Woonerf needed in the Gabba

The Greens would try to introduce the Dutch concept of woonerf to some Brisbane streets if their candidates are elected in the Brisbane City Council elections next March.

Greens candidate for The Gabba said he believed the practice, common in Europe and North America, prioritised pedestrians over cars in certain streets and structured those streets accordingly.

Mr Hutton said he believed the concept could be used in suburbs like West End and East Brisbane where rat running was a constant and growing problem.  He said it would go some way toward compensating for the decreasing amount of open space and parkland available in inner city areas where Council and developers were intent on having more intensive residential development.

“This concept, which goes well beyond current traffic calming practices, would be used in tertiary streets which were not primary thoroughfares and where residents indicated they were keen to adopt it,” Mr Hutton said.

“It would involve removing much or all of the bitumen and channeling, allowing water absorption into the ground to help with tree growth and even harvesting some of this water for other uses.  Car paths would be made of recycled concrete, car speeds would be set at 10 kms/hr and pedestrians would have priority.

“Our kids would be safer and the community would have more open and communal areas close to where they live.

Mr Hutton is encouraging residents of The Gabba ward to contact him on his web site to indicate if they support the plan so that the Council can be lobbied for such a policy. 

Contact:  Drew Hutton 38462409    0428 487 110