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Items marked with * require bookings.

Contact the relevant library or
3403 8888.

Babies, Books and Rhymes
Mondays, 11:30am
Annerley Library

Tuesdays and Wednesdays, 11am
Fairfield Library

Toddler Time
Mondays, 10am
Annerley Library

Tuesdays and Wednesdays 10am
Fairfield Library

Children's Storytime
Mondays, 3:30pm
Annerley Library

Fridays, 11am
Fairfield Library

FAIRFIELD LIBRARY

Internet skills two for seniors*
2-4pm, Fri 12 Apr
Basic computer and internet skills required.

Growing orchids*
1:30-2:30pm, Sat 13 Apr
David Furness will share top tips for how to help these stunning plants to thrive.

Email Skills one for seniors*
2-4pm, Wed 17 Apr
Basic computer and internet skills required.

Email Skills two for seniors*
2-4pm, Thu 18 Apr
Basic computer and internet skills and an email account required.

Evening book club
6-7pm, Thu 18 Apr
In April, read and discuss Don't Let's Go to the Dogs Tonight  by Alexandra Fuller. New members welcome.

Book chat
1-2pm, Wed 24 Apr
In April, read and discuss Train to Australia by Lidia Kardos. New members welcome.

Meet Lidia Kardos*
1-2pm, Wed 24 Apr
Share the heartbreaks and triumphs, and follow Lidia through her life and across continents in her roller-coaster of a story.

FBI: Fairfield book investigators kids' club
3:30-4:30pm, Wed 24 Apr
In April, the club will read the Fractured Fairytales series by Kaye Umansky. Ideal for children 6-11 years.

Online safety and security basics for seniors*
2-4pm, Thu 2 May
Basic computer and interne skills required.

Social media basics for seniors*
2-4pm, Fri 3 May
Basic computer skills and an email required.

ANNERLEY LIBRARY

Internet skills two*
11am-12:30pm, Fri 12 Apr
Basic computer and internet skills are required.

Australian military records*
10am-12pm, Sat 27 Apr
Presented by the Genealogical Society of Queensland.

BYOB (Bring your own baby) book club*
9:15-10am, Mon 29 Apr
BYOB book club is a baby-friendly book club for parents and caregivers who are interested in joining a book club without having to organise a babysitter.

Navigating the news*
1-2:30pm, Mon 20 May
This session will help you manage information overload and develop your own toolkit to manage information in a way that works for you.

Meet Matthew Wengert*
10-11am, Sat 25 May
City in Masks: How Brisbane fought the Spanish Flu is a narrative history of this city's encounter with the biggest killer in history.

GOLD

Tai Chi
8:30-9:30am, Thursdays
31 Jan-13 Jun
Gentle exercise for complete fitness.
Brisbane Corso Park, Yeronga

*Requires booking. Please contact 3403 8888 to secure your place.
$ - costs involved

Fairfield Writers' Group
Every second and fourth Saturday
Please call Helga on (07) 3848 1492 for more information.
Fairfield Library

Yeronga Friendship Club
Every third Monday
Activities and outings for over 50's.
Yeronga RSL
391 Fairfield Rd, Yeronga
Ph: 3278 5720

Yeronga Men's Shed
9am-12pm Monday and Wednesday
Yeronga Uniting Church
Kingsley Pde, Yeronga

Stephens Croquet Club
Association Croquet: Wed 9.45am and Sat 12.45pm.
Golf Croquet: Fri and Sun (Sep - April 2.45 pm and May - August 1.45 pm) & Tuesdays from 9.00am
Further information - 0439 714 312.

Annerley Stephens History Group
Meets first Thursday of the month from 6.30pm
Annerley Community Hub
556 Ipswich Rd, Annerley

For more info contact
Stephen: 0417 770 176 or email
Bill: 0417 713 200 or email

Yeronga Bowls Club
Game Days - From 12:30pm, Wed and Sat
3848 1146 (3-7pm, Tues to Sun)
11 Querrin St, Yeronga

Yeronga Community Centre
Open 9am-1pm, Monday-Thursday

Bread basket, computer hub, free wifi, phone, photocopying and printing, information, support and refferral, Commissioner of Declarations (by appointment).

Monday
Seniors Morning Tea - 10am-12pm
Computer Assistance - 10-11am
Indoor Bowls - from 10am

Tuesday
Computer Assistance - 10-11am

Wednesday
Computer Assistance - 8:30am-1pm
The Chatroom @ Annerley - 12-2pm

Thursday
Guided meditation - 10-10:30am
Craft Group - 9:30am-12pm
Art Group - 10:30am-12:30pm

Sunday
Yeronga Community Garden - 3-5pm
Yeronga State High School

3848 2285 -- 26 Devon St, Yeronga

The State Government has now released its statutory plan, called a Priority Development Area (PDA), for the Yeronga TAFE site. Once approved, this plan governs how future development will happen on the site - it will not be subject to Council's town planning rules.

You can view the plan online here

The key components of the precinct structure plan are:

• medium to high density residential (up to 6 storeys);
• affordable housing;
• new community hub, including a permanent home for the Yeronga Community Centre;
• commercial and retail shops.

There are some great elements in the plan, such as a dedicated community home for the Yeronga Community Centre. However, Yeronga does not need more high rise units. 

I am strongly opposed to more high rise in Yeronga due to the significant traffic constraints and inadequate infrastructure to support major development like this. While new roads and cycle paths are created within the estate, there is no commitment to upgrade existing roads, bikeways, park or community facilities connecting to the new development site. Plus, there is still no universal access at Yeronga Rail Station.   

Hundreds of new units and townhouses will simply add to the safety and congestion issues our community is experiencing. With any new development there must be the necessary infrastructure to support it.

Finally, I believe all significant trees on the site should be identified and protected.

Two public information sessions will be held at the Yeronga State High School library, Oakwood St side, on:

• Tuesday,  7 May 6-8pm
• Saturday, 11 May 10am-12pm

A quite unusual letter was circulated to parts of Yeronga this week by the owner of 143 Hyde Rd Yeronga, the home of Irina's therapeutic horse riding school. I am very concerned about the misleading nature of the material that promises to "eliminate flooding in Yeronga". No development application (DA) has been lodged with Council for the site and the proposal has not been independently assessed by Council engineers or hydrologists. I urge you to use common sense and caution when considering this information, and the push poll attached to it, which does not include any details of the actual development they want to build.   

To give you some idea of the level of fill that would be required, the lowest point of the land is 1.8m.  The 2011 flood level for the site is 7.8m and to get a habitable floor level the general planning rule is to add ½ a metre. To achieve flood immunity for development on this site, and this is only a rough estimate, at least 6.5m of fill would be needed. That's the height of a two storey building of fill.

I do not support this fanciful proposal. Council needs to step up and undertake the long promised trunk drainage upgrade needed in Yeronga, without question. This remains a key Budget priority of mine and a project that I am pushing with the new Lord Mayor.  

In the interim, I have written to Cr Schrinner about buying back this site as a park, following his announcement to increase park, and sport and recreational land across Brisbane using Council's future fund. Half of this site is already zoned for sport and recreational purposes, the other half is low impact industry, and there is a well-supported current sporting and recreational use through Irina's horses. Council could lease the land to Irina, as they do for other sporting clubs, to give her the security of tenure to continue offering her wonderful programme. It would be a win-win outcome for our community while we wait for a community driven, Council led Neighbourhood Plan to determine the long-term future of the Hyde Rd industrial precinct. Watch out for more from me on this in coming weeks.

I hope you will be able to make it to one of the following local ANZAC Day services on April 25 to honour the courage of our service men and women:

Dawn Service at Corinda - Sherwood-Indooroopilly RSL Sub Branch

• 5:15am - Service at the Croll Memorial Precinct, opposite Sherwood Services Club, cnr Browne & Clewley Sts, Corinda
• Sherwood Boer War Service - Sherwood-Indooroopilly RSL Sub Branch
• 6:30am - Service at Boer War Memorial, Sherwood Cemetery, cnr Egmont St & Sherwood Rd, Sherwood

Yeronga Memorial Park Service - Stephens RSL Sub Branch

• 6:50am - Assemble outside Yeronga State School, Park Rd, Yeronga
• 7:00am - March off to Yeronga Memorial Park
• 7:30am - Service at Yeronga Memorial Park, Honour Ave, Yeronga

Graceville Memorial Park Service - Sherwood-Indooroopilly RSL Sub Branch

• 7:00am Assemble at cnr Appel St and Verney Rd E
• 7:15am March off down Verney Rd E onto Oxley Rd to Graceville Memorial Park
• 7:30am - Service at Graceville War Memorial, Graceville Memorial Park, 173 Oxley Rd, Graceville
• Plus the unveiling of Lt Maurice Little Way

Tennyson Service - Pamphlett Tennyson Sea Scouts

• 8.30am - Service at Myla Tce Memorial, Tennyson

Dutton Park Service - Yeronga-Dutton Park RSL Sub Branch

• 8:25am - Assemble at Heffernan Park, Annerley Rd, Annerley
• 8:30am - March off to Gair Park
• 8:45am - Service at Gair Park, Gladstone Rd, Dutton Park

Oxley Service - Sherwood-Indooroopilly RSL Sub Branch

• 9.30am - Service at Oxley Memorial Stone, Bannerman Park, Bannerman St, Oxley

Laser Tag*
2-3pm, Mon 15 Apr
3-4pm, Wed 17 Apr
Zap opposition players and hidden interactive targets. The thumping sound track and light show add to the experience at Laserforce. - $10 for three games + $2.50 membership, if required.
Laserforce, 55 Ipswich Rd, Woolloongabba

Billie B Brown's birthday party*
3:30-4:30pm, Mon 15 Apr
Come along and join the fun at Billie B Brown's birthday party. Ideal for children aged 6-10 years.
Annerley Library

Bee-Bot goes on a bear hunt*
3:30-4:30pm, Wed 17 Apr
No prior programming experience required. Ideal for children 5-8 years.
Fairfield Library

Rock Climbing*
9-11am, Thu 18 Apr
Come and experience the thrills of rock climbing in your local area. Minimum age is 12.
Kangaroo Point Cliffs Park

Mini Olympics
10am-12pm, Thu 18 Apr
Enjoy a fun adaption of the Olympic Games with a focus on fun.
Ken Fletcher Park, Tennyson

Easter Storytime
2-2:30pm, Thu 18 Apr
Join us for an Easter themed storytime session and craft. Ideal for children aged 2-5 years.
Stones Corner Library

Wheely Fun*
8-9am, Tue 16 Apr
Our friendly trainer will help your young one make the transition from training wheels to two wheels.
J F O'Grady Memorial Park Skate Park, Fairfield

Become a Wheel World Wizard*
9-10:30am, Tue 16 Apr
Through riding-based games and fun activities learn the skills you need to have fun off-road and on the bikeways.
J F O'Grady Memorial Park Skate Park, Fairfield

Community skateboard workshop*
3:30-5pm, Sun 14 Apr
Learn how to skateboard with our highly qualified teaching ASF Coaches.
J F O'Grady Memorial Park Skate Park, Fairfield

Kayak Games*
8-11am, Thu 18 Apr
Get a group of friends together, or come on your own for three hours of fun with water games and activities. For children aged between 10 and 17 years - $5.00
Simpsons Playground

*Requires booking. Please contact 3403 8888 to secure your place.

Council's new digital (online) parking permit scheme is now rolling out in the Queensland Tennis Centre Parking Area (Tennyson and parts of Yeronga and Yeerongpilly) and the PA/Dutton Park Parking Area (parts of Fairfield and Annerley).

It is fair to say there are some teething problems with the new process including inaccurate info in the flyer Council sent out.

You now have the choice of applying for your new permit online here, by phone on 1300 322 377 or in person at my office or any Council office.

Council has back flipped and will now allow the option of either a digital visitor parking permit or the traditional hard copy visitor permit for the windscreen. If you prefer a hard copy visitor pass, which is interchangeable between your visitors, you can now request one. Resident permits will be all digital, with no permit required on your windscreen. Your rego number will be stored in Council's database and electronically verified by the inspectors. 

If you have any problems, please come into my office next to the Library at the rear of Fairfield Gardens and we can assist you to secure a permit.

In honour of ANZAC Day 2019, Brisbane City Council is partnering with the Australian Defence Force to recognise Brisbane streets that share their name with people, places and events of historical significance to Australian conflicts.

This year, the types of street names considered are those associated with Australian Soldiers of New Guinea, as well as WWI and WWII Victoria Cross recipients. A full list of all previously commemorated streets can be found on Council's website here or by searching for 'Streets of Remembrance'.

To date, the 'Rising Sun' badge and the 'Royal Australian Navy' badge have been included on 677 street signs, recognising 133 street names in 202 locations around the City.

If you have a suggestion of a street name that would commemorate Australia's men and women in conflict in this special way, please let me know by either emailing my office at tennyson.ward@bcc.qld.gov.au or by phone at 3403 8605. I look forward to hearing from you.

Council's Portable Flashing Speed (SAM) sign on Park Rd, Yeronga has produced some concerning results.

During school zone hours, Park Rd is posted as 40km/h. The sign collected data from 7 October to 29 December 2018.

During school zone times, 131,525 vehicles (av 1,566 per day) passed through the speed sign zone. 25,566 vehicles, or 19.4%, of all drivers were recorded travelling above the posted speed limit. Of the vehicles speeding, 85% were travelling at or below 56km/hr. When prompted, speeding drivers reduced their speeds by an average of 3km to 53km/h within the speed camera range.

These results are very concerning and not good at all. Many children cross Park Rd to get to and from Yeronga State Primary and High Schools every day and are being put at risk by speeding drivers.

Please drive safely and remember to slow down around our schools!

As part of the Tour de Brisbane this weekend, some road closures and public transport diversions will be in place from 4:30am-2pm, Sunday 14 April. This includes the Story and Go Between Bridges, Riverside Expressway, Mount Coot-tha, Inner City Bypass, Coronation Drive and Legacy Way.

Traffic control will be in place to direct vehicles on alternate routes.

For road closures and diversion routes, visit the Tour de Brisbane website here.

For bus service diversions, visit Translink's website here or phone 13 12 30.

The Great Brisbane Bike Ride will pass through Fairfield, Yeronga, Tennyson, Graceville, Chelmer, Sherwood, Corinda and Oxley on Sunday, 19 May between 7:30am and midday.

The event, which aims to raise funds for the Mater Smiling for Smiddy, will see up to 2500 riders pass through the area, as part of the recreational event.

As only limited road closures will be in place in crucial locations, riders will be mostly travelling on open roads with other traffic. These roads include Brisbane Corso, King Arthur Tce, Graceville Ave, Nadine St, Leybourne St, Appel St, Long St W, Hazelmere Pde, Berry St, Dewar Tce, Grace St, Keble St, Morcom Ave, Ardoyne Rd and Seventeen Mile Rocks Rd. You can see the route map in more detail online here.

Brisbane City Council has commenced development of the Brisbane Off-Road Cycling Plan, which aims to provide safe and sustainable recreation opportunities, while better protecting bushland reserves. This includes a range of mountain bike riding, skills tracks, dirt jumps, pump tracks, gravel riding, cyclocross and riding on tracks.

The aim of the Plan is:

• getting more people outdoors into nature, having fun and getting fit and healthy
• identifying locations across the city for off-road cycling facilities that better protect the natural habitat
• providing an accessible network of safe off-road cycling facilities in parks and bushland reserves
• meeting the growing needs of the off-road cycling community with a well-planned and connected outdoor recreation network.

To help inform the development of the draft concept plans, Council is seeking feedback and ideas from the broader community via an online survey about how people currently use Council's reserves and parks along with their ideas for planning future off-road cycling facilities. The community can complete the online survey on Council's website here, which will be open for feedback until 10 April 2019.

For more information, visit the project webpage here or contact the team via email at parks@brisbane.qld.gov.au.

ROAD RESURFACING

Tamworth St, Annerley
7am to 6pm, from early-April to mid-April, 2019

QUEENSLAND RAIL TREE REMOVAL WILKIE ST, YEERONGPILLY

As part of Queensland Rail track works, one small Spathodea tree will be removed outside 86 Wilkie St, Yeerongpilly.  The tree will be replaced back on site after works have been completed by the end of April 2019.

BUS STOP ACCESSIBILITY UPGRADE

Council is undertaking works to improve the accessibility of bus stops across the City. As part of the Bus Stop Accessibility Improvement Program, 6,600 Brisbane bus stops will undergo upgrades and maintenance works to boarding points, access paths, waiting areas, signs, tactile ground surface indicators and bus stop seats to ensure compliance with disability and accessibility regulations.

The following bus stop will be upgraded in the coming months:

• #3734: Cornwall Street at Ayr Street, stop 14, Woolloongabba
• #3702: Turner Avenue near Brougham Street, stop 17, Fairfield

There may be some minor local impacts during work hours of between 7am and 5pm, Monday to Saturday, however some out of hours works may be required. Every effort will be made to minimise disruption to the local community.

WOOLLOONGABBA BIKEWAY PROJECT

The upcoming works in April 2019 will include standard construction hours between 7am and 5pm, Monday to Saturday.

Stanley Street Vulture Street to Ipswich Road

• Continue footpath, drainage and bikeway works.
• Continue traffic signal works at signalised intersections.
• Continue profiling, asphalt layer and line marking works.
• Continue intersection works on Stanley Street at Allen Street and Merton Road, Trinity Lane, M3 on/off ramp and Leopard Street.
• Continue bikeway works on the Stanley Street service road at Gibbon Street, Hubert Street and Reid Street.
• Continue landscaping works.

Annerley Road Stanley Street to Gladstone Road

• Continue footpath, drainage and bikeway works.
• Continue traffic signal works at signalised intersections.
• Continue profiling, asphalt layer and line marking works.
• Continue landscaping works.

Dock Street/Vulture Street/Stanley Street intersection works

• Continue footpath, drainage and bikeway works.
• Commence service utility works including installation of new drainage provisions.
• Continue road works for Dock Street slip lane.
• Commence car park and loading bay changes.

Some out of hours works will be undertaken between 7pm and 6am on Annerley Rd, Dock St, Vulture St and Stanley St, Woolloongabba. For more info on these night works, visit Council's website here.