Philip Machanick

As one of the Greens team, I hope we are able to help. I was encouraged by the support from Ronan Lee, and disappointed the Bruce Flegg ignored our invitation (I emailed him twice; it seems he has the sending email thing figured out, but receiving is still in the too hard pile: a member of the audience claimed he had not been invited).

If you do not have a submission in yet, you have until 16 June.

Comments here will still useful even after that date, as I hope the community is going to take Ronan Lee up on his proposal to take the matter to State Cabinet.

For those who didn’t make it to the meeting, it went pretty well with a range of options from speakers and from the floor, which is what we wanted to see. The Greens do not claim to be a unique source of wisdom. Our approach has always been community-based, and I for one was very pleased to see that the community (at least those at the meeting) was already far ahead of the state and city governments in their thinking.

Getting people out of cars by providing VIABLE alternatives (not sitting in a bus for an hour) is the real solution to congestion. Rising petrol prices on their own don’t do it: they just make it that much tougher for people who can’t afford to live close to their place of work — who do not have a public transport option.

I am contemplating setting up a bet: will the price of petrol per litre be higher than the toll when the first tunnel is opened? What a waste of money: building infrastructure for a technology whose time may soon be past. What would the billions committed to tunnels have bought by way of fast, efficient public transport, getting more people out of their cars?

I know the problem is harder in Brisbane than in a city laid out before cars like London or Paris, but the fact that it’s hard is a good reason to change our mindset sooner rather than later.

The audience liked this: “Campbell Newman has invented a new form of socialism, redistribution of wealth from property owners to tunnel diggers. Your first installment: see your next rates account”.

Pamela

Last night’s meeting was well attended and many innovative ideas were brought forward from this very close-knit community. Great though it was to see that Ronan Lee has continued his support of our group, I am very disappointed that neither the Minister for Main Roads nor the Premier have attended ANY community meetings! Maybe they need to be reminded that they are public servants - elected by the people. In this case both of the major parties are behaving badly.
The idea put forward by the gentleman(sorry I forget the name) from Carindale who discussed the idea about a two lane bridge at Moggill or Bellbowrie - giving residents of the local area free passage over the bridge, but putting a toll on others and trucks, I thought was an excellent suggestion. Like others he spoke of the fact that the bridge had been paid for in the past and monies have gone into the black hole of local government.
We may be the Save our Kenmore Group, but this impacts on many many surrounding suburbs. That may need to be our next target area - advising people in these suburbs about the impact on them. Thanks to the Greens and others involved in organising last nights meeting. Well done.

StephC

Did anyone note the Courier Mail front page this morning?

It appears that the Rudd government claims it hasn’t the funds to upgrade the eastern section of the Ipswich Motorway – the area that was to make up the main section of the now defunct Goodna Bypass.

Apart from breaking a vital election promise, the endgame of all this is becoming sinisterer and sinisterer.

I have just sent the following comment to the CM Readers Comments section. At this stage, I don’t know if it will be published.

“Thank you, Courier Mail. You’ve helped me put the last piece of a puzzle together.

Several weeks ago, it was quietly announced that plans for a Brisbane Valley Northern Bypass were being dropped. Shortly after, residents of Kenmore and all suburbs west woke up one morning to find themselves in the middle of a major ‘community consultation process’.

Suddenly teams of consultants popped up at all our shopping centres promoting the Kenmore Bypass, which ‘promises’ to alleviate the shocking traffic conditions on Moggill Rd. As part of the same community consultation package, Queensland Transport is promoting the proposed Karalee-Kenmore Sub-arterial transportation link, which will end exactly where the proposed Kenmore Bypass begins, and begin just east of Ipswich at the Warrego Highway.

Now, we are told that there is no money to fix the eastern section of the Ipswich Motorway.
Has Howard’s defunct Goodna Bypass and Rudd’s ‘defunct’ Ipswich Motorway upgrade now morphed into the Karalee-Kenmore Bypass?

When you can divert 75,000 vehicles per day through the western suburbs via Kenmore, linking up to the Centenary Hwy and on to the North-South Tunnel – why upgrade the Ipswich Motorway?”

StephC

I meant to include a thank you to the Greens in my last post, for hosting the excellent evening last night at Kenmore High School.

It was not only great to get together with others who see better alternatives to this problem and know we are not alone, but it is also good to see that our numbers are defintely increasing!

Kathy(2)

Steph - you said it all so well. Hope your letter to the CM gets in. I’ve tried twice and no luck. It’s strange, I’m sure lots of us are writing in but I’ve only see two letters so far. It’s almost as though the bypass is a non event as far as the CM is concerned.

But I’m glad to see I wasn’t the only one who immediately thought “oh no” on reading the article - I think all our hearts must have sank a little – certainly my first thought was next thing is there’ll be a big announcement how the bypass/ Moggill Pocket Road is the solution to the Ipswich motorway nightmare. And Mr Flegg said we were using scare tactics and being misleading!! I wonder what his stance will be now. I truly believe he always knew one would follow the other – anyone with nous had to see that coming.

And surely anyone with the same nous can see all the Moggill Pocket road will achieve is duplicating the nightmare. What’s the saying “build it and they will come” – if the bypass and the Warrego link goes through housing estates will proliferate all along the route and we’ll end up with TWO clogged motorways trying to get onto the Centenary Highway / Western Freeway!!

I wonder if those living along or using Centenary Highway, Western Freeway, Inner City bypass realise how much they’ll be affected by this proposed road. Hopefully the stories on the news tonight will get them thinking.

I’ve said it before but I will NEVER understand WHY any government / council would deliberately encourage thousands more vehicles, hundreds more long haul trucks into inner suburbia. I really think the theory that it’s to do with increasing toll takings on the northern link must have some merit.

Susan

Good on the Greens for hosting the meeting. 400+ was a very good number and showed how concerned and determined we are. Ronan Lee must be thanked standing up against the Kenmore Bypass. Very interested to hear the speaker from Carindale tell of how his father paid $4 million in the 1970s for the Bellbowrie bridge. With interest and in today’s dollars that contribution would certainly make a great alternative (bridge at Bellbowrie) a very positive step all round. Wonder why Main Roads won’t consider it. Where is the money now?

The maps got by using FOI and pinned up on the wall at the meeting were a shock to me. They are very different to the maps Main Roads showed me when they visited my home which is very likely to be resumed. Why weren’t the REAL Main Roads maps shown to us weeks ago and also displayed at Indooroopilly Shopping Centre by Main Roads at they stand? Why didn’t the Main Roads people who came into my home show me the real maps? The real Main Roads maps in the feasibility study worry me a lot and take in houses Fig Tree Pocket and Chapel Hill too.

SHAME SHAME on you Main Roads for hiding the truth during the whole period when you are supposed to be informing our community.

Lauren

thanks to the Greens for hosting a great meeting. i did see it televised on the 6pm news on Friday which is good.

RE: the real Main Roads maps in the feasibility study (the ones that were on the wall of the meeting room, showing on/off ramps, resumptions etc) - is it possible for someone to put them on up the internet? i would like to have a closer look. thanks.

Matthew

There is a good summary of this meeting at:
http://qld.greens.org.au/media-releases/kenmore-community-rallies-against-bypass-proposal

Philip Machaniak expands on these arguments at:
http://groups.google.com/group/green-values-brisbane/web/horse-manure-and-planning-for-the-past

Here are a few more he says are possibly of interest:
http://opinion-nation.blogspot.com/2008/06/electric-cars-trains-or-buses-which-is.html
http://opinion-nation.blogspot.com/2008/05/smart-alternatives-to-fossil-fuels.html

And here is a video of the meeting:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CeJHuN3lchY