Redlands launched into a new phase of fighting for its fair share of public transport funding this week.
After years of paltry state handouts, Redland council took matters into its own hands and floated the idea of loaning the state money to carry out desperately needed road upgrades.
Critics said the loan left the council open to financial risk. Sceptics said it was an election stunt and a necessary step before more housing development. Using ratepayer money to fix state roads that should have been upgraded before 2015 also grated, especially after grandiose election vows.
The state promised $4million in 2014 for a bus station on Cleveland-Redland Bay Road and in July 2014, a road review and $2million for Mount Cotton Road. While the state dithered and encouraged more residential estates to be built while conning voters into believing it would fix congestion, the problem kept compounding.
Mayor Karen Williams claimed her loan plan was a last-ditch attempt at solving the city's crammed roads. Her idea was based on the premise that a dollar today is worth more than a dollar tomorrow – build the roads now using whatever capital we can get our hands on before it's too late.
Laughable or desperate times?
The idea was played out in UK author Ben Elton's 1980s satire Gridlock, in which the London government used the threat of traffic jams to pass its hedonistic and expensive road-building scheme instead of investing in an altruistic public transport system. The concept rings true as Redland looks to a future with two large projects, Shoreline and Toondah Harbour, but no extra roads or public transport networks in the pipeline.
If the city is going to solve its transport problems of today and into the future, it needs to be bold and spend up big. A piecemeal road widening program outside large development projects yet to be built is only half the solution. The state government has said an underground rail line will never be built here because there are not enough people to justify spending the money. So if the mayor is stumping up our money – why not go for broke and push for a light rail, train line, subway or skyrail?
The federal opposition has backed the $5billion Cross River Rail underground into the CBD. Last week, Brisbane Lord Mayoral candidate Graham Quirk promised a $1.53billion subway. But many election promises prove to be hollow and voters should remember this on March 19.
