Redland City Council has revealed the detailed plans of the long-planned Macleay Island new car park.
Tenders will soon be called for the construction of the $6 million foreshore project.
A period of consultation where the community was permitted to have their say, has now expired,
The plans for the project have had several adjustments along the way.
The design of the car park was heavily influenced by the power cable that literally divides the old from the new. At one stage the cost of a possible relocation of the cable, almost saw the project halted.
The cost of moving the cable was set at nearly $17 million by Origin energy.
It was then decided to incorporate the cable location into the design and for it to divide the ‘old’ and the ‘new’.
It was also decided to place the new boat ramp alongside the protected cable area for more efficient use of space, which will now mean there will now be three boat ramps within the car park precinct.
The design sees major reshape of the existing car park.
It will now include a roundabout and a pedestrian crossing in the area now used for the parking of boat trailers.
The area marked in red crossed lines is to be cleared for the construction right down to the high water mark. It is in this area that asbestos capping will take place with new car park to cover the entire capped area.
Cr Mark Edwards, who has been pushing hard for this $6 million project, says he believes the final outcome of car spaces could be more, if the line markings are reviewed when the site has been reclaimed.
The existing car park will be changed to have 77 car spaces, which includes emergency vehicles and disabled, room for 2 buses, 8 motorbike parking spots and racks for 40 push bikes.
The new car park will have 132 car spaces but of those spaces some will be boat and trailer which will take out two car spaces for each one.
The boat parking can be regulated to make more available on the weekends and less during the week. If 10 bays were allocated to boats then there would be 112 car spaces.
That means all up there will be 189 car spaces, 10 boat and trailer spaces, 8 motor bike spaces, 2 bus areas, and 40 push bike spaces.
The councillor said: “I know Council officers are keen to maximise the utilisation of this area for parking. Car parks throughout the Redlands are subject to review and layout and I am sure that once we have a physical landmass to walk over, this will be no different."
From the released designs of the project, a new road exiting the new car park will connect up to start of High Central Road.
It will mean there will be two lane access to both the new and the old car park.
There will also be an access track to the car park that was recently extended just below the Macleay Island shopping precinct.
Whilst not shown in the design, it is believed a feature of the new car park will be an access beach along the water front, providing an attractive feature and use by residents and visitors.
Once the tender is awarded, the winning contractor will need some time to set up the logistics which include placement of machinery and supplies on site.
Cr Edwards said: “Expect some disruption during this time. Remember, it is the outcome that is important.
“The project has several parts, one of which is to reconfigure the existing foreshore car park to make it safer, especially for pedestrians.”
During construction, council has arranged to improve the area next to LJ Hooker Macleay Island for use for temporary and improved car parking, with cooperation from the owner.
Cr. Edwards, said this major project ‘won’t be the end of the focus on car parking’. “This is not the final solution to ferry car parking as we continue to have an ever increasing island population.
“Councillors, all of us, continue to look at transport and parking needs throughout the City, and the Southern Moreton Bay Islands feature strongly in those discussions.”
