The Brisbane City Council (BCC) is proposing a new pedestrian and cycling bridge to link Kangaroo Point to the City Botanic Gardens. A massive game-changer for the suburb, it is estimated an average of 5,000 people will use the bridge each day, rather than having to loop around to the Go Between Bridge or the Story Bridge. With the preferred connection pathway linking the corner of Alice and Edward streets to Scott Street (or, alternatively, back at Thornton Street), this will save commuters more than half an hour on most days.
Currently the main connection from Kangaroo Point to the City is via a ferry service so it will be a dramatic improvement in how residents in Kangaroo Point commute to the City. We asked one of Brisbane’s leading project specialists Joanne Prince-Gilies for how she thought this would affect property prices in the area.
“It can only really have a positive effect and will in my view add to the price growth we are already seeing in the area”, Jo said. “At McGrath Projects we have had a lot of experience with similar areas in Sydney which have all experienced a significant price increase when public transport options such as the proposed bridge are introduced. “
The BCC is estimating that linking Kangaroo Point to the City Botanic Gardens via the bridge would cost them $190 million. The bridge is one of five proposed earlier this year by Lord Mayor Adrian Schrinner as part of his $550 million green mobility plan for the city, although the Kangaroo Point bridge had first been proposed by former Lord Mayor Graham Quirk years earlier.
Councillor Schrinner said that, “The preliminary business case for the Kangaroo Point Pedestrian Bridge confirms the project is a feasible, value-for-money investment in our transport network,” continuing on to mention that “…this new bridge presents a once-in-a-generation opportunity to improve the way people travel within the inner city and the preliminary business case revealed up to 5300 trips would be taken per weekday, which will make it even more popular than the Kurilpa Bridge.”
The BCC plans to fund 2/3 of the cost, with both the state and federal governments contributing to the remaining third needed.
Community consultation will begin in November 2019, with construction proposed to begin in 2021 for a 2024 completion.
This will be the first of five new bridges planned by the BCC, as it will be followed by bridges at Breakfast Creek, West End, St. Lucia, and Bellbowrie.
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