St Lucia Bikeway stage two

In November 2008, Brisbane City Council presented three initial design options for St Lucia bikeway stage two, between Tarcoola Street and Sir William Macgregor Drive, for community consultation.

The St Lucia stage two bikeway project is part of the Lord Mayor's $100 million commitment to new bikeway infrastructure over the next four years.

Project background
Stage one
Stage one of the project involved construction of an off-road pathway from the existing bikeway that ends in Carawa Street through to The Esplanade via Hillside Terrace.  This stage has been completed.

Stage two
Stage two of the project will involve forming a link along The Esplanade between Tarcoola Street and Sir William Macgregor Drive, within the University of Queensland.

Stage two will provide the final link in the shared bicycle/pedestrian pathway between Indooroopilly railway station and the university.

Project features
The three initial design options for stage two of St Lucia bikeway included:

Option A:
Provision of an on-road Bicycle Awareness Zone between Tarcoola Street and Sir William Macgregor Drive.  A dedicated bicycle lane cannot be provided due to the limited road width through this area.

Option B:
Provision of a shared off-road bicycle and pedestrian path along The Esplanade and Upland Road in addition to the Bicycle Awareness Zone between Tarcoola Street and Sir William Macgregor Drive.  This path would be constructed along the existing contours of The Esplanade and would have some steep grades.

Option C:
Provision of a shared off-road bicycle and pedestrian path along The Esplanade and Upland Road in addition to the Bicycle Awareness Zone between Tarcoola Street and Sir William Macgregor Drive.  This path would be constructed to meet equitable access standards and as such would involve extensive excavation, tree removal and large retaining structures to create pathways with a maximum grade of 1:14.

Consultation phase one - outcomes
Community consultation determined majority community support for option B with 56 percent of respondents in favour of this option.
Option A was supported by four percent of respondents and option C received 28 percent support. 12 percent of respondents suggested alternative bikeway options.

An alternative option to make The Esplanade one-way to vehicular traffic with on-road facilities available for cyclists and pedestrians was suggested by several community members.  Council believes option B and the alternative one-way option will both provide a safe and reliable bicycle connection to the university.

Consultation phase two
Council will now undertake community consultation to determine the level of community support for the options below.
Two-way road option (as per option B)
This option would involve:

  • a shared off-road bicycle and pedestrian path along The Esplanade and Upland Road to separate cyclists from vehicular traffic
  • a Bicycle Awareness Zone between Tarcoola Street and Sir William Macgregor Drive
  • a pathway along existing contours of The Esplanade, with some steep grades
  • some tree removal however where possible, path to be located away from established trees

One-way road option
This option would involve:

  • making The Esplanade one-way between Boomerang Road East and Tarcoola Street, with traffic flowing in a west-bound direction (away from the university)
  • a separate path designated for two-way cyclist and pedestrian movements
    intersection treatments (including minor road modifications and signage) implemented at the intersection of Highland and Hillside Terraces
  • formalised on-street parking along this section of The Esplanade
  • less vegetation removal than the two-way option

Public consultation
You can view the design options at the Walter Taylor Ward Office, Shop 4001a, Level 4 Indooroopilly Shopping Centre.

A public consultation session will be held at the Uniting Church Hall, 7 Hawken Drive St Lucia (opposite Ironside State School) on Saturday, 10 October 2009 between 2pm and 4pm. 

Attendees will be able to view the plans, discuss the design options in more detail with project representatives and provide feedback for consideration during this consultation phase.

Project timeframe
Feedback is requested by 30 October2009.  Council are expecting to have detailed design for the bikeway link completed in the following months with construction to commence in early 2010.

Have your say
To provide feedback on the bicycle link, you can:

  • phone Council on (07) 3403 8888
  • fax Council on (07) 3391 0584
  • email the project team (link to communityfeedback@bigpond.com)
  • write to:
    St Lucia Bikeway stage two project
    Brisbane City Council
    GPO Box 1434
    Brisbane Qld 4001
Print