Infrastructure Briefs – Some Important Australian Projects Progressing Well
If you’re an advocate for better cycling and micromobility infrastructure in Australia, you may sometimes despair at the slow rate of progress. So sometimes its good to stop and take stock of what is actually getting built. The items summarised within this article total more than half a billion dollars of new infrastructure that is all currently under development with some about to open soon.
Kangaroo Point Bridge “Opening Soon”
The Kangaroo Point Bridge is possibly the most important, architecturally striking and expensive dedicated cycling and walking infrastructure projects ever constructed in Australia.
The bridge, which at latest estimates was going to cost $299 million, is spanning the Brisbane River from Kangaroo Point on the south bank to the CBD and botanic gardens on the north bank.
It will feature a minimum width of 6.8 metres, viewing points, a covered, solar powered walkway a restaurant and a café. It’s projected to transport 6,000 users per day – none of them driving cars.
Queensland Government Triples the Fed’s Commitment
The Queensland government has committed to a significant expansion and upgrade of the state’s bike routes, as part of a $315 million investment in paths and infrastructure for active transport over the next four years.
The major projects earmarked for completion include a $35.1 million bike bridge over Birdwood Road in the Brisbane suburb of Greenslopes, $22.5 million to plug gaps in the Riverwalk in the suburb of Kangaroo Point and $9.6 million in upgrades to the bike network in South Brisbane, West End and Highgate Hill.
Outside the capital, projects in the pipeline include $20 million for a cycleway component of the Gold Coast Light Rail Stage 3, $9.4 million for stage 2 of the New England Highway Bikeway and $41.5 million for the Cairns Southern Access Cycleway, co-funded with the federal government.
According to the Queensland government, every dollar spent on bike infrastructure has a return of nearly $5, through improvements in public health, reduced congestion and lower transport costs.
“Every person who rides a bike or walks to work, school, to socialise or to go to the shops means less traffic and less pollution, and can also mean savings on transport costs,” says Queensland Transport and Main Roads Minister Bart Mellish.
“It’s not only cheaper than using a car but it’s much better for your health and we think Queenslanders deserve world-class active transport facilities.”
The suite of bike upgrades is being delivered as part of a $37.4 billion Queensland Transport and Roads Investment Program over the next four years.
While the $315 million investment in active transport dwarfs the $100 million active transport recently announced by the Australian Government, it amounts to less than 1% of the Queensland Government’s investment in transport infrastructure.
It’s also not certain what will happen after Queensland heads to an election on 26th October, because if polling is correct, the current Labour government will be replaced by the Liberal National Party who may be inclined to cut the funding.
The United Nations recommends that governments “put people, not cars” first and dedicate 20% of their transport funding to active transport, as a way of improving road safety and combatting climate change.
Most of this article was originally published by Bicycle Network
Construction Underway on Major New $10 Million Canberra Bike Route
Work has kicked off on a key Canberra bike route, setting the wheels in motion for safer and more pleasant journeys through the city’s northern suburbs.
The 5km Garden City cycle route will consist of both off-road paths and on-road separated lanes connecting the inner city bike loop in the Canberra CBD with the suburb of Watson.
Along the way, it will pass through other inner-northern suburbs of Braddon, Ainslie, Dickson, Hackett and Downer, improving active travel connections to schools, shops, sportsgrounds and green spaces.
The bike route will complement another north-south shared path along Sullivans Creek to the west. The Garden City Cycleway is being co-funded by the Australian and ACT governments who are each contributing $5 million.
Stage 1A of the works is now underway on Torrens Street, which will deliver a four-metre-wide concrete shared path between Cooyong and Henty Streets, and a three-metre-wide path continuing along Henty Street to Ijong Street in Braddon.
These works include the removal of an existing path and construction of six new raised zebra crossings. Where the new path crosses driveways, sections of the driveways will be treated with coloured pavement and line markings.
This stage of the project is expected to take around seven months, weather permitting, and be ready for use in early 2025.
Most of this article was previously published by Bicycle Network
Perth’s Causeway Bridge Due to Open Dec 2024
As we previously reported here, the Western Australian government is constructing a $100 million, one kilometre long pedestrian and cycling bridges / path route across the Swan River.
Funded by a combination of state and federal money, the Causeway bridge is expected to give safer passage to 1,500 pedestrians and 2,000 cyclists per day when it links the CBD with the eastern suburbs of Perth.
At the time of writing all structural elements of the bridge were complete and it was scheduled to open this December.
Melbourne’s Westgate Tunnel Project Well Under Construction
As we previously reported here this road building project also includes $100 million worth of micromobility infrastructure.
When I visited Melbourne last month I drove under the Footscray Road Bridge, which is looking pretty much like this artists’ rendering, except that it’s still part of a construction site. It will be attached to a 2.5 kilometre elevated “veloway”. It will interested to see what the real world experience of riding this new infrastructure is like, given that it will be wedged into the middle of a motorway, albeit completely separate and at a lower level, which should reduce the noise experienced.
Sydney Harbour Bridge Ramp and Oxford Street Protected Lane
We plan to bring you up to date photographs of construction of these two key projects in our December newsletter.
While it is good to see some major projects being undertaken, however to get more people out on bicycles and other forms of micromobility we need to focus on the small projects at local council level that improve safety and connections between home and major trip generators.
Hope you can publicize the simple steps needed such as identifying safe streets, interactive maps that show people the safe routs in their community etc.
Hi Werner
Thanks for your comment. I agree that the smaller, ‘grass roots’ improvements are also very important. Any route is only as good as its weakest link and there are so many missing links in Australia’s towns and cities.