THE St Mary’s Church community at South Brisbane is up in arms over plans to cut off access to their church if a new bridge from Milton to South Brisbane goes ahead.
Under the proposal, Sunday Masses could be affected and funerals and weddings would be restricted as parking is reduced from two hours to two minutes during the week and to half an hour on weekends.
There are also fears there could be more pedestrian deaths as homeless people with disabilities and addictions cross the road to access the parish’s community services and thousands of cars stream past in both directions.
Brisbane City Council wants to build the Hale St Link, a four-lane toll bridge across the Brisbane River.
Once the proposed bridge hits West End it will split into Merivale St and Cordelia St, surrounding the church on both sides.
St Mary’s priest-in-residence Fr Terry Fitzpatrick said there were alternatives to the bridge such as better public transport and more bike lanes and he encouraged people to send in submissions against the proposal to council.
