Gary Gynn

The fundamental question is, “why is our elected member promoting a major traffic route which is clearly unsympathetic to the suburbs on the route”.

Kathy

Again I ask - aren’t those of us in the area affected by this proposed bypass ‘residents’ of Kenmore?? Mr Flegg obviously doesn’t think so. In the Brisbane Times article above he says and I quote - “allow up to 25,000 cars each day to completely bypass Kenmore.” The word ‘completely’ says it all. I’m stunned at his use of words to put it mildly.

I just have one question - does he plan on retiring soon and if yes, will he remain in an area he seems to have no qualms destroying. He surely can’t still believe the “it’s just a 3.2 km road” theory.

And this has probably been addressed in the blog already but surely a help to ease the bottleneck in Moggill Road near Kenmore SS etc would be to decrease the number of ‘blocks’ to traffic flow. Kenmore roundabout, then the lights at Kenmore SS, then the lights at Moggill and Kenmore Roads, and THEN the lights at OLR!!! Five potential stops in the matter of a hundred metres or so. Overhead walkways at the two schools would be a good start relocating Kenmore SS perhaps even better - isn’t part of the Schools of Tomorrow scheme to merge some schools - Kenmore SS would seem an ideal candidate.

(Added later by admin, merging in followup comment)
Re my comment above, an ooops moment - I can’t count - make that FOUR potential stops in a hundred metres or so.

Tanya Anemaat

In reponse to Dr Fleggs Survey, A “Street Poll’ was in last weeks Westside News. Of the 4 people they asked if they supported the Bypass, 2 disagreed, 1 unsure and 1 agreed. Looks like 50% support to me, & hardly the 95% that Dr Flegg is stating. Scary to think he may be supporting the Bypass based on “his” survey !!

(Added by admin from followup comment) Sorry, meant to say 25% support ! [1 out of 4 people interviewed agreed with the proposal]

Kathy

I think his 95% might be that 95% of the people who said Moggill Road congestion WAS an issue for them supported the bypass. Perhaps those of us who said it WASN’T an issue didn’t come into his figures? Just my opinion, I could be wrong.

Anonymous

Garry - He’s supporting some of the residents. I’m sure some people want the bypass. I’m sure more of us just want A solution to the problem of Moggill Rd. What are the other solutions?
- Widen Moggill Rd? I think that will cause at least as many people to be put out.
- Bridge at Bellbowrie? - A good solution too…but in addition not instead of.

Julie Hagans

Unfortunately my mother who lives in Moggill and many of her neighbours filled in this survey before they could understand the full ramifications. She has now retracted her comments and is now against the kenmore bypass. The majority of her neighbours are very upset that stage 2 of the bypass will affect them at Moggill and Bellbowrie, they just did not have any idea that this will affect them directly. They have now looked at their maps (refidex, UBD ) and are horrified at what they have found. They now realise that if stage 1 goes through that it will be more than likely that stage 2 will also go through. This information was not presented to them in the survey.

jenny steadman

Does anybody realise the potential problems associated with raising Moggill Road above the Q100 flood levels at the Yarawa st end ? To do this they will have to create a mountain of earthworks and will thereby effectively dam Moggill creek at the bend at Rafting Ground road.The natural water run off has to go somewhere. I hope everybody who lives upstream has houses on stilts.

Richard

Not sure Jenny. Surely the Moggill Creek Catchment Group or REPA or the Greens should be concerned about this. Main Roads effectively dried up a creek when they expanded Centenary Highway to 4 lanes. All the flora and fauna died in a couple of years. Good luck. I think they would suggest that is a BCC responsibility but I am no expert.

Grant

Well - thanks for your feedback - Mr Anonymous. Good to have debate. Gary is right to feel betrayed - the road doesn’t make a lot of sense - its going to cost a lot of money ($500 Million) and it is going to make the parking lot on Centenary Highway worse as more development occurs out west. I am sure the people who live in Brookfield and send their kids to the OLR and Kenmore State would like the Kenmore Roundabout fixed and pedestrian overpasses. A bridge at Bellbowrie could give access to three freeways and rail, without dragging all that traffic through six residential suburbs … and then we could put the other $400 Million to building a tunnel from Frederick St Roundabout to Hale Street.

TC

the long term plan is Tunnel from end of Western Freeway to Everton Park.
http://www.ats.org.au/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=237&Itemid=8

Tracey Bryan

It’s highly disingenuous to link stage 2 of the Moggill Pocket Sub-Arterial. The Kenmore Bypass is a separate issue and the current study is NOT investigating stage 2, nor are there even any plans to consider stage 2 in the future. (Check Main Roads links on the Moggill Pocket Sub-Arterial.)

I oppose stage 2 strongly, and will join you in protesting against it, if that should become necessary in future, but I’m not going to oppose badly needed infrastructure today because of what “might” happen.

Sarah

If someone conducted a research study with a ’survey’ like that, they’d be discredited! That ’survey’ only asks questions intended to suit Flegg’s agenda - it’s blatantly biased in favour of the Bypass! Why were residents of Kenmore not surveyed? I never received that so-called survey in the mail. Kenmore is a part of the Moggil electorate…isn’t it, Mr Flegg?

Matthew

Tracey, I’m glad you asked that, because it is a point of understandable confusion. The letter by Allan Williams in the latest Westside News makes a similar point. Others can answer this better than I can (so please do!) but I want to answer your comment right away.

It is not disingenuous to urge those opposed to the Moggill Pocket Sub Arterial to oppose the Kenmore Bypass right now for a few reasons, as I understand them:

1) WBTNI is right at this moment considering among its options “option 17″, described at http://wbtni.net.au/index.php?mod=Dynamic&id=59 . This is the Moggill Pocket Sub Arterial, of which the Kenmore Bypass is the eastern end. They are collecting public comment this month just like Main Roads is, which is why on the Action Page of the website there is a call to contact WBTNI as well as Main Roads before the 26th. It seems hard to dispute that having the Bypass approved, and therefore making a big chunk of the Arterial get built, would make WBTNI a heck of a lot more likely to greenlight Option 17 and finish the job of putting a road down the rest of the corridor. So, a stitch in time saves nine– stop the Bypass now and it stops the Arterial later. I really don’t think that is scaremongering; it is preventing a classic divide-and-conquer strategy popular in politics, also known as “how to cook a frog in a frying pan”– don’t put the frog into a hot pan because it will jump out. Put the frog in a cold pan, then turn on the heat and slowly raise the temperature. The Bypass is the first stage of cooking the frog.

2) On the Main Roads site itself, at http://wbtni.net.au/index.php?mod=Dynamic&id=59, they link to another Main Roads document, http://www.mainroads.qld.gov.au/web/AttachStore.nsf/allobjects/Moggill%20Pocket%20Arterial%20Map/$file/Moggill_Pocket_Arterial_Map.pdf, which shows the entire Moggill Pocket Sub Arterial corridor as its illustration of the Kenmore Bypass work area. They could not even be bothered to make a new map! Though it is true the Main Roads disavows any consideration of the Moggill Road to Warrego Highway road, that seems to be because WBTNI, as described above, has taken that project on so there is no need for duplicate effort. In fact, Main Roads links to WBTNI for more information, and the WBTNI site clearly shows the whole Arterial as a project under current consideration.

3) Knowing what we know already about how expensive the Kenmore Bypass would be, it beggars belief to think that they want to spend all that money just to shave a few minutes off commute time for residents (if that much, when you consider that the Western Freeway is the bottleneck). By using the Bypass as the thin edge of the wedge, it becomes much easier to ram through the whole Moggill Pocket Sub Arterial, which is where the big, big money is. Because the Arterial would be an alternative to the Ipswich Motorway, developers and coal / gravel extractors would reap great benefits from the Arterial… and that means heavy trucks going down the Arterial at all hours of the night. Again, others can address this more thoroughly than I can, but having seen this bait-and-switch get pulled time and time again in other major world cities, I feel certain that this must be the larger plan.

4) Bruce Flegg himself said of the Arterial: “I think anyone who thinks this will never happen is a fool. You can never say never”. He is quoted in an article about the WBTNI plan to develop the Arterial, which Flegg opposes because it would “would run through the middle of his electorate”. You can see the whole article at http://www.news.com.au/couriermail/story/0,23739,23503113-952,00.html. Well, we agree with Dr. Flegg and we are not fools. We too think this Arterial can certainly happen. Frankly, it still baffles us why Dr. Flegg, by favouring the Bypass, urges work to be begun on the arterial route the completion of which he so justifiably fears. It is like saying: “Well, I don’t want to let the fox into the henhouse– that would be a disaster. But the henhouse door does need to be replaced, and that fox sure is eager to help out, so why not let him just replace the door?” Personally it looks to me like he is selling out one part of his electorate to satisfy another, and in the bargain putting the whole electorate at serious risk of ending up with another Ipswich Motorway right through it. I will decline to question the real motives at play here, but it just smells bad to me.

Anyway, Tracey, I hope this convinces you, or at least shows respect for your question. I am glad you want to oppose the Moggill Pocket Sub Arterial, and I will join you in that effort even if the Bypass is approved and my own battle here is lost. I just hope that in the meantime you can join me in this fight against the Bypass, as it is your best bulwark against the Arterial we both dread.

Liz

Matt, I can’t add more to what you have said. You have made some excellent points and I hope people further a field will consider them very carefully. For when the time comes, and it most certainly will, that the MRD looks at the Moggill-Pocket Arterial in its entirety, people will not have a ‘leg to stand on’!

Marie

While Tracey (Bryan) has every right to her opinion, I believe she misunderstands the whole situation if she thinks it is wrong to link stage 2 of the Moggill Pocket Sub-Arterial to the proposed Kenmore Bypass.

They are (unfortunately) linked.

For far too many years, people have been hoodwinked, either deliberately or conveniently, by state governments changing their minds and making decisions that seem the most expedient at the time.

Hindsight is always 20/20 but had the preserved corridor proposal been defeated 30 years ago, we would not be in the position we are at this very moment of having to fight against a road which is totally inappropriate for 2008 and the future.

If Stage 1 of the Kenmore Bypass is approved, it will be too late to oppose Stage 2. NOW is the time to stop both stages.

Without Stage 1 (Kenmore Bypass), the route for Stage 2 cannot happen. Look at the WBTNI options (11 and 17) and understand for yourself about Stage 2.

The Kenmore Bypass is not a ‘bypass’. It runs through the heart of a suburb. It will drop even more traffic on the Centenary Highway and it will not solve the problems on Moggill Road.

A significant number of us sit in traffic on Kenmore Road each and every week day morning - there are no problems on weekends or during the day, only in the commute to the city each morning.

Do you seriously think we don’t want a solution to commuter traffic too? However, the proposed Kenmore Bypass will not stop congestion on Moggill Road.

Perhaps it is time Main Roads and governments thought laterally. Look at countries like Japan for innovative ideas – they have a huge population but few traffic problems. Roads go up (overpasses, dual vertical highways) not out … there are fast, clean, quiet, on-time trains and traffic moves along well.

Michelle

Just a quick observation - when traveling through Kenmore, the level of opposition is clearly evident with signs everywhere.

However, this visual protest will mean nothing from the State Government’s perspective, without written submissions sent to the study team. The closing date of 16 June is approaching fast - please everyone write to express your formal opposition to the bypass which will change our community forever! kenmorebypass@mainroads.qld.gov.au

Finally, next election DON’T VOTE FOR BRUCE FLEGG … he is such a fool and has stitched up our community.

Keiran

Michelle - The problem with the next election is who else to vote for. Is there ANYTHING good to say about any of the other candidates we’ve had recently?

Julie

Kieren - Moggill is probably ripe for a good local to stand as an independant. The way I and many of my neighbours are feeling at the moment it’s pretty much “..anyone but Flegg”.

keiran

Julie- I agree and that’s fair enough. But anyone “good”, independent or not, wont start their campaign just before the election and I haven’t heard anyone throw their hat in the ring as yet. I personally won’t throw my vote away on someone who hasn’t done something to introduce themselves to the community. We’re all complaining about a lack of community consultation from Flegg, but few candidates except him have ever shown up to community meetings or done more than stand on the street corner waving a banner. I can somewhat understand the “anyone but” argument. But my personal preference is for the devil you know.

Jules

Kieren, you make some good points but at the moment I feel like I have no representation in State Parliament - he was elected to represent ALL of the views of the people of Moggill, given the huge opposition he is simply not doing his job. In our democracy our greatest power is the “vote” - and the “devil I know” wants a freeway through the heart of a community. For the conservative voters of the area maybe the Nationals can step up. I’ll be putting Flegg last on my voting card, as will my neighbors.

keiran

Jules - I agree and I do hope that we get some decent opposition out here. I’d like to be able to put a face to more than one name on the voting card but the way i figure it, if the candidates don’t put in enough effort to be known to their constituents, then there’s no way they’ll put in enough effort to represent us well. It looks like Bruce has chosen the wrong side of the fence in this debate, but he represented us well for the Goodna Bypass. Maybe he will be convinced to backflip.

Scott

Bruce Flegg is starting to think like a Politician but unfortunately he has mis-read the public sentiment in his seat. The problem for Mr Flegg is that Anna (no-Cred) Bligh and Warren (tow the Party Line) Pitt have the upper hand and are manouvering Mr Flegg into a position where he is going to look like a goose whatever the outcome. If the KB goes ahead, he’ll lose the seat, and if it doesn’t the Labor machine will point out how he was out of touch.

If he really thinks about it, Mr Flegg could come out a winner, but he may have to swallow some pride.

Scott

Julie-anne

Just got Bruce Flegg’s latest email and he seems to softening his stance ever so slightly while still maintaining his rock solid support for the bypass. Remember everyone, at the next election…PUT FLEGG LAST

Liz

http://www.parliament.qld.gov.au/view/EPetitions_qld/CurrentEPetition.aspx?PetNum=1081
Can I please bring to everyones attention the e-petition that can be found at the above website. It has a closing date of 30th September and as of today there were only 15 signatures!!!!
Please circulate ASAP.

mark defina

HIGHWAYS = FEDRAL GOV MAJOR ROADS =STATE GOV MINOR ROADS =LOCAL GOV WHO IS CONTROLLING THIS ?

Peter

I attended the first meeting held at the park beside the new proposed route. I was disgusted that our local member Bruce Flegg was not game enough to turn up! Bruce I will remember you at the next election I hope many others do the same thing. Maybe this will be bye bye to Bruce.