Avenue closure concerns

The vision outlines high-density, public transit-oriented development to justify the future Airport West train station, which will be tunnelled directly beneath Brearley Avenue.

Under the plan, airport access would be from Tonkin Highway and Dunreath Drive while Brearley Avenue, which currently carries 36,000 cars a day, would be closed.

Residents and business owners, who say City of Belmont and Main Roads have ignored their concerns, are now attempting to gather numbers to prompt a City of Belmont special electors’ meeting.

They need 100 signatures to force a special electors meeting with City of Belmont.

One of those is concerned business owner Steve Erceg, who said that access to his funeral business would be seriously impacted by the closure of Brearley Avenue.

Mr Erceg is managing director of Seasons Funerals, which is accessed from Boulder Avenue.

He said the closure of Brearley Avenue would in many cases force him to lead funeral corteges of up to 20 cars on a convoluted route through residential streets.

“Clients also won’t know how to get here – they will see it from the highway but won’t know how to get to us,” he said.

“No one is listening to our concerns, which is very frustrating.

“This plan will ruin our business and we would consider suing for any loss of revenue.”

Mr Erceg and Redcliffe residents have suggested a solution.

“We believe if they close off one carriageway of Brearley Avenue and block it off at First Street, then residents and businesses would be happy and there would be no need to upgrade Coolgardie Street,” he said.

Redcliffe resident Bella Scharfenstein agrees, and is spearheading the campaign for a compromise on Brearley Avenue.

“Closing Brearley Avenue will have two immediate effects: It will create a rat run through Coolgardie Avenue and First Street, then Boulder (Avenue) and Kanowana (Avenue),” she said.

Ms Scharfenstein said the rat run would also be used to access the airport once Central Avenue connects to the airport in the long term.

A traffic study by WorleyParsons states the benefits of the proposed closure includes the ability to reconfigure the Tonkin Highway and Great Eastern Highway intersection, which is a major source of congestion.

It also stated Brearley Avenue divided Redcliffe and its removal would allow the road network to form a grid structure.