Hundreds back new call for Anzac Ave bridge

Calls for a pedestrian bridge to be built over Anzac Ave, by Hercules Rd State School, are back - and getting louder.

It follows news a $19 million overpass will be constructed across Elizabeth Ave for students at Clontarf Beach State High School (CBSHS).

The move surprised some, with funding fast-tracked from the Australian Road Safety Program and split 80:20 between the Federal and State Governments.

Federal Member for Petrie Luke Howarth said he preferred the money to be spent on a bridge at Hercules Rd, which has “been an issue for years”.

State Member for Redcliffe Yvette D’Ath said the “whole community” needed to be heard on the Elizabeth Ave bridge plan and would “welcome” a funding extension for broader consultation.

Liz Kerr has run a Hercules Rd bridge campaign for five years, with an initial 804-signature petition and now a second petition, on change.org, which has 570 signatures in just five days.

“I’ve tried for five years (to get an overpass at Hercules Rd). The school has been trying 20 years,” Ms Kerr said.

“The petition was tabled in parliament and denied. They said it would cost $5-8 million which was too much and there was no funding.

“I met the TMR (Transport and Main Roads) director, engineers, local police, (now State Deputy Premier) Stephen Miles and the school principal.

“Then I see funding for a bridge at a school with fewer safety issues and which would only use it three times a week for 70 students.

“I am still concerned about Hercules Rd State School not getting an overpass.”

Les Barkla, founder and co-ordinator of the Pristine Peninsula Community Group, described the Elizabeth Ave bridge proposal as an “unjustifiable mess”.

“This Clontarf overpass has not been justified as a priority project and on face value, should never have been progressed,” Mr Barkla said.

He urged Luke Howarth to “liaise” with State Member for Redcliffe Yvette D’Ath and Deputy Prime Minister Barnaby Joyce to “relocate the Federal funds to a priority project like Hercules Rd”.

Federal Member Luke Howarth said called on the State Government to act for a state school (Hercules Rd) on a state road (Anzac Ave).

“People should be visiting their state member Yvette D’Ath and demanding they direct the funding to this project,” Mr Howarth said.

“I don’t believe the Elizabeth Ave overpass project is necessary now. Is there a plan in place to extend the school on the other side of Elizabeth Ave?

“That dollar spend would then make sense then, but that was not tabled in our meeting on Friday April 1.

“The Clontarf Beach High School principal didn’t attend the meeting so I wasn’t able to ask if there were plans in place with State Education to expand the campus.”

State Member Yvette D’Ath said: “We should be listening to the whole community but we need to recognise that this was put forward as a safety issue by the school and the P&C.

“It’s not just about residents it’s also about the school community.

“I’d welcome the Federal government granting an extension so that there can be community consultation.”