ISLANDERS TO BE ASKED TO CONTRIBUTE TO COUNCIL REDLANDS COAST TRANSPORT STUDY
Residents of the islands of Moreton Bay under the jurisdiction of Redland City Council, will be asked to ‘contribute’ to a recently completed Redlands Coast Transport Strategy.
The council has endorsed the strategy as a result of two recent decisions made at council’s general meeting.
The first decision saw Councillors endorse the Draft Redlands Coast Transport strategy for community engagement, while councillors also unanimously supported a Mayoral Minute for Council to make a submission to a State Government inquiry into the future of transport technology.
Council sees the Redlands Transport Strategy as a strategic document that will become the ‘blueprint’ to guide the direction of future transport needs throughout the Redlands, including the islands linked to RCC.
It is hoped that the strategy will assist Governments at higher levels (State and Federal) to help prioritise the delivery of major infrastructure to assist future transport growth; as well as making it sustainable and economically viable.
One of the reasons for a planned strategy has everything to do with the movement of population to their workplace.
More than 50% of people living in the Redlands need to travel to Brisbane for employment, as compared to 7% to Logan and 3% to the Gold Coast.
Unless work opportunities can be improved in the Redlands and on the islands, transport infrastructure will have to be continually assessed and upgraded.
As far as the islands are concerned, the future directions could be considerable.
Cr Mark Edwards, in a special Podcast broadcast on the ‘new’ Radio FBI (Friendly Bay Islands Radio, a subsidiary of your Friendly Bay Islander publication) outlines some future areas for discussion particularly in relation to the islands.
These include the possibility of major changes to ferry infrastructure which includes a more frequent and more affordable barge service that is faster with the possibility of subsidised fares; the result allowing more use of the barges by island residents and impacting and lessening the reliance on mainland car parking.
Those who use the ferry services would like to see more services (particularly at weekends) and better connectivity to mainland bus services.
Other suggestions include a 24 hour ferry service; and the possibility of bus services on the islands to link in with ferry services, to lessen the impact on island car parking.
Cr Edwards says failure to address some of these issues and put the strategic planning in place, could have serious implications in the years to come, particularly as the populations of the six islands continues to grow.
He said the Redlands Coast Transport Strategy is aimed to assist the State Government to assess transport needs in the Redlands.
“After all, transport is a State Government issue and will have to be addressed at a State level.
“I just hope the Redlands Coast Transport Strategy makes the job a little easier.”
Island residents will have an opportunity to contribute their thoughts re future island travel needs through a series of community engagement workshops that Council will run over the next couple of months at venues throughout the Redlands.