Geraldine

This article is just another important reason why the Kenmore Bypass is a terrible waste of money and disaster for our environement that will not solve the real problems. Do we need pictures of our wildlife painted on walls on the sides of freeways because they will be extinct soon? I hope not!

Robert

Habitat destruction like this is an easy way to send fauna extinct. Have we not learned from the mistakes of the past, or is the environment only important/relevant when a politician can be seen to be doing the right thing. Premier I know what this looks like and it is anything but right.

One wonders how many other species would be effected by this development; or are those facts a little too inconvenient. Not so good for PR…

It appears that the environment is little more than something you drive over while ploughing through on your bulldozer, afterwards throwing about a few possum boxes to keep the masses quiet.

It still amazes me that the innocent creatures of the land are merely speed bumps to progress. When will we learn Premier?

Glenys

We love the birdlife at Kenmore,they are lovely to listen to in the mornings,that’s why we bought there.
Who is going to wake us up in the morning if this bypass goes ahead?-noisy vehicles,truck’s exhausts,squelling brakes,horns tooting?? I know what I would prefer!

Anon

Right at this very moment koala habitat is being pulled down in the section of the bypass between Kenmore rd & Centenary highway. I just drove past and a massive gum tree is laying on the ground and looks as if the home is set to be demolished.

I beleived that the vegetation surrounding that area was protected I hope these people have the correct paper work and aware that there area koalas in the area

Premier Bligh must move to save the koalas from extinction urbanization and removal of habitat is the major contributing factor to decreasing numbers of koalas & wildlife.

Jane

I have been emailing the BCC since the 21 Sept about the VPO’s (Vegetation Protection Ordinance) on all the areas and asking how it can be destroyed. Basically today they have responded and said the State Govt can do what they want and sometimes the BCC will try to get them to back off or remediate. Don’t understand how they can remove trees where there is a VPO (now called something else) on it.

Steve

Koalas in Kenmore found by Ric Nattrass reknowned naturalist with decades of experience from koalas, frogs, dragonflies, he is on the radio and has many publications in these fields.

Could someone please explain to me why in the prefeasability study in the flora & fauna section why there is no mention of koalas, even the remotest of possibility. Or do they already consider koalas to be extinct.

Ric has found evidence of koala markings photographically, why haven’t the people who were paid to do this put it in the preefeasability study?

The CRG manager won’t discuss on/of ramps at Kenmore rd & Gem rd. Will this be another example of something else the community should know about even before deciding on what options to put forward to the community for the Kenmore Bypass.

To me it seems this is a tick a box exercise for DMR not information that the CRG is even allowed to make an informed decision on for the benefit of the community.

DMR & government appear to want this road at any cost. It is quite apparent that they are raidroading the processes to get their end gain and dam the community that wants a fair and informed debate about something so significant and life changing in their community.

The residents of Kenmore will not go away or shut up until we feel we have been heard fairly on every side.

Personally I would like to say thankyou to Ric Nattrass for what you have done for the koalas, I am looking forward to the walk in the corridor on Sunday 2 November perhaps the people who did the prefeasability study & their associates & main roads should join so that we all fully informed on the flora & fauna in the preserved corridor.

Anon

Read your website with interest (not as an affected resident). Governments at all levels in recent years have invested heavily in the Ports of capital-cities including the Australia Trade Coast (ATC) here in Brisbane – revenues and the economy depend on them. The Federal government is particularly interested (have you read the Federal Infrastructure reports published in last few years ? The Fed isn’t too interested in domestic peak-hour commuter traffic). Any new Motorway plans needing “nation-building” Federal money would need to be sympathetic to the Federal’s national freight requirements.

Looking at a map, a new Motorway and National Freight route cutting through Belbowrie and Kenmore would provide a fast and direct route for freight traffic from the Western Ranges to the ATC, via the new Northern Tunnel Link. Freight traffic can avoid peak hour traffic (eg. driving overnight and early morning) and tolls will likely encourage this behaviour (ie waived for freight during off-peak similar to Logan Motorway). Trucks already follow this behaviour on the Centenary Highway, with hearsay evidence of a substantial increase in overnight freight traffic.

The other big thing is the State Government’s SEQ Regional Plan – which plans to accommodate much of the future population growth of Brisbane by building new cities in the south-west (around Ipswich etc). A motorway through Belbowrie and Kenmore provides convenient access to the Brisbane Ring-road system for these State-planned new Cities in the south-west.

Regarding the Centenary Highway itself, a State Government internal report considers the option of widening the Centenary Highway to a six lane motorway (this was FOI’d or leaked recently, so the softening-up process has begun – see http://www.news.com.au/couriermail/story/0,23739,24502955-3102,00.html ). This would improve the viability of infrastructure like the Northern Link Tunnel and a Belbowrie-Kenmore Motorway.

Of course this may be all long-term stuff and subject to the whims of the politicians – but don’t assume this. Look at the water-infrastructure currently being built that wasn’t planned for another 50 years – things can happen pretty fast once the initial Stages are approved and “the foot’s in the door”.

On a different note: taxes, tolls, traffic and energy prices have seen house-prices and rents skyrocket around public transport corridors. Take a look at how houseprices and rents have grown near the Busway and the Oxley/Corinda rail-line. Suburbs without public transport alternatives are already experiencing lower than average growth in house-prices when compared to these areas. Residents pushing for motorways and roads to “solve” daily commuter-traffic problems instead of public transport corridors will end up financially-poorer for the experience.

Kathy(2)

I hope Anna Bligh follows through on her now morally obliged comments regarding koala extinction. As a race, we humans are responsible for so much destruction/extinction of wildlife and green space. With a road like the Kenmore Bypass, where there are other alternatives, this PARTICULAR environmental destruction seems almost unconscionable to me.

Geraldine

Anon – 17th Oct. So that is the big picture. How do we move forward. Which sane/rational person would want to introduce another major freight route though residential areas in Brisbane. Main Roads will come out and say there won’t be significant freight on the Kenmore Bypass based on current traffic on Moggill Road. We know that will change immediately and will escalate when they bridge the Moggill Ferry and build the Moggill Pocket Arterial to the Warrego. People who want this thing really are stupid or totally self interested. What is wrong with freight using the current arrangement? The increased pollution, noise and vibration will kill what animals are left when their habitat is destroyed.
Why isn’t the Courier Mail exposing this big picture!

Kathy(2)

Totally agree Geraldine – and here goes my broken record again – it’s beyond belief how anyone could be pushing for a road they MUST realise by now is just the first stage of a horror highway – a long haul truck route through ALL our suburbs.

What gets to me is, a lot of those FOR the bypass are basing their argument on current travel time. Once the road works are complete there has to be a big improvement. Surely the government isn’t biased enough to be using travel time data from the last 18 months or so??

I also agree the Courier Mail’s ‘non’ stance on the bypass is most odd, especially considering the affect the Warrego link would have on a huge area (Karalee to Toowong and beyond). As for letters to the editor, I’ve sent a couple with no luck. I’m sure a lot of us have but in the months (and months) I only recall one short letter related to the bypass.

anon

hey kathy (2) – maybe you need to be a property developer/ supporting big business

Liz

Kathy (2) your comment is interesting as the Courier Mail has reported on a number of occassions (today as an example) about activities related to the Toowong tunnel. When I read today’s article I did think that we needed similar coverage as the Kenmore Bypass seems to have fallen off the agenda.

Pamela

I understand that yesterday’s courier mail mentioned that the new ‘smart city’ concept being heralded by the State government will be based at Pullenvale at the CSIRO site. This will have a huge impact on the local traffic…so you can probably add another 20,000 – 30,000 cars to the predicted number being talked about at present. I can’t help but see this as part of the Government’s long term plan. it also confirms what we believe – that this proposal is only stage one in the new freeway concept. I can only urge people living in the Bellbowrie, Anstead, Pullenvale and Pinjarra Hills area to really look, examine, the Governments plans. It is not only the Koala population that will be affected.
I’m still waiting for the Courier Mail to take this seriously – in fact I am going to cancel my subscription I am so disgusted in them!

Unable to specify

This Bypass through Kenmore is not simply a way to cut commuter traffic times to the city. Billions of dollars would not be spent to achieve this. It is cheaper to demolish and rebuild the schools OLR and the State School in the area near the corridor if that were the case. Rest assured it is part and parcel of a much larger scheme for an alternative freight route. The easiest way to sell the project to communities is to offer a carrot of better commuting, get the first stage through, and then it is a simple case of connecting up with existing infrastructure. There are no feelings involved, no wildlife concerns, it is policy – pure and simple. The residential development has been cancelled on Gem Rd at the top of the hill – on / off ramps anyone?
You really need to get beyond the walking the corridor type of activities – politicains from the top down to your local member will not have the slightest interest in attending such things – worthy as they are. It has to be met with equal hard headedness and stone cold logic – as this is part of a whole larger picture.