is almost no public transport across the range at all and NONE shown for the 2031 plan!!!!!
The plan shows no upgrades to motorways and highways since 1997 in this region.
The 2031 strategic motorway network as far as it affects this region is a plan for the M5 and M1 to link. It is not going to help traffic getting across the region at say Hamilton Rd or Rode Rd level but should make it much easier for us to get to Toowong (although there will presumably be a toll that will be steep enough to preclude many people using it). Still we’re not on about doing lots of driving over large distances around SEQ rather reducing the need.
If anything we need to be asking: Why is the State Government spending vast amounts of tax dollars on tunnels when the global oil supply is starting to run into more demand than it can possibly meet and Australia is well past peak in its own oil production??? Surely this will only incur debt that will be an awful burden for the future dragging down resilience.
The only transport that makes genuine sense is public transport and cycleways and local transport.
Another thing that doesn’t get any mention is examining key local facilities such as post offices banks libraries schools health centres entertainment hubs and asking if they are distributed well enough to ensure that a lot of unnecessary trips aren’t taken simply to buy a stamp. Does it make sense to drive 7 kilometres to deposit a cheque? 30 kilometres to go to a movie? 20 kilometres to do a seniors Tai Chi class? Not in an oil-constrained world it certainly doesn’t. We need key facilities locally preferably on-line.
We should have the Ferny Hills Mail Exchange re-established as an operating post office. Let’s have a picture theatre in The Grove somewhere.
45 million tonnes of freight is produced in SEQLD each year with 55% consumed here and the rest sent overseas or interstate. Freight traffic is growing more rapidly than population WHICH MEANS WE ARE CONSUMING MORE. The draft plan sets targets to provide a dedicated rail line to the Port of Brisbane to take 1500 metre trains up from the current 1200 metres allowing for a capacity of 750000 containers per year. THERE IS NO PLAN TO EDUCATE US TO REDUCE CONSUMPTION as will inevitably be needed for a resilient future on a carbon-constrained and oil-constrained planet.