Kicking up a stink
If you were wondering how the city’s sewage system was coping with the surge in population density resulting from council approval of thousands of apartments in the neighbourhood then the short answer is that it isn’t.
According to Urban Utilities, which falls under the umbrella of the Brisbane City Council and several smaller councils, it is “investigating solutions to reduce wet weather overflows and capacity constraints experienced in our wastewater network around Brisbane’s inner-city suburbs.”
“During heavy rain, stormwater can overwhelm the S1 network, increasing the risk of wet weather overflows and odour impacts in local communities,” it warns.
Urban Utilities recently warned people to avoid contact with the Brisbane River between Bulimba and Colmslie following a “waste water release”, which can include sewage.
“If you have any concerns about your health after coming in contact with the water get in touch with your doctor or call 13 HEALTH (13432584),” it advised.
The solution is to put in another sewer line which will involve drilling a tunnel between Albion and Hamilton probably through Hamilton Hill beneath some of the most expensive real estate in the city.
The system is now at near capacity with construction of the tunnel not due to start until 2028 at the earliest. The cost will be enormous and borne by ratepayers.
You might have thought that ensuring the viability of essential infrastructure before rubber stamping every high-rise development application lodged might have been the preferred path but apparently not.
$90 million debt “housekeeping”
Eyebrows have been raised with the news that a company associated with the development of the Teneriffe Banks site in Skyring Terrace has entered into administration with debts of $90 million.
The company, formerly known as Kokoda Property Group Pty Ltd, was renamed Riverd Pty Ltd with Kokoda founder Mark Stevens saying the company was only used as a funding vehicle and that its entry into administration was “housekeeping.”
Should the proposed development fail to proceed for whatever reason it would present Premier Crisafulli and his deputy Jarrod Bleijie with a golden opportunity to assuage to some degree the loss of a large slice of Victoria Park by purchasing the site and creating a riverfront public park handily adjacent to bus and CityCat terminals and the neighbourhoods’ bars and restaurants while taking some of the pressure off New Farm Park.
Traffic chaos
If any further proof was needed of the fragility of the New Farm-Teneriffe-Newstead road network it was provided by last month’s James Street food festival with that thoroughfare closed for the event.
The result was traffic chaos throughout the peninsula with the entire neighbourhood gridlocked, your correspondent taking 30 minutes to progress 400m along Skyring Terrace.
Traffic planners tell us that all is well. It’s not. They tell us inner city residents don’t use their cars. They do. The authorities are looking the other way while congestion worsens by the week.
On that note, I challenge the council to do a count of the number of people crossing Skyring Terrace opposite the Liv-Anura building. It’s pedestrian Russian roulette with people frustrated at the endless stream of traffic dashing between moving cars. It’s a tragedy waiting to happen.
Hold my beer
On a happier and frothier note the Rotary Club of Hamilton is holding a Craft Beer Festival on the lawns of St Augustine’s Anglican Church at 56 Racecourse Road between 11am-4.30pm on August 22.
Partial as I am to the odd libation I will unable to attend as I will be enjoying a European vacation, sipping a glass or two of vin ordinaire in between searching for a suitable location in which to hide while my beloved city is hosting the 2032 Olympics, 17,000 km being a safe enough distance to place between me and the chaos that will undoubtedly ensue.
