UQ Chancellor rejects St Lucia bridge plan

THE University of Queensland was not prepared to allow its St Lucia campus to become a major bus thoroughfare, University Chancellor Sir Llew Edwards said today.

He said the proposals presented by the Brisbane City Council for a so-called “green bridge” would destroy the amenity of one of Australia’s best University campuses.

“What the Council is proposing is not a green bridge but a major transport thoroughfare connecting southern Brisbane with the western suburbs,” Sir Llew said.

“This would cause major disturbance to the campus and there could be no guarantee that a bridge structure of the type suggested would not be used in future for cars.

“It is highly misleading to present this proposal as an answer to traffic issues at the University. Clearly the main motivation is to open up a corridor to the western suburbs. Why else would the Council be proposing a four-lane bridge 18.7 m wide leading into the already jammed Sir Fred Schonell Drive?”

Sir Llew said the University, which was built on private freehold land, had supported the idea of a genuine “green” bridge that would allow pedestrians and cyclists to access the campus from the southern suburbs.

“The University Senate is open to the concept of an appropriate bridge linking the campus with the other side of the river but has expressed it opposition to the campus being a public thoroughfare,” he said.

“The University’s St Lucia campus is a wonderful facility that has a special place in the lives of tens of thousands of people.

“It would be remiss of me to sit back and allow the Council to destroy it in this way for current and future generations.

“We have held ongoing discussions with the Council on traffic issues in the area and we will continue to do so. The plans currently on the table are not the answer.”

For further information contact UQ communications on (07) 3365 6062 or (0413)458317.