Central to their early thinking were two new pedestrian bridges over the Inner-City Bypass and its adjacent railway line, at the southern and northern ends of Victoria Park.
Those bridges would complete improved pedestrian access to the Games precinct, including the main stadium and the aquatic centre.
“You’ve got one [bridge] from the south, from Roma Street; one from the Valley; and the [existing] central one really works with Central Station, but also the rest of [the Spring Hill] community as well,” Rose said.
“Then Victoria Park’s part of the city centre.”
Rose said there was a “very sweet contour line” between Roma Street and Victoria Park. More challenging, however, was the link between Fortitude Valley station and the planned Olympic precinct.
“I rented an e-bike for the weekend, so I’ve been walking and buzzing around on a bike to take it all in, and I think that part of the city needs to change,” he said.
The Inner City Bypass separates the area where a stadium is planned from the skyscrapers of Brisbane’s CBD.Credit: William Davis
“For Brunswick Street from the Valley, there needs to be an ‘Olympic Way’ … keep the road functionality working really well, but put it all on a diet.
“Bring the speeds down, tighten up the girth, and make a really good public-realm connection from Brunswick Street up to the north end of Victoria Park at Spring Hill by the Old Museum site.
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“It needs careful management, but the great thing about the Games is it will work, and the city will adjust around it, and everybody will get used to it – that’s the opportunity.”
Rose said the loss of open space in Victoria Park from the stadium could be offset by the gains in public space along those spines.
And the Games could be just the start.
“If we look ahead at what this project is doing for Brisbane’s long-term future, you can see this whole green heart extending to the [Mayne] rail yards, and a rationalisation of those loose-fit industrial landscapes to the north of the RNA,” Rose said.
He envisaged the Olympic sites at Victoria Park and the RNA Showgrounds as a “long-term bridgehead” that would launch further urban development of Brisbane’s inner-north.
“You can see a park system extending into the future there, mixed-affordable, mixed-use, mixed-income housing – all the things this city needs to expand … with transport right there to unlock step by step,” he said.
“The city should galvanise itself around what is a phenomenal project in its own right to deliver the Games successfully, but also the opportunity it presents for the city flourishing into the future.”
Less excited by the potential opportunities was the Save Victoria Park group, which held a community meeting at Kelvin Grove State College on Monday night to update stadium opponents on its campaign.
Advertised attendees included former LNP premier Campbell Newman, former Labor council opposition leader Peter Cumming, Gabba redevelopment project manager Rob Camping, and environmental lawyer Sean Ryan.
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