By Sandy Rodgers, local resident and Save Victoria Park member
Ed Haysom’s thoughtful piece about legacy in the March edition raises questions that we should consider carefully for our city. The vision for our future presumably includes liveability, safety, health, prosperity and flowing transport.
We are facing the loss of an important cultural parkland, along with increased congestion around our major hospital. Just when high rise apartment living is doubling our population, we stand to lose the essential green infrastructure higher density requires.
This overlay from Optus Stadium in Perth indicates the total area of the infrastructure required. The National Aquatic Centre involves 2 large buildings and infrastructure that even the 100 Day Review committee deemed inappropriate for the current proposed site on the Spring Hill side of the park.
The scale of the development required for the Olympic precinct currently proposed will overwhelm Victoria Park Barrambin, it will require large sections to be flattened and altered irreversibly. The surrounding roads, concourses and pathways are hard surfaces which will cover the majority of the site. Based on Optus Stadium the site will be trashed; these stadiums are not air-lifted into place.
The LNP announced it will now become a sporting and entertainment precinct. To make the loss more certain the government intends to hand the entire parkland over to GIICA with freehold tenure from June 1, so there will be no oversight and no responsibility to respect culture or heritage or the environment.
The design, governance and legal framework cannot ensure that the park’s identity as a civic landscape is strengthened, because there will no longer be a free open parkland.
The public is paying for these Olympic venues, billions of dollars ‘to benefit all of Queensland’, yet most Queenslanders will never sit inside these stadia – the main stadium will be vacant more than 300 days per year.
The benefits of 64ha of parkland to the community are there every day to provide habitat for wildlife, soil and trees to breathe in and out and soak up rain to prevent flooding, for cooling, air cleaning, exercise, mental health and wellbeing, and also for social interaction, a third place for a sense of community. Experiencing nature affects educational outcomes for young people; there are fewer behavioural problems and less emotional distress.
Architects, Planners, Engineers, Arup, the IOC and GIICA all talk up sustainability credentials and respect for culture, but they are standing beside an Olympic juggernaut to bypass laws, ethical considerations and destroy something of immense public value. If senior professionals and the bodies they run do not adhere to their stated values, and if individuals within feel disempowered to speak out, something is terribly wrong.
As a united group they could stand together and uphold their values, but instead they are suggesting that greening city streets is vitally important. This green grid idea is good, but it does not make up for the loss of our largest inner-city parkland.
Late last year the Planning Institute of Australia invited a speaker for their annual Keeble Lecture to talk about essential green infrastructure to support their idea. When asked about this Olympic proposal, they responded to the effect that New York City has never sacrificed Central Park. When asked if there are any studies supporting the human experience of green building walls and street trees vs parkland, they said not that they are aware. Greening streets is a welcome strategy for cooling and liveability all over Brisbane but its replacement value for parkland is unknown and unlikely.
There are copious studies confirming the importance of easy access to nature and the cost savings in public health and crime. The professionals are admitting that we do not have enough green infrastructure but they are not standing up against this development push.
This plan is not forward-thinking legacy, or progress, or regenerative or affordable. It is destructive and short sighted. Stadiums have a finite life span. Suncorp is lining up for a ‘major upgrade’ costing hundreds of millions of dollars, yet it is only 23 years old. If we uncouple the athletics events from the opening and closing ceremonies as they did in Paris, we have ample stadiums with upgrades to Suncorp and the Gabba recently confirmed for the Olympics. They both already have close transport. QSAC is ideal for athletics events and legacy should be provided for our athletes at our state athletics centre. Remember sustainability? Planning for an AFL and concert venue can proceed away from the Olympic deadline as required, and away from our major hospital and health precinct. There is a flat site ready at Hamilton Northshore, and an extension of the train network would be great legacy for that growth area. There are other options.
There has been an understanding for 150 years that cities need to incorporate green infrastructure to ensure a healthy environment for the people who live there. Modern studies show fascinating details about the physical exchange between a person and a tree across mere minutes of proximity, the grounding that occurs when people stand on the earth with bare feet or lie across grass… measurable physiological changes occur which contribute to health and well-being. With easy access to nature, depression is lowered by 42 per cent and asthma is reduced by 70 per cent. This reduces costs to the public health system, which is why other cities around the world are increasing and improving their green infrastructure.
Greening transport corridors does not make up for the loss of a natural landscape with ancient trees, soil, biodiversity, natural springs and waterways. This park provides an opportunity for community health, embracing our city’s history and unique cultural and eco tourism in the heart of our city. Victoria Park Barrambin is priceless legacy.
