Vision for the Council has drafted a vision to help ... introduce new retail and dining opportunities ” “Apartments or infill/ narrow lot housing on main roads are fine, but the

12 DRAFT FERNY GROVE-UPPER KEDRON STRATEGY

Vision for the area

Council has drafted a vision to help imagine what the Ferny Grove-Upper Kedron area could be like in 10 years. This vision is based on input received from the community and will become an important element of the neighbourhood plan, guiding future planning and development in the area.

13DRAFT FERNY GROVE-UPPER KEDRON STRATEGY

Ferny Grove-Upper Kedron is a community-spirited village surrounded by natural bushland. Locals connect at cultural, sporting, recreational and shopping hubs that are linked by accessible and well-maintained roads, bicycle and walking tracks and regular, efficient and integrated public transport. People of diverse ages and cultures live safely in the natural environment, with easy access to nearby bushland.

Overview of planning themes

The three themes below describe how Council intends to achieve this vision. All of the planning ideas proposed by the draft Ferny Grove-Upper Kedron Strategy sit within these themes and are detailed in the following sections.

Living villages

Preserve the area’s village lifestyle while allowing for a better choice of housing and the growth of community hubs.

Getting around and being connected

Make it easier to walk, cycle or get the bus to the train station and other important places.

Bushland lifestyle

Preserve and enhance the area’s bushland, parks and green spaces and ensure residents can coexist with nature.


What you told us:

“Ferny Grove needs more of a community hub, much like Mitchelton. Our only community area,where people naturally converge is small and does not encourage gathering. More restaurants, cafes,a gallery, community activities like music/ art to create a more culturally attractive suburb would befantastic”

“I don’t believe that there is enough affordable/ smaller housing options available. As a single person, Iwant to live near where I work, but I can’t afford/ maintain the huge houses that are in the area”

“It’s a very family oriented area that needs to accommodate families in terms of housing (largish blocksizes), open spaces and parks and local shopping facilities”

“I’d love to see some high rise/ high density development constructed in areas adjacent to the FernyGrove train station, similar to what has been constructed in Nundah/ Toombul, with the hope that itmay introduce new retail and dining opportunities”

“Apartments or infill/ narrow lot housing on main roads are fine, but the majority of housing should bestandalone dwellings on larger blocks to keep family/ community feel”

“The area is well established for young families and decent sized blocks with room to move. Keep itthat way”

Living villages Council wants to plan for the future so local residents will continue to enjoy Ferny Grove and Upper Kedron’s village lifestyle, even as the area grows, while new development will broaden local housing options. Informal community hubs could emerge around shops, schools and parks, giving people more places to meet, relax and feel part of the community.

Residents highly value their community’s village feel. It’s important to preserve this unique character, yet allow some change to occur over time so people can move into the area and existingresidents have a better choice of housing.

Most homes in Ferny Grove and Upper Kedron are stand-alone houses on standard lots and this will continue. Opportunities exist for new developmentof a similar nature, particularly in the area south of Cedar Creek.

The transect diagram (pages 16-17) shows how lanin the Ferny Grove-Upper Kedron Neighbourhood Plan area could be developed.

A large portion of Cedar Creek South has been approved for residential development by the Queensland Government. The area between the existing approvals and the surrounding environmental areas is also suitable for some residential and ‘urban edge’ development. Featuring larger lots than standard residential subdivisions, urban edge development must be designed to respect the existing shape of the land, preserve environmental features and views, and sensitively respond to natural hazards. Future residential proposals for Cedar Creek South will require detailed structure planning to demonstratehow development can occur within the existing natural features.

CPT members suggested new housing around the Ferny Grove shopping centre and train station could meet the needs of locals looking for

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smaller, more affordable homes such as young singles or couples, single parent families and older people wanting to downsize or move into a retirement village or aged care. This area already includes townhouses and Council will consider the community feedback for the area between the existing centre and the station should the Queensland Government’s Ferny Grove Station instigate transit-oriented development precinct.

This draft strategy supports Ferny Grove Shopping Village’s continued evolution into a lively village hub – a place to gather, shop, dine and relax with neighbours. Allowing centres to grow into places to live, work and play is the smart way to manage Brisbane’s growth, and Council will consider more offices, shops, restaurants and new housing nearby. Being within walking distance of the station makes it an ideal spot for small businesses such as accountants, vets and dentists as well as creative workspaces for artists and craftspeople. Making this general area more walkable with shady trees and better footpaths from homes to the station would encourage new residents to take the train for most trips, rather than their car.

The draft strategy also supports a new convenience centre in Upper Kedron on the corner of Canvey and Levitt roads, bringing shops, cafes and services closer to existing and new homes. Some new townhouse and small-lot housing would also be allowed around this centre to support viable business and public transport services.

MAP 1: LIVING VILLAGES


Bellbird Grove

To Walkabout Creek

To Samford via Rail Trail

To Kedron Brook Bikeway

MCGINN ROAD

TRAMWAY STREET

UPPER KEDRON ROAD

LEVITT ROAD

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CEDAR

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MCALROY ROAD

LEGEND

Train station

Community hub

Bellbird Grove

Rail line to inner city

Neighbourhood plan boundary

Brisbane City Council boundary Regional road connection

Local road connection

Centres

General residential area

Urban edge

Open space

Housing diversity

Conservation of environmental values

Extractive industry

Cedar Woods development

Focus area


Strategies and actions

Ensure future development and redevelopment respects the natural setting and landscape features of the local area

• Gradually reduce the intensity of developmenttowards the forested ridgelines in Cedar CreekSouth.

• Ensure future structure plans for urbanedge areas suitably demonstrate howdevelopment will:

w reflect the landscape character and visualamenity of the local area

w preserve local waterways in their existing natural state and apply water-sensitive urban design for the treatment of stormwater drainage

Transect diagram: Draft Ferny Grove-Upper Kedron Neighbourhood Plan Strategy concept

w generally maintain the natural topography of the area

w protect people and property from natural hazard risks such as bushfire, flooding and slope instability through appropriate planning and mitigation measures

w protect the environmental values and ecological corridors identified in the area

w achieve the outcomes in Brisbane City Plan 2014 relating to structure planning and the subdivision of land.

Existing centre

Existing low-medium

density housing

Train station

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Environmental management corridor

New residential suburbs (Cedar Woods preliminary approval area)

Urban edge Train and bus interchange, shops and apartments

Established residential suburbs

Cedar Creek South

Canvey Road convenience centreM

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Urban edge

• Larger lot residential development

• Highly managed landscape

• Appropriate Bushfire Attack Level ratingsand separation of dwellings

• Dedicated Building Location Envelope

• Appropriate earthworks

• Suitable revegetation

• Maintenance of waterways

• Flood-free access

• Suitable road network and infrastructureto manage emergency response

New residential

• Standardresidentialdevelopment

• In accordancewith QueenslandGovernmentdevelopmentand preliminaryapproval datedJuly 2015


Serves an important ecological corridor between Enoggera Reserve, D’Aguilar National Park and Keperra bushland. The steep topography of existing vegetation and height of these areas also contribute to the bushland setting of the neighbourhoods. This corridor is protected by the infrastructure agreement.


• Ensure subdivision layout and design in urban edge areas, including Cedar Creek South, responds to slope and topography challenges and maintains the prominent ridges through:

w appropriate earthworks and cut-and-fill construction

w sensitive housing design and construction methods

w a building footprint size and location that responds to environmental values and natural hazard risk management

w siting buildings and property access below potential bushfire hazard areas on higher slopes to allow for evacuation

w avoiding siting development along ridgelines, saddles and crests where adjacent slopes exceed 25% (one in four)

w designing and locating road reserves in response to environmental features.

Existing centre

Existing low-medium

density housing

Train station

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New residential suburbs (Cedar Woods preliminary approval area)

Urban edge Train and bus interchange, shops and apartments

Established residential suburbs

Cedar Creek South

Canvey Road convenience centreM

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Local centre

• Low-medium density residential

• Mixture of uses, centre uses and adjacent residential

• Small lot and townhouse development

Natural setting and landscape

The draft strategy proposes to ensure future development respects the natural setting and landscape features of the local area. This means creating a neighbourhood plan that transitions development appropriately from Ferny Grove Station up to the forested ridgelines in Cedar Creek South.

Existing district centre at train station

• Medium rise building up to four storeys

• Mixture of localised services and centre uses with high frequency public transport

• Active and walkable residential development

• Queensland government proposed development


• Support a variety of housing types in the localarea including:

w apartments, townhouses, duplexes(two-three storeys) and small-lot housing around neighbourhood hub such as at the corner of Canvey and Levitt roads

w standard residential lots, responsive to the area’s demographics

w larger residential lots in areas with topographical, natural hazard, environmental or other constraints.

Support the growth of the shopping centre and other activities that generate jobs in Ferny Grove and Upper Kedron

• Support the development of a new local centreon the corner of Canvey and Levitt roads inUpper Kedron.

• Consider additional retail and commercialdevelopment around the Ferny Grove stationand shopping centre.

Support the emergence of community hubs where residents and visitors can meet and interact

• Make streets and public spaces more walkableby using good layout and building design toencourage casual surveillance of public spaces.

• Support community events and activities in localcommunity hubs such as schools, communityhalls and parks (e.g. movies in the park andfood trucks).

Ensure infrastructure is provided to service the demands of new development

• Identify and plan for the delivery of necessaryinfrastructure network upgrades or expansionsfor new development or redevelopment inaccordance with Council’s Desired Standardsof Service.

• Deliver necessary infrastructure in a timelyfashion in accordance with an approvedinfrastructure agreement (i.e. local infrastructure),Council’s Local Government Infrastructure Plan(i.e. trunk infrastructure) or other agreed methodof infrastructure investment (e.g. QueenslandGovernment project) in order to meetdevelopment and community expectations.


Getting around and being connected

Locals enjoy quick, direct train services to the CBD and Council proposes to focus on getting more people to the station via bus services. Additional shady trees and footpath upgrades could make it easier to walk and cycle to the station, schools, parks and other important places. Better paths and cycleways to nearby waterholes, bushwalking tracks and lookouts could also open up new opportunities for outdoor adventure.

Samford Road is and will remain the main road for access to and from the city. Peak-hour access for residents is difficult due to a combination of traffic volumes on Samford Road and the open level crossing. This strategy supports continuing improvements to the local road network to cater to existing and new residents to access the dedicated public transport at Ferny Grove station and Samford Road. If plans for a new urban village at Ferny Grove station go ahead then the Queensland Government will propose another connection to Samford Road west of the station.

Although Ferny Grove station sits at the end of the line, train services are very frequent, arriving at least every 15 minutes like for many inner-city stations. As a result, rail usage is more than double the Brisbane average. The Park ‘n’ Ride is one of Brisbane’s biggest and it’s always busy. As a result, many locals and residents from nearby suburbs such as Samford and Ferny Hills drive to the station for their morning commute.

While bus services link surrounding neighbourhoods to the station, these are limited in times, routes and frequencies. Only four bus routes service local homes, and all stop around 6pm.

The capability to expand bus services to new residential housing in Upper Kedron and integrate those services with the high-frequency Ferny Grove Station was originally identified by Council in the 2014 bus review, but present road configuration does not allow bus to operate in the area. This strategy identifies an efficient ‘loop’ linking Canvey Road to Cedar Creek Road to support this expansion.

Within the area, Upper Kedron Road, McGinn Road and Arbor Street are the roads that connect Ferny Grove and Upper Kedron to Samford Road. Currently, some intersections could have better visibility for turning and also for pedestrians crossing.

For residents living in the south of the area there is a preference to use Canvey Road to move around and it can get very busy in the peak times. Any development in the south needs to extend and connect the local road network to provide a choice of the two district roads of Cedar Creek Road and Canvey Road.

One of the city’s most well-used bikeways begins just outside the plan area and Council wants to connect it to local networks in the future. Kedron Brook Bikeway stretches for almost 20 kilometres from Keperra to Nundah using a mixture of off-road shared pathways and separated bikeways. Ultimately, a link with this bikeway across the Ferny Grove picnic ground park could extend the ‘green link’ all the way to Bellbird Grove in the national park. More than just a walking path, greenways are wide, shady links that double as outdoor spaces.


Local traffic improvements

Council developed a tailored traffic model to test the impact of development in the neighbourhood plan area and to be certain about the traffic network requirements.

For testing purposes an additional 1600 households above the existing 3500 households in the area was modelled to understand the capacity of the road network, new road connections and local traffic improvements required to respond to proposed development.

The following upgrades and treatments are recommended.

1. Development south of Cedar Creek requirestwo road connections. Canvey Road can beupgraded to support up to 480 new houses, andthen a new connection to Cedar Creek Road isrequired to support any additional houses.

2. Upgrades to key connections(within the plan area):

w Upper Kedron Road with the Hogarth Roadand Cemetery Road intersections – future upgrade requirements

w Conavalla Street to Samford Road – a connection via Ferny Grove Station is desirable as a local road to reduce congestion for the surrounding local road network.

3. Upgrades to key intersections(outside the plan area):

w Samford and Settlement roads intersection –subject to development conditions

w Settlement and Waterworks roads intersection.

4. A connection to Mt Nebo Road is not requiredto service general traffic, but a connection foremergency services is supported.

5. Public transport accessibility (depending onimproved bus patronage options) to newdevelopment could be achieved by:

w Canvey Road via Levitt Road linking to CedarCreek Road (prior to the second connection)

w Canvey Road south of Cedar Creek linking to Cedar Creek Road (via the second connection).

Traffic impact assessments will continue to be undertaken as part of ongoing development activity, potentially leading to additional traffic upgrades.

What you told us

“Another access road to the city, apart from Upper Kedron Road, needs to be planned for if future development is approved for Upper Kedron.”

“The roads and infrastructure in this area will not support high-density housing such as unit complexes and low-rise units.”

“I can see potential issues arising if large-scale residential development is allowed to proceed without corresponding infrastructure. Ferny Grove train station and other facilities are likely to be a real problem.”

“Please provide more cycle tracks in the area, especially to train stations for commute into the city. The area is too dependent on cars and the traffic linking roads reflect this.”


Strategies and actions

Maintain and enhance the effectiveness of the road network

• Ensure new development in Cedar Creek Southintegrates directly with the existing road networkto achieve legibility and efficiency.

• Investigate and prioritise intersectionimprovements around local community hubs,particularly Ferny Grove Station, schools andshops, especially those on Upper Kedron,McGinn and Hogarth roads.

• Ensure any extensions to the local roadnetwork are designed and constructed to astandard that supports emergency serviceaccess requirements, for example by featuringa road corridor wide enough for at least twothoroughfares during emergency evacuation andfor emergency vehicle access.

• Support opportunities to enhance safe roadaccess to the area by avoiding level crossingsof the rail line, and providing an additionallocal road connection to Samford Road west ofFerny Grove station as part of the QueenslandGovernment proposed development.

• Identify opportunities to enhance pedestrian andcycle networks to access nearby environmentalfeatures such as lookouts and waterholes aswell as to bushwalking tracks further afield, forexample Bellbird Grove, Samford (Lanita Drive)Rail Trail, Samford Forest Park, Walkabout Creekand possibly The Gap Park ‘n’ Ride.

Enable the efficient operation of emergency services during natural hazard events

• Ensure emergency services have suitable accessto respond to natural hazards, particularly in newresidential areas in Cedar Creek South.

• Ensure evacuation routes are provided, haveadequate capacity and are sufficiently protectedfrom flood and bushfire. These routes shouldallow emergency services to operate before,during and after natural hazard events.

• Provide at least one emergency access route toMt Nebo Road (limited to park ranger access).

Enable more efficient and effective public transport

• Ensure future development in Cedar CreekSouth provides a local road network designed tosupport a bus service connecting Canvey Roadwith Cedar Creek and McAlroy roads.

• Explore and investigate with the QueenslandGovernment opportunities to implementcommunity ideas (refer to ‘Community ideas’ onpage 22) for improved public transport serviceslocally and to the Brisbane CBD.

Enhance active transport as a viable way to get around and a source of active recreation

• Investigate opportunities to complete keymissing walk and cycle links along busy localroads, waterway corridors and to connect localneighbourhoods and community hubs (refer tomap 2).

• Prioritise street-tree planting along key localstreets to community hubs such as schools, shopsand the station to encourage walking and cycling.


Community ideas

• Evaluate options including expanding the local bus route, extending service times and increasing service frequency to make it easier to get to important centres and Ferny Grove Station.

• Reduce parking pressure around Ferny Grove Station by investigating a more frequent rail bus shuttle between Samford Valley and Ferny Grove Station and a future Park ’n’ Ride at Samford Village.

• Explore the opportunity to provide a bus connection to The Gap Park ‘n’ Ride.

Get connected

Help Council plug the gaps in your local walking and cycling network. We’re mapping out the most popular routes and working out which missing links to build first. Let us know what sections you want constructed or upgraded by sending us a picturevia email or filling in the online feedback form.

As Ferny Grove State High Schoois one of the area’s most popular destinations, and more mums and dads would like to see their kids walk or cycle to school, we’refocusing our attention on an area within a 1.5 kilometre radius of the school.

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Bellbird Grove

To Walkabout Creek

To Samford via Rail Trail

To Kedron Brook Bikeway

MCGINN ROAD

TRAMWAY STREET

UPPER KEDRON ROAD

LEVITT ROAD

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LEGEND

Train station

Community hub

Green node

Bellbird Grove

Rail line to inner city

Focus area

Neighbourhood plan boundary

Brisbane City Council boundary

Regional road connection

Local road connection

Emergency service access

Indicative road connection

Centres

General residential area

Urban edge

Open space

Housing diversity

Conservation of environmental values

Extractive industry

MAP 2: CONNECTIONS AND GETTING AROUND


Documents

Vision for the Council has drafted a vision to help ... introduce new retail and dining opportunities ” “Apartments or infill/ narrow lot housing on main roads are fine, but the