Sunday, July 31, 2011

New Samford-Ferny Grove Bikeway to Follow the Old Rail Line?

As mentioned in a previous post, the State Budget this year allocated money for design of a Samford to Ferny Grove bikeway. In his latest Wilson Update and on a blog post, Sitting Member for Ferny Grove Geoff Wilson talks up the advantages of the proposed bikeway (again).

Interestingly, the accompanying photo shows Mr Wilson and Councillor Bob Millar (from the Moreton Bay Regional Council) at the end of the old rail line track, hinting that the new bikeway may follow that route and not simply follow Samford Road. No affirmative statement either way has been made, however.

After the detailed design work Mr Wilson says that the construction of the new bikeway will commence next financial year.

(It is good to see the contents of the Wilson Update appearing in a more online-friendly blog format on geoffwilsonmp.com. The character of the writing as also improved, putting Geoff in the first person and reading a lot less like media releases. I'd previously written that our politicians and political hopefuls should better leverage the internet to engage us, and it looks like they are taking their first steps.)

Saturday, July 23, 2011

Ferny Grove line closed from Michelton as Rail Duplication Works continue

As previously mentioned, the Ferny Grove train services is again being replaced with a bus service from Michelton Station outbound. The closure started last night at 7:30 pm and is scheduled to last until the last training tomorrow (Sunday July 24th). Translink has more information.

Wednesday, July 13, 2011

Samford-Ferny Grove Bike Path to Go Ahead

A story on Geoff Wilson's website (where Geoff Wilson is the sitting MP for Ferny Grove in the State Government) provides a few more pieces of information on the Samford to Ferny Grove bike path that was mentioned in post-State Budget youtube announcement.

Up to one million dollars has been allocated to the design and detailed planning of the bikeway in the budget (which means money to actually construct the bikeway still needs to be found). The story goes on to quote Wilson extolling the synergy with the Ferny Grove station upgrade, whose improved bike facilities and new shower facilities will provide more options to Samford-valley commuters.

The possibility of a bikeway to Samford will no doubt please potential cyclists, but it is a poor substitute for improving existing rail services or facing up to the long term inevitability of a railway line extension to Samford.

Wednesday, July 6, 2011

BrizCommuter: Keperra to Ferny Grove duplication - $100m fail

BrizCommuter is blog that posts news and opinions on transport issues in South East Brisbane. A recent post titled Keperra to Ferny Grove duplication - $100m fail caught my eye. How, or will, the actual train service be to Ferny Grove be improved by the track duplication or railway station upgrade? It would be easy to forget this question amidst the colourful artist's impressions that are circulating (somehow minus substantative information) since around the period of the Hills Festival.