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More sustainable transport solution needed in St Lucia
UQ does not have an access network compatible with its size as the second largest generator of trips in Brisbane. Approach roads are Sir Fred Schonell Drive, Carmody Road and Hawken Drive and most people have to travel to the CBD and then through the inner western suburbs to access UQ.				On an average day in 2002 40,000 UQ trips were made by car and 12,800 by bus- together 78%. The road system can't cope with this pressure. And parking at UQ can't meet demand with approx. 20% spillover into off-campus spaces. St Lucia peninsula is affected. Urgent solution needed!

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The best solution is to build a bridge linking Dutton Park to St Lucia, the "Green Bridge" Accessible, clean and green city "Green Bridge" because by banning cars and encouraging walking, cycling and public transport use, the bridge will meet the community's desire for an accessible, clean and green city. Use of public transport will increase 25% of all UQ trips are already on public transport. Staff and students have already shown they're prepared to use public transport. So... the Green Bridge will increase public transport patronage. Less traffic in St Lucia This will reduce car and bus volumes along Coronation Drive and the St Lucia road network. 76 less buses projected for Sir Fred Schonell and 76 less for Gailey road. 242 more buses planned for the Green Bridge. So... the impacts of UQ access on St Lucia (traffic and parking) and on the rest of the city (traffic) will be reduced. Less parking around UQ Parking pressure will be reduced on St Lucia local streets around UQ and also at Dutton Park. Free up "green" access from south and east The Green Bridge will provide faster bus, pedestrian and cycle access from the south and east. A major pedestrian and cycle spine can be created between the Goodwill Bridge and the Green Bridge Link along Annerley Road. Think City Wide! The Buranda Busway and train stations to the Princess Alexandra Hospital, the Boggo Road Gaol redevelopment and the South East Busway... Green Bridge interlinking of these hard-to-get-to, yet popular local areas, will help keep the city moving well into the future. ...The Green Bridge Project Team   Find out more

Three possible river crossing locations were investigated in the vicinity of UQ, Dutton Park, Boundary Street, West End and Cansdale Street, Yeronga. The Dutton Park crossing was judged to offer the best level of connectivity with the southern and eastern rail, bus, pedestrian and cycle networks. Two bridge alignments are possible within Dutton Park. From the eastern embankment of the football field along the cemetery boundary (‘cemetery option’). From the knoll adjacent to the ferry stop (‘ferry option’). Preferred.
In peak periods, buses usually carry many more passengers in one direction. This is the case for UQ services. For example, morning buses are highly loaded from Toowong to UQ, but experience low loads running from UQ to Toowong. For this reason, the operating strategy does not include Green Bridge Link buses running through the UQ campus and St Lucia to Toowong or Indooroopilly. Rather, the preference is for passengers wanting to make a trip from the south or east to the inner west to join existing services that run with low loadings in the morning peak from UQ to Toowong or Indooroopilly.
A number of options for the bridge type were considered including beam, arch, suspension, cantilever box girder and cable stay. The cantilever box girder and cable stay type bridges were recommended for detailed assessment. A cantilever box girder bridge on the Crossing 2 (ferry) alignment would have five spans of lengths 40m, 60m, 120m, 60m and 42m for a total length of 322m. Construction is expected to be relatively straightforward as this type has been built in Brisbane before (2 years). It would look very similar to both the Victoria and Captain Cook Bridges. A cable stay bridge on the Crossing 2 (ferry) alignment would have three spans of lengths 40m, 130m and 130m for a total length of 300m. The technique for constructing the cable stay bridge is similar and there is some Australian experience gained during construction of the Anzac Bridge in Sydney (2 years). Photo at top.