REDLAND City Council, State Members, the Opposition and the Infrastructure Association of Queensland have raised concerns over the long wait for public transport and road upgrades.
The State Government’s latest infrastructure blueprint reveals three road projects affecting the Redlands will be delayed and some bus and train projects are 10 to 20 years away.
Council’s acting chief executive officer Greg Underwood said the plan now included Cleveland railway line upgrades beyond 2019, but this was “too far off to improve current public transport problems in Cleveland”.
He said the Eastern Busway’s 2026 completion date was also too far away.
State Labor Member for Redlands John English admitted he was disappointed with the road upgrade timeframes but said the dates were “not set in concrete” and would be reviewed.
Opposition infrastructure spokeswoman Fiona Simpson said the Government had undertaken poor planning in the first place, while shadow transport minister Tim Nicholls said the Redlands had been ignored.
Infrastructure Association executive director and former Redland mayoral candidate Paul Clauson said the Eastern Busway needed to be given a higher priority.
Labor MP for Capalaba Michael Choi said he would push for the busway and other projects to be sped up. Cleveland MP Phil Weightman said he would push for the rail duplication to be brought forward.
An Infrastructure Department spokesman said projects across South East Queensland had been “re-sequenced to provide the best possible infrastructure program for the region as a whole”.