Request to Reinstall Coolnwynpin Creek Boardwalk

Principal Petitioner: Ngareta Cassidy  

Closing Date: 4:30pm, 9 July 2024

At 10 signatures, this petition will be considered properly made.

Petition Request: 

Coolnwynpin creek boardwalk was a little oasis with many birds feeding and living along the walk such as egrets, ducks and cormorants. Having access to this valued greenspace is a positive to the community. Many people without cars used it to get through to the shopping centre as well. There really isn't anything else like it close by and its a shame to lose it forever.

Petition Outcome:

The petition was presented by Cr Tracey Huges at the General Meeting held on Wednesday, 17 July 2024. The matter was defined as operational in nature and referred to the Chief Executive Officer for consideration.

Council investigated the petition request and provided a response to the Principal Petitioner on 9 August 2024 as follows:

Recently Council made the decision to remove the Coolnwynpin Creek Boardwalk which ran north from Moreton Bay Road along the creek and ended south of Old Cleveland Road.

Prior to its removal, engineers had undertaken an inspection of the boardwalk and determined that the structure was at the end of its useful life and areas of the boardwalk that had collapsed were not able to be repaired due to the extent of the damage. The decision was made to remove the remaining sections of boardwalk due to public safety concerns and limit the risk to users of the dilapidated structure.

There have been reports highlighting a range of unacceptable, antisocial behaviour in the area such as drug use, including the discovery of used drug paraphernalia in the area which poses a risk to the community and to council staff. In addition, there are reports of people loitering in the area, and there is a general lack of passive surveillance, leading to users not feeling safe utilising the link.

While the boardwalk undoubtedly provided some recreational opportunities for the community, it could not provide a formal connection between Moreton Bay Road and Old Cleveland Road due to a parcel of privately owned property preventing its connection at the Old Cleveland Road section and so the pathway was effectively a dead end.

Alternative pathway access is available for pedestrians in two other locations either side of the boardwalk to provide connectivity between Moreton Bay Road and Old Cleveland Road. These are via, Dan Street which directly connects at the entrance to the previous boardwalk and the pathway behind the Capalaba Central Shopping Centre along Coolnwynpin Creek which provides similar opportunities to enjoy the local creek environment and wildlife. A map of these alternative routes is included below.

Similar structures have been replaced at the end of their asset life but only where strategic considerations and operational characteristics justify replacement, examples include:

• The Brewer Street foot bridge which was replaced as there are no practical alternative route, and
• The Fairy Wren boardwalk at Runnymede Road which was replaced due to its high use especially by people with disabilities.

We understand this may not be the outcome you were hoping for, however this is Councils considered position following a though investigation of the matter. We have now concluded our review and consider the matter closed.

If you wish to pursue the matter further, you can consider lodging an Administrative Action Complaint. Further information on this process can be found on Council's website. Council is committed to effective complaints management and has

established a complaints process in line with the requirements of the Local Government Act 2009.

Council would like to thank you for your interest in the infrastructure that serves our community.