If you want to help shape the future of transport in the Redlands then have your say about three draft transport plans which Redland City Council endorsed for community and stakeholder engagement at its meeting on 18 June 2025.
The Council wants to adjust, over time, the way that people get around the Redlands by reducing private car travel as a proportion of travel. The Council’s expectation is that, in future, more of us will use public transport and/or active transport such as bike riding, scooters or walking.
This will be necessary to cope with increasing population density (caused mostly by migration to Queensland from interstate and overseas). As we squeeze up to fit more people into an increasingly ‘vibrant’ Redlands, remember that active transport is good for our health and public transport is more environmentally sustainable than private car use.
These are not new concepts. Back in February 2020 the Council adopted its Redlands Coast Transport Strategy which says:
As Redlands Coast grows there is an opportunity to implement behaviour change initiatives to reduce the dependency on private vehicles and increase the number of trips completed by walking, cycling, public transport or ride share.
It’s likely that the Council’s plans for a major redevelopment of the Cleveland CBD will be supported by these transport plans so that the preferred developer can focus on high yielding residential and commercial buildings with less requirement to provide car parking.
Consultation about transport plans
The three draft transport plans considered by the Council at its meeting in June are:
- Draft Cleveland Local Area Transport Plan
- Draft Redlands Coast Active Transport Strategy
- Draft Redlands Coast Access and Parking Strategy.
The proposed Active Transport Strategy and Draft Cleveland Local Area Transport Plan are out for consultation until 27 July. Information about these two transport plans is presented on the Council’s Redlands Coast on the Move webpage.
You can have your say by completing online surveys and/or fill out physical surveys at Council Libraries, or Council’s Customer Services Centres in Cleveland, Capalaba and Victoria Point. If you prefer to have a face to face chat, three ‘pop up’ community engagement activities have been scheduled:
- 15 July 2025 7:30 am – 9:30 am Cleveland Central in front of Woolworths, Middle Street, Cleveland.
- 16 July 2025 12:30 pm – 3:30 pm Cleveland Central in front of Woolworths, Middle Street, Cleveland
- 24 July 2025 7:45 am – 11:15 am Toondah Harbour, Cleveland.
You can also have your say by sending an email to the Council at rcc@redland.qld.gov.au including a suitable subject heading e.g. Transport Plans and your name and address.
Consultation by the Council about its Draft Access and Parking Strategy is scheduled for August. Redlands2030 recommends that you look at this document, before commenting on the the other two transport plans.
Cleveland Local Area Transport Plan
The Council wants Cleveland to become a “vibrant mixed use, medium density centre” where “Middle and Bloomfield Streets are reimagined as highly activated streets, …linking RPAC to Toondah Harbour”. There will be more focus on encouraging use of public transport and active transport.
The Council says it will work with the State Government, developers and other stakeholders to unlock the potential for transit-orientated development in and around Cleveland Station “to create a more vibrant precinct”. The draft Cleveland Centre Local Area Transport Plan (LATP) shows three stages of development which lead to the ‘ultimate’ Cleveland LATP.
Active Transport Strategy
The draft Active Transport Strategy includes the following:
This Strategy outlines what Council envisages is needed to encourage more people to walk and ride, including:
- Completing a connected network of paths and low trafficked streets around major destinations and public transport, particularly targeting 5 km catchments.
- Improving conditions in locations with limited travel options, with limited facilities or specific access needs (such as higher rates of disability or around hospitals).
- Enhancing safety through more and safer crossings, traffic calming, speed reductions and separating general traffic from pedestrians and riders on busier roads.
- Encouraging more people to walk and ride, such as through more information, signage, promotions/events, providing end-of-trip facilities and trialling new approaches.
- Appropriately accommodating emerging modes, such as e-cycles and e-scooters, while reducing potential conflicts with other modes, notably pedestrians.
- Upgrading existing facilities to encourage optimal use, support tourism (in time for the 2032 Olympics and Paralympics) and to meet current standards.
- Increasing the investment in walking and riding facilities that result in more people walking and riding for many more trips.
Access and Parking Strategy
The Access and Parking Strategy is really a strategy to provide less parking than what people are used to having. The Council has indicated that it will be doing community consultation about this strategy in August 2025.
Here’s some of what the Council says in its Executive Summary of the Draft Access and Parking Strategy
Key destinations such as town centres, train stations, ferry terminals and major recreation reserves have traditionally evolved to meet the needs of car users, and as such most of these areas are currently tailored to car parking with limited access for other transport types.
The strategy aims to address these historical constraints and ensure destinations across the city are safe and appealing for everyone, from pedestrians and cyclists to people with limited mobility. We also want to encourage more people to leave their car at home and take another mode of transport when travelling across the city.
These goals will be achieved by providing more end-of-trip facilities, dedicated drop-off zones, improved footpaths, and additional space for public and community transport operators. Car parking will still be provided in areas where it is most needed, such as in development sites, but it will be balanced with access for other travel modes and delivered in a way that avoids impacts to neighbouring streets. Land uses that reduce or negate the need to travel will also be considered in
some destinations.
The strategy is aligned with the Redlands Coast Transport Strategy, which envisages a transition away from a city dependent on cars to one that embraces alternative modes of transport such as walking, riding, public transport, and other ride-share services. The benefits of more residents, workers and visitors using these travel modes include a healthier environment, less congested streets, enhanced amenity, and more efficient travel between destinations.
You can find the Draft Redlands Coast Access and Parking Strategy in Item 15.9 of the Council’s 18 June 2025 meeting minutes.
Cleveland CBD currently has a major problem for car parking while Victoria Point and Capalaba shopping centres all have adequate parking and lots of covered parking. Having sold off major car parks in Cleveland many of the businesses have moved out of the CBD, as the empty shop fronts show. To now talk about using buses, bicycles and walking instead of using your car, just shows how the Redland City Council is looking for an escape. Those of us who do a weekly shop use our cars because we have to transport our weekly shopping back to our homes. This would be very difficult using buses or bicycles.
Capalaba Central from row of shops and cinema through to man made creek bank is filled with car parking under cover and normally one can find a space to park. But for how much longer? How will soon to be built new town centre’s 10-storey building surrounded by lower buildings impact on car parking and traffic congestion? By 2:00 p.m. week days, traffic from 4-way intersection in Capalaba is congested on roads in all directions. We are dependent on personal transport in Redlands to reach workplace destinations for most people. Where’s the promised new Metro Bus by Lord Mayor Brisbane one can hop on and off coming to Capalaba? Why stop in Capalaba rather than continuing on through Cleveland to ferry terminal? Such a service would encourage many motorists leaving car at home. Mini-buses from newly built housing estates connecting with bus/train stations a.m. and p.m. rush hour would also lessen traffic on major roads. Bicycle tracks need to be well off main roads to be safe. Young cyclist was struck recently on Old Cleveland Road East Birkdale, by a utility, taken to hospital with two broken legs. There have been cases of cyclists being killed on busy roads. Finucane Road Capalaba is considered unsafe, family in Brisbane refer to it as a ‘death trap’. Locals learn to live with changing road conditions.