Some not happy with Moreton Bay Regional Council

I saw an article in the Courier Mail about residents of Moreton Bay Regional Council in the 'Hills District' (including Ferny Hills, Arana Hills, Everton Hills and Bunya)  wanting to leave Moreton Bay and join Brisbane City Council. Chief grievances cited by the Ratepayer's Action Group (RAG) include higher rates and low infrastructure investment in the Hills area.

The Ratepayer's Action Group is hosting a public forum to gauge community support on Sunday October 30th at the Community Centre on Dawson Parade commencing at 2pm.

Having just moved not too far from Ferny Grove (in Brisbane City Council) to Ferny Hills (in Moreton Bay Regional Council) it will be interesting to see how the two councils really compare.

On a side note, the Ratepayer of Moreton Bay website (home of the Ratepayer Action Group) looks to be interesting site for the civic minded in the Moreton Bay Council area, especially in the lead up to the local government elections.

UPDATE: This topic was also covered on ABC Radio's breakfast show, which you can listen to online.

Local Dog Park Roundup

I recently came across a new Ferny Hills Dog Park Facebook page. I occasionally see streams of invective from dog parks users on Twitter regarding the parks and the owners of other dogs so if you are regular user of these facilities (or rather, your dog is) it might be worthwhile to reach out to other dog owners to talk about your issues instead of shouting them into the internet ether.

If you are looking for a local dog park the list below might help:

• Thomsett Park on Olakuna Cres Ferny Hills
• Arbor Street Park on Tramway St Ferny Grove
• William Scott Park on View Cres & Bunya Rd Arana Hills
• Sylvia Gibbs Park on Nyora St Everton Hills
• Wittonga Park on Alutha Rd The Gap

I found this list on doggo.com.au which unfortunately does not facilitate direct links to search results. If you need more information that site allows you to search by suburb and nicely summarises the facilities available. 

Update

It has been a quiet month in and around Ferny Grove and Ferny Hills (or so it seems to me). Last week State MP Geoff Wilson released is his Wilson Update for August, which seemed to confirm the idea that nothing terribly exciting was going on.

On the other hand I have had a very busy month in my personal life (including buying my first house - in Ferny Hills!) If you know of anything interesting going on in our area that you would like me to publicise, feel free to send me an email or leave a comment.

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.)

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.

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.

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.