 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
|
 |
 |
|
 |
|
|
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|||||
              |
|
At Last A Public Transport BridgeAuthor: Peter SpearrittDate: 24 August 2006
The official name of Brisbane's newest bridge will soon be announced. Known since its conception as The Green Bridge, Peter Spearritt argues that it should keep this name. As the first public transport bridge in Australia in almost a century, The Green Bridge could mark a symbolic turning point in the planning of our cities. Some people still can't get their head around the idea that you will soon be able to walk from Woolloongabba to St.Lucia over the Brisbane River. Finally a bridge first mooted decades ago is about to open. The leafy grounds of the University of Queensland will be within immediate reach of the Gabba. While some residents of Dutton Park and Fairfield/Yeronga initially opposed the bridge, few do now. We've all watched the building of this elegant suspension bridge, now joined in the middle. Regrettably the charming cross-river ferry will go, but staff, students, cyclists and walkers will no longer be hampered by the restricted ferry hours at night and on the weekend. This is an historic link, the first public transport bridge built in Australia since the early 1900s. Before the advent of the car, rail bridges sometimes provided for pedestrians and cyclists as well. The last rail bridge in Australia to do that was the Sydney Harbour Bridge (1932), which had trams, trains, a pedestrian pathway, cycle path and a wide roadway for vehicles. With the coming of the car all new bridges were either rail only or combined public transport with motor vehicles. Most bridges, including the Story Bridge (1940) still catered for pedestrians and cyclists, but motor vehicles were the focus. By the 1970s, when American transportation engineers ruled the roost, car only bridges and freeways appeared. Neither the Captain Cook Bridge (1972) nor the Gateway (1986) made any provision at all for pedestrians, an indication of just how powerful the motoring lobby had become. Pedestrians and cyclists were second-class citizens, and rail and bus passengers were thought of as people who couldn't drive or just as bad, couldn't afford a car. The motoring lobby didn't want to know about the 30 per cent of the population who can't drive, including children and adults without a licence. Every mainland capital prided itself on having a car plant. It was an era of expensive cars but cheap petrol. Car ownership became central to the Australian dream of driving everywhere. The closure of GMH's Acacia Ridge plant and the rise of imported cars robbed the motoring industry of any sense of locality. And the motoring industry had only belatedly reacted to pollution and the oil crisis. Until recently Brisbane has had a shameful public transport history, after a strong start with the extensive rail and tram network created in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The closure of the Southport-Coolangatta railway in 1962, the abolition of the trams in 1969, and the destruction of the north side of the river with the Riverside Expressway are all low points in the history of this city as a liveable place. The brave decision not to turn the Green Bridge into a roadway for private vehicles, which would have cut the UQ campus in half, should be applauded. It has also saved suburbs that are already overrun with traffic - from the Gabba to St.Lucia - from even more traffic. The belated turn around of the last fifteen years - especially the growing busway system - is clearly paying dividends. Bus travel has increased by 50 per cent over that period and Translink, when finally operational, will enable us to move from train to bus to ferry with the flick of a card. This has been a pleasing example of collaboration between the Brisbane City Council and the State Government. The Goodwill Bridge (2001) has shown that pedestrian and cycle bridges are both popular and help civilize the landscape, and there will shortly be another pedestrian link between the new Art Gallery/Library and the city centre. And now Australia has its first public transport bridge in almost a century. Its symbolic power should not be underestimated. Thousands of people a day will soon be walking, cycling or riding in gas-powered buses on a structure which can be fairly named 'Green'. The combined rail and bus link that the Bridge offers to the southern and eastern suburbs will draw many takers. Finally you will be able to get from the southern bayside suburbs to UQ on public transport without going through the city and Corro Drive. Public transport trip times will be halved. People needing to travel to the Mater or PA hospitals or even the Gabba will end up with much more frequent bus services. Let's call the Bridge what it is: Green. None of the suggested historical surnames have sufficient resonance for both sides of the river. The Maynes, Hawkens and Schonells were habitués of St.Lucia and surrounds. Naming the bridge 'Harmony' would be an insult to the rich working class history of Woolloongabba. Naming it 'University' allocates too much ownership to one side of the river. The Green Bridge started under that name, with bi-partisan support within the Brisbane City Council, and it should keep that name. In the long run it is the best way of keeping it green, because you can never trust die-hard motorists who regard every public thoroughfare as their right of way. Peter Spearritt is revising his biography of the Sydney Harbour Bridge for its 75th anniversary in March 2007. I have a comment on this issue
|
|
© The Brisbane Institute 1999-2006 To subscribe or unsubscribe from our mailing lists, please visit www.brisinst.org.au/list This page: http://www.brisinst.org.au/resources/spearritt_peter_greenbridge.html |
 |
