Redland City Council has completed a $1.98 million upgrade to the Russell Island car park adjacent to the new ferry terminal.
Mayor Karen Williams said the refurbishment added an extra 64 car park bays and included a number of safety improvements for motorists and pedestrians.
“The car park on Russell Island is now significantly larger after council acquired adjacent properties and it will provide a markedly improved experience for users,” she said.
“This includes safety features such as a more efficient traffic flow, dedicated zones for taxis and emergency vehicles and a dedicated bus drop-off zone.
“There are also eight accessible parking spaces close to the terminal, eight motorcycle parking bays and compact bicycle racks.
“This project, together with council’s $17.1 million towards the SMBI Ferry Terminals Upgrade project, aims to improve commuting to and from Russell Island.”
Cr Mark Edwards said improvements to the car park would make it easier for residents to connect with mainland services.
“One of the new features is a commuter drop-off zone that allows vehicles to pull up and safely let out passengers,” he said. “This zone also allows about seven vehicles to queue for up to five minutes while waiting for ferry passengers to disembark, meaning these vehicles do not need to use a car park bay.”
The upgrade was completed in three stages to reduce impact to the community and prevent loss of parking during construction.
The $1.98 million car park upgrade was funded by council and supported by the state government with $650,536 through the Transport Infrastructure Development Scheme.