Congratulations to Corinda resident Noel Steadfast on being awarded Brisbane City Council’s Green Heart City Smart Award for 2022 on Australia Day. A founding member of the Benarrawa Bushcare Group, Noel has worked tirelessly for almost 30 years caring for bushland in Corinda and as coordinator of the Oxley Creek Creekcare group. He is an extraordinary volunteer and unsung hero in our local community. Well done Noel and Helen — so very well deserved!

The fabulous Sherwood Runners celebrated their 40th anniversary on Saturday with a huge turnout at the Sherwood Arboretum including local residents of all ages, Para-Olympians, Olympians and founding members all put through their paces. The best time on the day was 6km in just 19mins. A big thank you to all the volunteers who work behind the scenes including Brian (one of the founding members, pictured), Steve, Peter and many more who keep the group going strong. Runners of all ages and abilities are welcome to try the 2km, 4km and 6km course through Sherwood starting every Saturday at 7am from the Arboretum.

Regards, Nicole.

Ps...Council’s school parking enforcement team will be issuing fines around Corinda SHS in Term 1. Qld Police are also actively patrolling. The area around Lynne Grove and Gray Aves is a hotspot for poor driver behaviour. Be warned if you block the road, park illegally or do unauthorised u-turns you are putting students’ lives at risk and may be fined.

Council has released the approved precinct plan for Graceville Riverside Parklands. You can review the plan here.

The good news is the Oxley Creek Transformation team has taken on board community feedback and made changes to reduce carparks and reserve more greenspace.

The plan includes:

• new watercraft facilities
• new pontoon and boat ramp
• upgraded playground, picnic area and pathways
• additional tree planting
• decorative lighting

No funding has been allocated yet, but hopefully initial funding will be made available in the 2022-23 Budget in June. Council is providing $5m a year for the overall Oxley Creek Transformation Project with the current focus on the Archerfield Wetlands project. The upgraded facility looks like it will greatly improve activities for the Sea Scouts, Sailability and the Brisbane Canoe Club as well as the general recreational environment for our community.

Yeronga
The new half basketball court on the edge of Hyde Rd Park near South’s Cricket is nearing completion and the new outdoor gym near the Yeronga Memorial Park basketball court is scheduled to be installed in April.

Sherwood Arboretum
Council will shortly undertake a range of upgrade projects in the Sherwood Arboretum, including new footpaths. Other components of the project include new playground shade sails, a sandstone seating wall, new picnic tables and revegetation works along the lake edges. Work is due to commence in the next few months and be completed this calendar year. 

Fairfield Dog Park
Plans have also been finalised for the upgrade of the Fairfield dog park and include a new small puppy park, turfing, new shelter, fencing repairs, additional lighting and more. Works are due to commence in mid-2022.

Chelmer Playground Survey
There are currently two children’s playgrounds in Chelmer at Taylor Bridge Reserve and Gordon Thomson Park scheduled for upgrades on Council’s capital works list. Both playgrounds are very old and, whilst still functional, could be greatly improved for local families. In the new financial year, I am planning to use some of the Tennyson Suburban Enhancement Funds, funding allocated to upgrade footpaths, parks and playgrounds locally, to undertake an upgrade of one of the two playgrounds as funding permits. The other will remain listed for upgrade in a future Council Budget. Typically, a new small children’s playground costs around $140,000.

I am seeking feedback from Chelmer residents on which playground location is considered the priority for local families. You can complete the survey here.

After the success of community street tree planting days in Yeronga and Fairfield in recent years, it is Annerley’ s turn. The Annerley Community Planting Day will be held on Saturday, 21 May with 140 new street trees to be planted in 14 streets between Villa St and Denham St, Annerley. This will add to the 600 new street trees already planted in Annerley in recent weeks.

The event will be followed by a BBQ and free tree giveaways. All are welcome to take part in this great family activity which directly helps our local environment by providing habitat for native wildlife, reducing the urban heat effect and beautifying streets.

Commencing Monday, 18 April 2022, Council will be conducting a Kerbside Large Item Collection Service for Tennyson Ward residents in Annerley, Fairfield, Tennyson,  Yeronga and Yeerongpilly.

Items can be left on the kerbside one day prior to the collection commencement date.

Please ensure the following guidelines are observed when placing items on the kerbside for collection:

• the piles are tidy so the footpath and/or roadway is kept clear;
• piles are no larger than two cubic metres (equal to a small box trailer load);
• doors must be removed from refrigerators and cupboards;
• no sharp or dangerous objects;
• secure items if severe weather is expected; and
• items must be able to be easily and safely lifted by two people.

Council will not collect unacceptable items placed on the kerb and illegal dumping fines may apply if unacceptable material is not removed. Unacceptable items include the following:

• vegetation, dirt, stone, bricks, potted plants;
• construction waste;
• asbestos;
• car parts and tyres;
• general household waste;
• liquids and hazardous waste (paint, chemicals);
• gas bottles; and
• glass and mirrors.

Kerbside collection for residents in Chelmer, Corinda, Graceville, Oxley and Sherwood commences in the week starting Monday 15 August.

For many decades young people from our district played junior cricket at Gordon Thomson Park, Chelmer. About seven years ago, Council closed the field for safety reasons and it has sat idle since. As an old tip site, the oval has many lumps and bumps and the undulating surface and damaged cricket wicket is a risk to players. As a result, a really useful local playing field is being neglected and families are missing out on local sport and recreational opportunities. To date, Council has ignored requests to undertake a remediation project to rehabilitate and resurface the oval and establish a safe, contamination free, playing surface. The aim is to reopen to the field for local families to enjoy sport and recreation closer to home not create a major sporting facility. Council officers have undertaken all the detailed planning work and fully costed the project but the project remains unfunded on Council’s capital works list and needs to be urgently undertaken to improve local park and junior sport facilities.

Sign the ePetition  calling on Council to urgently fund or seek grant funding from the Federal Government to undertake a remediation project to rehabilitate and resurface the oval at Gordon Thomson Park, Chelmer to establish a safe, contamination free, playing surface. The aim is to reopen to the field for local families and junior sport to enjoy sport and recreational opportunities closer to home.

Brisbane City Council Presents Bands in Parks: Live Music at QLD Tennis Centre

Council is continuing its creative partnership with the Tennis Centre throughout 2022. Don't miss the FREE concerts coming up this year:

• Saturday 19 February, 6-8pm, QLD Tennis Centre, Love Match be wooed by Brass Roots Live and their selection of songs that you will LOVE to dance and sing to.
• Saturday 26 March, 6-8pm, QLD Tennis Centre, A Symphonic Sensation The Southeast Queensland Symphonic Winds joins forces with the Brisbane Municipal Concert Band for a spectacular concert featuring everything from favourite movie themes to soaring orchestral classics. 
• Saturday 23 April, 6-8pm, QLD Tennis Centre, Till We Meet Again Brisbane Excelsior Band perform music from the swing era of Glen Miller and Duke Ellington along with the big brass sounds of popular military marches and troupe favourites.

Register via Eventbrite to meet COVID safe requirements. Entry is free with some seating provided and grassed areas available. Baseline Bar and Café is open for purchasing wine and food.

Oxley Creek Paddle Against Plastic by OCCA
Sun 6 Mar, 9am-1pm
Park end of Kendall and Lawson Sts, Oxley
Join Oxley Creek Catchment Association and help clean up Oxley Creek. Kayaks will be available to rent, or you can bring your own. Bookings required.

Christ the King and St Joseph’s Conference, Corinda Graceville is one of several St Vincent de Paul conferences providing support within the Tennyson Ward. The conference covers the area from Chelmer to Oxley, and is available to assist people who are struggling with day to day expenses.  We are able to provide this assistance through the donations we receive, mainly at the time of our Christmas and Winter appeals, and we are very grateful to our donors.

Last Christmas we distributed over 40 hampers in our area, providing food, treats and gifts to brighten the season. The families of St Joseph’s School Corinda and Christ the King School and Julia Cumming Child Care Centre Graceville were very generous in enabling us to do this. In addition, this conference provides shopping vouchers to people whose limited income means that a major bill leaves them short of food, and at times we assist with larger bills which cannot be met on time - e.g. electricity, car registration. We encourage people to set up payment plans for these regular bills. We have also assisted people with furniture and white goods. In every case, Vincentians visit the companion and establish a personal relationship with them, always respecting their dignity. We understand that anyone can face difficulties at times, especially those struggling to survive on a pension or unemployment benefits. 

Anyone requiring support from St Vincent de Paul should contact the call centre (1800 846 643) and you will be referred to your local conference. 

Clean Up Australia Day is fast approaching and residents are encouraged to get involved and help clean up our local parks, streets and bushland. There are local clean up events taking place at:

• The Esplanade, Yeronga - Sat 19 Feb, 3:30-5:30pm
• Tennyson Reach, Tennyson - Sun 6 Mar, 8-10am
• Tom O'Neill Park, Oxley - Sun 6 Mar, 8:30-10:30am
• Kendall and Lawson St Park, Oxley - Sun 6 Mar, 10am-2pm

Visit www.cleanupaustraliaday.org.au to either register a clean-up site or join an existing site and receive a clean-up kit for use on the day.

Appel St, Graceville is posted as 50km/h. The sign collected data for a 12 week period from 6 June to 29 August 2021. During this time 84,378  vehicles (av. 1,004 per day) passed through the portable speed sign zone.

20,476 or 24.3% of all drivers were recorded travelling above the posted speed limit. Of the vehicles speeding, 85% were travelling at or below 75km/h. When prompted, speeding drivers reduced their speeds by an average of 9km to 66km/h within the speed camera range.

Venner Rd, Annerley is posted as 60km/h. The sign collected data for a 16 week period from 9 September 2021 to 1 January 2022. During this time 972,633 vehicles (av. 8,532 per day) passed through the portable speed sign zone.

121,825 or 12.5% of all drivers were recorded travelling above the posted speed limit. Of the vehicles speeding, 85% were travelling at or below 67km/h. When prompted, speeding drivers reduced their speeds by an average of 2km to 65km/h within the speed camera range.

Please slow down around busy school and pedestrian hot spots!

Footpath Repair Works
Footpath repair works are scheduled for sections of Watt St, Corinda; Oxley Station Rd, Oxley; Oxley Rd, Sherwood; Sherwood Rd, Sherwood; and School Rd, Yeronga. Works will be completed by the end of this month.

Sewer Upgrade Villa St, Annerley
Urban Utilities are undertaking works to reline the sewer pipe near Villa St, Annerley over the coming months. These works will extend the service of the pipe by up to 50 years and will not affect sewer services. Works will take place between 7am and 6pm, Monday to Saturday.

Moggill Rd Roundabout Upgrade
Construction has begun on the Moggill Rd roundabout upgrade at Indooroopilly. Works will take place 7am to 6pm, Monday to Saturday. Additional night works will take place from 7:30pm to 5:30am, Sunday to Thursday. The following roads will be impacted:

Moggill Rd:

• Removal of some buildings, retaining walls and driveways on roundabout site
• Installation of temporary fencing on roundabout site
• Night works lane closures

Moggill Rd Service Road (commercial):

• Night works restricted access
• Changes to parking hours and on-road parking restricted
• Minor delays as trucks enter and exit site

Coonan St:

• Reduced to single lane northbound approaching the roundabout

Keating St:

• Permanent removal of right hand turns into and out of Keating St
• Left hand turn into Keating St maintained with changed traffic conditions

Stamford Rd, Station Rd and Stanley St near Moggill Rd intersections:

• Day works lane closures
• Night works lane closures

Underhill Ave:

• Temporary reduction of on-street parking
• Restricted access at northern end of Underhill Ave
• Minor vegetation removal

Cross River Rail
The re-opening of Yeronga Station and closure of Fairfield Station is scheduled for 14 March 2022. Yeronga Station will only be accessible via stairs while construction continues. A temporary ticket office and toilet facilities will be located on Lake St. Go card readers will be located on both platforms at the entry and exit points.

Single lane closures on Mildmay St, Fairfield and Equity St, Annerley between 6am Saturday 26 February and 5am Monday 28 February.

Temporary closure of Cowper St at Fairfield Rd, Yeronga  until mid-2022. Access to businesses maintained via Shottery St.

Intermittent single lane closures on Fairfield Rd between Kadumba St and Yeronga St, Yeronga.

Intermittent closures on Lake St between Killarney and Christensen St, Yeronga.

The footpath on the eastern side of Fairfield Rd along the Clapham Yard site at Yeerongpilly is closed to pedestrians to facilitate embankment works.

Intermittent road closures will be in place along Fairfield Rd southbound, Yeerongpilly adjacent to the Clapham Yard/Moorooka Station worksite.