[BrizzyChris]

The other thread is on 499 posts. If 500 is the max, I guess we have to start again.

previous NEWS THREAD can be found here>>

http://www.skyscrapercity.com/showthread.php?p=3840630#post3840630

 

[Malt]

meh. I doubt anyone would have complained.

I thought that was just for development threads. You cant really archive our news thread.

 

[JayT]

I hope the other thread will stay for a while because there are some great links to other sites that we can use from time to time.

jt

 

[CULWULLA]

ive archived it. if you want to visit it ill edit a link in chris's first post

heres interesting read from todays fin rev

 

[Maroon Grown]

is the 55,000 sq m of space ready for refurbishment the bcc administration centre????

 

[Malt]

^ Its probably multiple centres.

The BCC Admin Centre doesnt look like it would be 55k sqm tho. (i wouldt know)

 

[Brisvein]

Just saw a news break with Chairman Beattie saying that a new rail crossing of the river is being planned. Anyone got anymore info?

 

[JayT]

Just saw a news break with Chairman Beattie saying that a new rail crossing of the river is being planned. Anyone got anymore info?

There is a thread about it in the transport section - though you probably already have seen it. All those zero's are hard to miss.

jt

 

[Malt]

News..

Waive 10,000 parking tickets? Mayor can do!
Jason Gregory
15apr05

THERE were no meter maids on hand, but Lord Mayor Campbell Newman yesterday made himself the friend of the motorist by personally wiping out more than $600,000 in parking fines.

The gesture followed an election pledge to curb the council's parking revenue habit, which Cr Newman described as "absolutely over the top".

Instead of employing a bevy of beautiful meter maids, as the Gold Coast famously did in the swinging '60s, Cr Newman said he would give the final approval next Monday to a parking disputes commissioner.

The disputes commissioner will independently review disputed parking fines and other infringements so people are not forced into the court system to fight fines.






Street parking charges in the central business district were dropped last year from $4 to $2.20 an hour.

Cr Newman also cancelled almost 10,000 fines, wiping 5 per cent from expected future parking fine revenue in the process.

"I currently review stuff and I will let people off who have been pinged unnecessarily, (but) we do gather evidence and get statutory declarations so the people who just try it on will be disappointed," Cr Newman said.

"There are always two sides to every story and things are weighed up on their merits."

The waivers, however, have not stopped the Brisbane City Council collecting $12.7 million in revenue from fines handed out between April 1 last year and March 31 this year.

That was a slight increase on the $12 million pocketed in the previous 12 months.

Cr Newman said the city's main trouble spots were Wickham Tce, near Suncorp Stadium and the Gabba on game days, as well as inner-city parks limited to a two-hour stay.

Council figures given to The Courier-Mail showed 178,000 tickets were issued in the current financial year.

They were mainly for motorists parking in clearways, on yellow lines or overstaying the pay-display meters.

Since the mid-1960s inner-city parking spaces have fallen from 3600 spaces to fewer than 1500.

Parking revenue makes up almost 1 per cent of the total council budget receipts.

 

[Orfeo]

You may remember a little while back I mentioned that the SB corp had two specific designs in mind....

They've now been released for public comment -

Fishermans Whaft Design

-This ground + one-storey development would feature an added island deck, cafes and outdoor dining.

-The boardwalk would provide the basis for connecting South Bank to the Kangaroo Point cliffs, ensuring a continuous loop around the river for joggers, walkers and cyclists.

-Fisherman’s Wharf would result in 2700 sqm of additional public space for South Bank visitors to enjoy.

-Total area of public space is 3400sqm on land and 800sqm on the pontoon. Total area of restaurant and café space is 3000sqm.

Retail, Dining and Hotel Precinct

The retail and dining precinct features retail outlets on the ground floor and a 60 room hotel on the upper level offering uninterrupted river views.

The boardwalk structure will be extended as part of this development providing the basis for an uninterrupted link between South Bank and the Kangaroo Point Cliffs

The low level development opens up 2000sqm of additional public space for South Bank visitors to enjoy.

Total public space within the hotel development is 3500sqm. Total hotel facility space is 3300sqm, including 60 rooms, front of house and ground floor retail.

public comment can be made here.

 

[SteV]

noice, un-ewe-sual, diff-rent

 

[Malt]

i find it hard to choose.

Both designs are unique. I like the shapes involved in the second one..

IF there was cafe's and dining in the second one i would choose it easily.

If its just retail im a little unsure..

But i like hte tower/hotel development behind it. Hopefully it would be 5*

 

[GMAC]

Personally, I think they should do both, move the maratime museum to bigger premises on the old patricks wharfs next to the Cruise Ship Terminal, put the hotel in the above position with the wharf redesigned to fit in the Maratime museum site. Just a thought!!

 

[BrizzyChris]

Looking at the renders, the hotel development one looks way better. I don't care for the first design at all.

 

[nikko]

It's a hard choice.

I'm for abstract and stand-out design(2nd) but I'm also for cafes and restaraunts (1st) and from those renders, the promenade for bthe second deisgn looks a little bland. and lol @ the 4th pic from the bottom, it looks like it's situated at Pinkenba.

I think I'll go for second though, it seems that everyone is starting to get into that trend that the 1st one displays, Brissy needs diversity.

 

[Orfeo]

I prefer the second design, but the first one isn't horrible. And it will be a fight over which one is choosen. People in the area do not want a hotel - SBC really want one. I'm not really pushed eitherway as long as there will be a decent amount of real public space with restaurants and retail. The last one they had was just a sell off......1 hotel taking up the entire site and less parkland that what is there now.

I agree that the maritime museum is not particularly nice....the actual building which contains exhibits isn't really nice or disgusting..so-so...it is the open areas that look like someone has a prediliction for collecting boat junk, and everyone who walks across the Goodwill bridge gets an eyefull. If they cleaned that up....

 

[Orfeo]

S'pose this is news...

Hotel in Brisbane? Sorry there's no vacancy

Emma Chalmers

BRISBANE hotels made good use of their no vacancy signs last year as the city enjoyed the fourth highest occupancy rate in the world, outside North America.

In the annual HotelBenchmark report by business analyst Deloitte, Brisbane was ranked behind only Dubai, Hurghada (Egypt) and Hong Kong in a survey of 165 cities across the world.

Last year, Brisbane hotels had an 82.5 per cent occupancy rate to come in ahead of all other Australian cities as well as Tokyo, London, Christchurch, Singapore and Gatwick.

According to the report, Brisbane's hotel occupancy rate rose 16.2 per cent in the last four years and grew 5 per cent on figures from 2003, the year the Rugby World Cup was played in Australia.

Sydney was the next best performing Australian city and it came in at 18th on the list with an occupancy rate of 77.9 per cent, only just in front of Perth which was in the 20th spot with a hotel occupancy rate of 77.8 per cent.

Queensland Tourism Industry Council chief executive Daniel Gschwind said Brisbane's result would have been encouraged by increased conventions, events and leisure travel which was enhanced by our top-notch facilities.

"I think the quality of those really is what underpinned that strong growth and it's also supported and partly driven by the increased aviation connections that we have and the support we get from, for example, Brisbane Airport Corporation, which is really driving business into Brisbane and through Brisbane, and it's also of course the leisure market," he said.

Mr Gschwind said while the report might suggest there is room for more hotels in Brisbane, the industry would have to act cautiously to ensure that the existing hotels could sustain their business.

"It obviously does also then raise the question if we need more capacity and we'll see a couple of properties come on line, like at South Bank," he said.

"As usual we want to make sure we get it right and we don't overcook it and we make sure that businesses who are already here can maintain occupancy and importantly can maintain room rates."

 

[Malt]

^

Thats more good news.
Hurghada? Is that near the pyramids or something lol.

So maybe Sheraton will be back with a new Hotel?

Or maybe we will just be getting the hotel space in Vision, as well as the possibility of the South Bank hotel space

 

[Malt]

I dont know if anyone has been reading these:

http://www.theage.com.au/news/Natio...t/2005/04/15/1113509922920.html?oneclick=true

http://www.abc.net.au/ra/news/stories/s1345534.htm


The way i see it, i agree 100% with the BAC on the matter.
It says the man could have avoided it had he planned ahead, so its his own fault.

 

[nikko]

I dont know if anyone has been reading these:

http://www.theage.com.au/news/Natio...t/2005/04/15/1113509922920.html?oneclick=true

http://www.abc.net.au/ra/news/stories/s1345534.htm


The way i see it, i agree 100% with the BAC on the matter.
It says the man could have avoided it had he planned ahead, so its his own fault.

Definately. He may be a diplomat, but that dosen't change the fact that everyone much be properly screened on entry to the secure area. Imagine if he was just given the blind eye and the staff were found out and BAC was fined, there would be massive uproar and then everyone would be worried about airport security again. We'd be right back to square one.