In this photo, the Goodwill Bridge is the closer of the two.This morning I read on the Brisbane Times website that they are building another, pedestrian-only bridge:
The city's second pedestrian-only bridge will link the city centre to the South Bank arts precinct.
Premier Anna Bligh said the city's first pedestrian bridge, the Goodwill Bridge, was used by 53,000 people every week.
"The Tank Street (Bridge) is the next part of a walking network to make Brisbane the most pedestrian-friendly city in Australia," Ms Bligh told reporters in Brisbane yesterday.
"We're going under ground and over water to make Brisbane a better city."
What? I have nothing against pedestrian-only bridges. I think they're a fantastic idea. But splashing out $63 million on a bridge in a spot where there already exist two others only a 10 minute walk apart? I wouldn't be so against the idea if there weren't so many other places in Brisbane that could be brought closer together by a bridge across the river. Suburbs that are currently a half-hour drive apart but only a stone's throw across the river could be linked by pedestrian bridges- Gam and I have seen how it works; whereas we'd previously only visited Woolloongabba, Annerley and Dutton Park only once in several years of living in Brisbane, now we regularly make walks across the Eleanor Schonell bridge for exercise, shopping and restaurants in the area. Why not do the same for other suburbs rather than wasting that money on a third bridge with pedestrian access in the city?
Gah.
Build a bridge... where it's needed.
2 comments:
Sigh. Money well spent then. Wouldn't it be cheaper to put in a moving sidewalk / people tubes between the bridges rather than another bridge?
The bridge isn't actually such a bad idea when you consider the Roma St Parklands bikeway and that it links up to the section of bikeway coming over the ICB.
It's going to make it easier to get from the Northside to West End without having to deal with the Victoria Bridge (where bikes have to jostle with either pedestrians or cars) or the William Jolly Bridge (which is rubbish for cyclists because it doesn't link up to the Bicentennial Bikeway).
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