The Mater Hospital Campus Ministerial Infrastructure Designation.
The Mater Hospitals MID application is open for public consultation and will close 15 December 2023
I've been in consultation with residents locally and also had meeting with the Mater hospital to inform my submission. The challenge with the Master Plan and Mater submission is that it's all indicative, however continuing on from the community consultation the Gabba Ward office conducted in 2021 I'm making my submission publicly available and urge community members to also submit.
You can submit a submission via this website.
To access the documents related to the Mater MID please click HERE. You will need to scroll down to the interactive table and select the "Requests open for consultation" tab. Then search for "MID-0722-0623 - Mater Hill" to find a list of documents.
Please note for your submissions to be consider you must complete the compulsory submitter details in full.
To whom it may concern,
Traffic
The Mater Hospital Campus Ministerial Infrastructure Designation will significantly affect Clarence Street, included in the traffic study. Crown, Heaslop, Lockhart, Cathrine, and Gloucester Streets were excluded from the study; however, current and future residents living on these streets will be negatively affected by the proposed traffic changes (Appendix I).
All scenarios that involve Clarence Street within Appendix I that will enable access to increased car parking via Clarence Street are unacceptable and inappropriate.
Clarence St is designated as a neighbourhood road; these roads are relatively free of through traffic and mainly handle local traffic. The Mater development implementing carpark access from Clarence Street will primarily negatively affect the residents in Clarence St and the surrounding streets mentioned above. This creates heavy traffic conditions, the opportunity for new rat runs, challenges for resident parking, and overall adversely affects the amenities for residents 24/7.
Further, any changes to the Annerley Road and Clarence Street intersection would need further studies and investigation on the effects of traffic inbound and outbound from Stanley Street, on surrounding separated Bike Lanes, Bus delays, peak hour traffic and Pedestrian safety.
Clarence Common
There is significant concern about the building form of buildings fronting Clarence Street.
The bulk of 4-story podiums (for six and 10-story buildings) will be double the size of existing 2-story houses, decreasing access for residents to direct sunlight and rendering the houses into shadow. There is an opportunity for the design of podiums that incorporate the sub-tropical climate of Brisbane through an open garden podium, a stepped garden terrace or an open undercroft; this will reduce the harshness of podium bulk and open the street floor and add greening.
The current calculation of the verge (4.2m - 3.75m) and 3m setback is inappropriate for the bulk and height of the building fronting onto low-density and character housing streets. There are no open spaces or greenspaces with the Clarence Common Plan.
Opportunities to enhance the streetscape on Clarence Street have been overlooked. I strongly urge the addition of multiple pocket parks or an urban common (for example, Milton Common and Bunyapa Park) or a minimum of 1 ha publicly accessible park to the Clarence Common Development Plan, which is returned to public ownership. This would be a real contribution to the local residential community, the future community, and the people Clarence Common will serve.
Including pocket parks, urban commons or a park, increased setbacks and provision for active travel (bike use and pedestrian) are needed to counter the many negative effects of the size, bulk and intrusion of the Mater Development on Clarence Street and the surrounds.
The designation of Clarence St as a critical movement corridor in Mater Development is an issue. Iterating again that Clarence St is designated as a neighbourhood road. The establishment of Clarence St as a key movement corridor will increase traffic and car usage of Clarence St for drop off and access to the Mater, an undesirable and intrusive effect for a narrow neighbourhood road and low-density local community.
Summary
The proposed development Plan presents many challenges for the current residents of Woolloongabba, from disruptions during future construction, proposed traffic plans, the bulk and scale of buildings fronting low-density residential homes and the lack of open and greenspace for public use.
Ensuring Clarence St provides no carpark access, has broad and safe pedestrian footpaths, greenspace (pocket parks, urban commons or a park) for current residents to enjoy and connect in and ensuring there isn't an increase in car traffic by creating Clarence St as one of the primary entry points in the precinct will reduce these negative impacts.
Cr Trina Massey