The $62 billion plan to keep SEQ's commute under 45 minutes
South-east Queensland’s mayors want to see 47 road and rail projects across the region completed to prevent total gridlock by 2041 at a total cost of $63 billion.
The plan was announced on Thursday morning with the release of a SEQ People Mass Movement Study, investigating the impact population growth was likely to have on transport issues.
The Council of Mayors (SEQ) commissioned the study as part of exploration into a potential Olympic Games bid, but emphasised the importance of the transport plan regardless of whether that bid was successful.
The estimated cost to deliver all 47 projects from 2019 to 2041 is about $2.7 billion a year, which the Council of Mayors argued was feasible.
Designed to bring together federal, state and local plans for transport and roads into a single unified vision, the study was commissioned in 2017.
Council of Mayors (SEQ) chairman and Brisbane lord mayor Graham Quirk said a “significant shift in thinking” was required to prevent Brisbane experiencing Sydney and Melbourne’s traffic congestion woes in years to come.
Brisbane, Ipswich, Lockyer Valley, Logan, Moreton Bay, Redland, Scenic Rim, Somerset, Sunshine Coast and Toowoomba councils all participated in the study, wishing to see all urban commutes under half-an-hour and all city-to-city public transport commutes under 45 minutes.
“This total investment rate achieves the vision of 45-minute regional connectivity and 30-minute smart cities,” Cr Quirk said.
“The region has never had a shortage of plans or strategies from federal, state and local governments, but this is the first time we’ve had a consolidated view of transport in SEQ.
“Forty-seven major projects are prioritised in the SEQ People Mass Movement Study for delivery over the next 23 years.
“This includes the introduction of a faster rail network running from the Sunshine Coast to the Gold Coast via Brisbane, and to Ipswich and then Toowoomba.”
A faster rail network is required to better connect the Sunshine Coast, Brisbane, Gold Coast, Toowoomba and Ipswich, the research found, and would take pressure off the Bruce and Pacific highways.
Other key projects included in the list of future projects include Brisbane Metro, Cross River Rail, Faster Rail, and upgrades projects to the Pacific, Ipswich, Centenary, Mt Lindesay motorways and the Bruce Highway.
“The decision for the federal and state governments isn’t whether they can afford to deliver these projects, it’s whether they can afford not to,” Cr Quirk said.