Parking spaces replaced during work

One hundred motorcycle parking spaces in Brisbane’s CBD will close from next week for about seven months during casino development work and be replaced by the same number of spaces elsewhere in the city.

The North Quay riverside lane and footpath parking spaces between Tank and Ann Streets are expected to be closed from Monday (January 21, 2019) until September for a sewer line upgrade.

Alternative parking spaces

Ducati SportClassic rider Graham Witherspoon, who is Stakeholder & Communications Manager for project developers Destination Brisbane Consortium (DBC) has helped locate 100 alternative parking spaces on William Street and Queens Wharf Rd.

Unfortunately, those spaces will not remain after the sewer upgrade as Queen’s Wharf Rd and William St will become construction traffic zones as the casino project progresses.

“So for safety it’s not appropriate they are left in place,” Graham says.

About 200 spaces were originally lost when the casino project began in December 2016. They have gradually been replaced by Brisbane City Council with help from riders, the Motorcycle Riders Association of Queensland, the RACQ and MotorbikeWriter.

A council spokesperson says there are more than 1500 free motorcycle spaces in the CBD with almost 700 new spaces added in the past few years.

There are also more than 60 new low-cost motorcycle bays added in the King George Square car park since 2017.

Yet the number of spaces still fails to keep pace with need and many riders say all spaces are gone by 7am each week day.

We hope more parking spaces will become available when the casino retail sector opens in 2022 and more again when the Ritz-Carlton Brisbane is completed in 2024.

Graham says DBC is still working through the traffic management strategy, including parking.

“We are conscious of not only motorcyclists, but cyclists, taxis, buses, pedestrians and now scooters users,” he says. 

“More details will be released as we work through the detailed design.”

Parking impact

Graham says the project will be “an amazing transformation development for Brisbane”.

“As a motorcycle rider for close to 30 years, I’m conscious of how the construction of the largest civil development in Queensland impacts on the motorcycling community,” he says.

“With that in mind, DBC has been working closely with our contractor Probuild, State Government and Council to ensure motorcycle bays affected by the upgrading of the sewer line works on North Quay are replaced like-for-like.

“We have managed to secure 100 alternative safe motorcycle parks on William St (which are now in place) on the footpath adjacent Miller Park and the Commissariat Store as well as Queens Wharf Rd, which will be in place for the 21 January closure.

“You can access Queens Wharf Rd via William St and exit via Margaret St as it is now a one-way road.”

A map and construction notice is available on the DBC website under ‘Construction updates’. 

Riders can also register on the site for regular construction notice updates or for their monthly e-newsletter.

Signage advising riders of the changes have been erected and DBC staff are handing out leaflets to riders.

There will also be radio and social media campaigns about the changes.

For more information about traffic conditions and changes click here or call 13 19 40.