September 2020 INSIDE: Have your say on green bridges Brisbane Metro’s city-reshaping plans Our parks keep getting better Safeguarding our natural wonders
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Get ready to shimmy at Brisbane’s biggest party Brisbane Festival 2020 is celebrating all things local this month with its Boldly Brisbane line-up. This year, the festival comes to you, with events reaching every suburb in the river city.
A message from Lord Mayor Adrian Schrinner
• Boogie with Socially Distanced Dance Club. Public dance parties kick off at South Bank every Friday night and explore fads over the decades. • Join the party with Mama Earth and her five-piece live band on tour across Brisbane’s suburbs as part of the Street Serenades pop-up concerts.
The cogs of our local economy continue to turn thanks to a remarkable effort from the Brisbane community to support businesses, restaurants and cafes during these tough times – thank you. We’re working on delivering a better future for Brisbane residents, with major projects such as the Brisbane Metro, Kangaroo Point and Breakfast Creek Green Bridge projects driving jobs growth, stimulating our local economy and creating a lasting legacy for our city.
• Head to the inner city to see giant colourful finches created by Florentijn Hofman perching atop our iconic locations.
The second double-decker CityCat hit the water last month and community feedback is helping shape the final masterplan for the Victoria Park transformation – our biggest new park in 50 years.
Look out for more Brisbane artists popping up in your neighbourhood. For the full program, visit brisbanefestival.com.au
We’re making our city safer for wildlife, with new habitat poles and climb-outs to help animals escape busy roads and awareness signs alerting drivers to slow down. September marks the start of the Brisbane Festival promising three weeks of celebrating local art, dance, theatre and music. As spring brings warmer weather, there’s plenty of excuses to get out and explore Brisbane, from stunning new parks and lookouts, to quirky new outdoor art galleries and river hubs; there’s so much to see and do in Australia’s most liveable city. Adrian Schrinner LORD MAYOR For more information please get in touch with Council
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Anchors aweigh on a new double-decker CityCat! Make the most of the River City by feeling the wind on your face as you cruise aboard Brisbane’s new double-decker CityCat. Named Neville Bonner, in honour of Australia’s first Indigenous Member of Parliament, it’s our second double-decker CityCat. Like Yoogera, it features six dedicated wheelchair and mobility scooter areas, space for 10 bikes, as well as USB charging points with lounge and table seating options. The delivery of more doubledecker CityCats is cruising along too. The next one is already in construction and another is set to start construction in early 2021. Check our website for updates on CityCat services.
Lots to explore at Warril Parkland
We’re creating more ways to play by investing $67.1 million in suburban parks and recreation reserves. Warril Parkland, Larapinta: The recently opened parkland includes a natureplay playground with climbing fort, double flying-fox and water-play. Wally Tate Park, Runcorn: Works have started for a new unfenced dog off-leash area, four cricket practice nets and carpark. Windsor Sports and Community Park: Remediation works are underway, with the planned upgrade including a sports lawn, play area, carpark and shade trees. Thrush Street Park, Inala: Construction on a new $1 million playground begins in mid-2021. Nudgee Recreation Reserve: Works start in 2021 on sports fields, shared bike and pedestrian paths, a BMX track and new fitness equipment. Visit our website for more information on park upgrades and search for ‘Brisbane’s best playgrounds’ to enjoy these school holidays.
Neville Bonner
Booklovers flock to the digital library Council’s digital library is a hit with Brisbane booklovers, signing up more than 6000 new temporary digital memberships during coronavirus-related closures and restrictions.
• Search our library catalogue • Place and manage holds
Offering e-collections and digital resources including e-books, audiobooks, magazines, music, films and learning programs for kids, the digital library saw more than 2.5 million loans and downloads in the last financial year – 500,000 more than the previous year.
• Access digital resources, including e-audiobooks, e-books, music and movies
Brisbane Libraries also hosted 165 virtual programs during recent closures, including children’s storytime and author events, which residents can continue to enjoy online.
• Find out what’s on at Council’s 33 libraries
Temporary digital memberships are still available and give you access to the full digital collection for three months. Visit our website to sign up in time for school holidays, and see what else is happening online for kids.
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Try the new BNELibraries app
• View library opening hours
Download the app from the App Store or Google Play.
brisbane.qld.gov.au Forinformation more information get in with touch with Council 3403 8888 brisbane.qld.gov.au For more please please get in touch Council 3403 8888
Victoria Park sparks 2020 vision More than 2000 submissions on the Victoria Park Draft Vision shows people from all over Brisbane are excited about our city’s biggest new park in 50 years. The seven-month community consultation, which closed in July, revealed overwhelming support for Victoria Park to become a natural retreat and an urban park for adventure and discovery.
Have your say on green bridges We’re fast-tracking two green bridges to bring critical investment to Brisbane sooner. Consultation is now open for the draft reference design for the Kangaroo Point green bridge and concept design for the Breakfast Creek green bridge. Your feedback plays a critical role in the development of each project. Council is getting on with the job, fast-tracking our Green Bridges Program to help stimulate the local economy and create jobs as the coronavirus impacts are felt across Brisbane. The new green bridges will make it easier to get around our city on foot, by bike or public transport. To have your say, visit our website and search ‘green bridges’.
The vision proposes restoring waterholes and revegetating parts of the park with native species. There will be outdoor activities for people of all ages and abilities, as well as new cycling and walking trails for exercise, relaxation or to commute. You can still view the draft vision on our website while we prepare the final Victoria Park Vision for release later this year.
Artist impression
Adelaide Street set for Metro makeover
Keeping Brisbane beautiful
Brisbane Metro’s plans for Adelaide Street shows a transformation is on the cards, complete with a new underground tunnel entry near the North Quay end of the city.
Council is working hard to make sure our city is clean, green and looking its best.
The new tunnel will accommodate the new high-frequency Metro services, reducing the number of buses travelling at street level and improving the environment for pedestrians, businesses and retailers.
Some of the maintenance we completed last financial year includes:
The project will transform Adelaide Street into a walkable, tree-lined boulevard, weaving together retail and key public spaces with a world-class public transport experience.
• repairing more than 76,000 potholes
Work on Brisbane Metro is well underway, with the project delivering 2600 local jobs to drive Brisbane’s economic recovery forward.
• resurfacing more than 1 million square metres of road pavement
With Brisbane Metro’s turn-up-and-go services, you’ll be able to enjoy more travel options using clean and green energy, helping to future-proof our city.
• removing more than 70,000 graffiti tags • planting approximately 12,400 new street and park trees • cutting more than 60,400 hectares of grass.
Artist impression
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If you see something that needs our attention, including park and road maintenance or debris on a road, report it via our website or call our 24-hour Contact Centre.
@brisbanecitycouncil @brisbanecitycouncil
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IN BRIEF DIVE INTO THE NEW-LOOK MUSGRAVE PARK POOL Slap on your sunscreen and grab your togs – Musgrave Park Pool has reopened with a new heated 50-metre pool, a fully accessible and heated program pool, plus new accessible ramps and change room facilities. Come to cool off or ask about classes, including learn to swim lessons. Visit our website for opening hours.
IMPROVING ACCESSIBILITY AT TARRAGINDI We’ve improved accessibility at the Brisbane Visual Arts Community hub in Tarragindi, with a new passenger lift, disability parking bays and connecting paths, a wider entrance and accessible toilets. The upgrade provides safe and accessible entry to both levels, creating more opportunities for people with disability to get creative. To find out what’s on, visit bvac.org.au
Run for fun, ride for prizes Enjoy a change of scenery while getting fit on some of the best trails our subtropical city has to offer. Runners can follow new wayfinding signage on 5 km trails in four running hotspots: Bishop Street Park in Kelvin Grove, Tillack Park in Mansfield, Riverside Park in West End and between the QUT Gardens Point campus and New Farm Park. Prefer to exercise on two wheels? Visit our website for the Cycling Brisbane bikeway map and log your rides on our Love to Ride Challenge this month (lovetoride.net/brisbane) for a chance to win great prizes. Check out the ‘Things to see and do’ blog on our website to read more about Brisbane’s best running routes and bike rides.
SUPPORT FOR SENIORS GROUPS
There’s always something special to see and do in our botanic gardens and parklands.
Could your seniors group do with some help to cover the cost of activities such as social outings and Christmas parties? Applications are now open for Council’s Seniors Celebration Donations, for amounts up to $300. Visit our website for eligibility criteria and how to apply. Applications close on Monday 12 October.
Experience zen-like calm at the Japanese Gardens in the Brisbane Botanic Gardens Mt Coot-tha. Did you know we keep two native beehives at the botanic gardens? We’ve even extracted honey from them! If edible plants are more your taste, visit the Epicurious Garden at the River Quay end of South Bank Parklands. Ask a volunteer to pick something to sample.
VOTE FOR YOUR FAVOURITE PHOTO It’s time to cast your vote for the People’s Choice category of the Lord Mayor’s Photographic Awards. Get behind the photo you think best showcases Brisbane’s suburban flavour, under the 2020 theme ‘suburban life’. Head to our website and Facebook page to see the finalists and vote. Voting closes on Wednesday 30 September.
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For more information please get in touch with Council
We love to nurture our City Botanic Gardens and have planted 12,000 plants near the new Hill’s Avenue Boardwalk. We also planted 2100 plants and 77 trees at Sherwood Arboretum, ahead of its 100th birthday in 2025. For more on our gardens, visit our website.
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HELP OUT AND
BUY LOCAL
Local businesses are at the heart of our community, making our neighbourhoods great places to live, work and relax. It’s never been more important to buy local. Together, we can help Brisbane businesses get back on their feet.
Visit our website for more on how we’re showing up for our suburban businesses.
Janie Grant, Ditto Dancewear, Chermside West
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Your Views of Brisbane
Thanks to everyone who shared their amazing Views of Brisbane! Simply share your photos on Instagram using #viewsofbrisbane or join our Views of Brisbane Facebook group for your chance to be featured.
Magnificent Flying Machines, Kingsford Smith Drive
@loreleyf
Razzle Dazzle
Roots, Brisbane Botanic Gardens
Public art blossoms in Brisbane Have you seen the new public art brightening up Brisbane’s laneways, riverfront and gardens? Feel the creative vibes while wandering our vibrant city. Join a walking tour: Don’t miss the colourful shields along Fish Lane or the boldly camouflaged light boxes at King George Square with a guided tour of Razzle Dazzle, Council’s new outdoor exhibition.
@photos_by_leeny
Follow the light: Artist Kenji Uranishi’s Magnificent Flying Machines make for a surreal day or night-time experience, with 10 brightly coloured beacons along Kingsford Smith Drive, Hamilton. Find natural beauty: The Platform at Brisbane Botanic Gardens Mt Coot-tha presents Roots by artist Hiromi Tango (pictured), which has been cast in bronze using plant species from the surrounding gardens. Search ‘public art in Brisbane’ on our website to plan your adventure.
Bag a bargain and support local
@the.epicurious.traveller
Get thrifty, hone your style and make a difference in our community and environment by donating to, or shopping at, your local charity store. There’s no better time to do it than National Op Shop Week, from 28 September to 4 October. Second-hand stores help fund local community services. Council’s two tip shops, in Acacia Ridge and Geebung, are open on weekends and sell quality used, recycled and second-hand products salvaged from landfill. Both are operated by the Endeavour Foundation, which supports and provides opportunities for people with disability. Pair your op-shopping with a local bite or brew and use your buying power to support both Brisbane traders and vulnerable community members.
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SAVE THE DATE Brisbane’s biggest second-hand event, Revive Second-hand Fashion Festival is on Sunday 25 October at Brisbane Powerhouse. Visit our website for details.
For more information please get in touch with Council
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Protecting Brisbane’s natural treasures Our river city is Australia’s most biodiverse capital, which is why we’re working to protect our native plants and wildlife. New signs, known as Wildlife Awareness Monitors, have been installed near busy roads to alert drivers, and we’ve built more habitat poles, jump-outs and climb-outs to provide wildlife-friendly crossings and escape routes. We’re also on track to protect and restore 43,957 hectares of wildlife habitat, which equates to more than 6000 football stadiums. Council is also investing $1.1 million over three years to fund four Brisbanebased koala research projects to help protect Australia’s iconic marsupial. Visit our website for more on how we’re protecting, managing and enhancing Brisbane’s biodiversity.
Creatures great and small solve city problems Council is using cutting-edge natural solutions to tackle toxic weed and pests. Weeds: We’re breeding weevils at our Wacol biocontrol facility to help eradicate aquatic weeds from local waterways. We’re also exchanging these weevils for beetles from New South Wales to tackle invasive vines. Toads: A cane toad trap trial has proven new sound technology lures more toads, resulting in another way to keep Moreton Island cane toad-free. Insects: Last month, we launched a trial using native wasps to stop looper moths from damaging poinciana trees. We’re also doing more work to map Yellow Crazy Ant infestations. Rodents: This year we celebrate 100 years of using fox terrier ‘rat dogs’, trained to detect rodents. Find out more on Council’s biocontrol programs on our website.
Story Bridge is getting a makeover Brisbane’s iconic Story Bridge is set to sparkle again as it undergoes its first full restoration in almost half a century. A staggering 33,000 litres of paint will be used over the next five years, the equivalent of painting roughly 900 homes. There will also be a specialised encapsulation system designed to contain and remove emissions and waste products generated during the restoration process. We started this makeover in July and it’s another way Council is preserving some of Brisbane’s most treasured landmarks. To learn more about the 80-year-old Story Bridge and Brisbane’s historic icons, visit our website.
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Please check event details and confirm with organisers that events are still going ahead before you make plans.
FREE
FREE
FREE
BLOOMS AND TUNES
ZUMBA GOLD
Saturdays and Sundays, 1-4pm, Roma Street Parkland Listen to live blues and jazz at this garden party with hampers available from The Garden Room Café. To register, visit romastreetparkland.com.au
16 September, 8-9am, Bayside Park, Manly Learn easy-to-follow choreography that focuses on balance, range of motion and coordination. This event is suitable for seniors. brisbane.qld.gov.au
FREE
SUNSUPER NIGHT SKY Fridays and Saturdays in September, 7pm, Brisbane City See buildings across the Brisbane skyline come to life in an exquisite laser light show, as part of Brisbane Festival. brisbanefestival.com.au
FREE
KIDS’ BICYCLE TREASURE HUNT 25 September, 8-9am, Wynnum Wading Pool Park Riding your bike is way more fun when you’re seeking out treasure. Suitable for 3 years and over. To book, visit eventbrite.com.au
FREE
BUILD YOUR CAREER USING TRANSFERABLE SKILLS
TILLY BEBE: WOMEN IN JAZZ
17 September, 2pm & 5.30pm, The Capital, Brisbane City Hear from industry experts and learn how to make the most of your skill set. Suitable for 17 to 25 years. brisbane.qld.gov.au
22 September, 12 noon-1pm, City Hall, Brisbane City Enjoy classics by a quintet from Camerata – Queensland’s Chamber Orchestra. To book, visit eventbrite.com.au
FREE
FREE
CHINESE MOON FESTIVAL 26 September, 6-9pm, Chinatown Mall, Fortitude Valley Join in the cultural celebration, with family-friendly activities and roving entertainment. brisbane.qld.gov.au
CA19-1249795-08-5063 ©2020 Brisbane City Council
BRITT’S LIST SUSTAINABLE FASHION WALKING TOUR 3 October, 9.30am-12 noon, West Village, West End Discover ethical brands and learn about sustainable fashion – with a shopping discount in your pocket. brisbanefashionmonth.com.au