Bikeway dismount hours amended to allow evening commute

The Sono Lumo lights festival at Star Casino is causing an issue for bike and scooter riders who use the Bicentennial Bikeway. The event organisers had required that riders must dismount from 4-11pm to travel through the Festival area at Queen’s Wharf.

Bicycle Queensland CEO Alton Twine said: “It is unacceptable to require bike riders to dismount on their commute home on Brisbane’s busiest bikeway. The timing applied to date is simply too restrictive. We’ve heard from plenty of members who are having to find other routes to bypass this event.”

There has been also significant protest about this blockage from Brisbane CBD BUG and Space4Cycling.

BQ had earlier spoken to Destination Brisbane Consortium before the festival began, and had offered a solution that would enable commuters to continue to ride through the space (Queen’s Wharf Plaza) which bisects the Bicentennial Bikeway at the new casino, until the end of the evening peak. 

Today BQ spoke with organisers of the event and let them know of the concerns of the cycling community, asking for a push-back on the timing that will at least allow for the evening commute to occur without interruption. Star Casino have agreed to not enforce the dismount until it is necessary for safety reasons, and have asked all bike riders to please ride slowly through the event zone. BQ’s understanding is that the requirement to dismount will now be after the evening peak. We remain concerned about this situation and will continue to monitor it until we have an outcome that allows people using this space for active transport to do so safely and conveniently. 

At the heart of the issue is the poor design choices made in this area when part of this transport corridor was surrendered to become part of this precinct. The State could have kept the bikeway separate to the multi-use area, but have compromised both the integrity of the corridor and the safety of all users by choosing not to. When an event like Sono Lumo comes along, this failure becomes all too evident.

BQ has also raised with Destination Brisbane Consortium our concern over the rumble strips placed on the bikeway near Queens Wharf Plaza without consultation with any bike groups. We believe that these strips are unnecessary, and a safety concern especially for e-scooter riders.  This is an on-going concern and we have no news to report on that matter.

It is clear that Queens Wharf Plaza must have an uninterrupted path for bike riders that can be ridden safely and conveniently 24 hours a day, seven days a week, 365 days a year. It is part of the Bicentennial Bikeway, the most popular bike route into Brisbane’s CBD.