Brisbane’s newest City Cat terminal at Hamilton may be of little use until planned residential development has been completed according to local business owners.
The $5million terminal was unveiled two weeks ago by Lord Mayor Graham Quirk as part of a series of upgrades to Brisbane’s ferry terminals planned by the Council.
The terminal is located in the Northshore Hamilton Urban Development Area where apartments and townhouses are currently under construction and are expected to be completed mid way through next year.
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Map showing the location of the new terminal
In a media release, Councillor for Hamilton Ward David McLachlan said it would provide a fabulous destination for residents of Brisbane and visitors, particularly on weekends.
However local business owners fear that opening the terminal before people had actually moved into the area may have been a costly mistake, worrying poor patronage might lead the council to abandon the weekday service.
Northshore Cafe owner Simon said he had not seen anyone using the terminal since it opened and was upset it had failed to bring him any extra business thus far.
“At the moment it’s always closed and I haven’t seen anyone using it,” he said.
“It’s a great idea but I would like to see it being used by more people.”
Simon said that more people would probably use the terminal once the units were completed but until then it would remain of little benefit to his business.
The terminal gates remain locked for most of the day with only six services run daily
City Cat driver Mark said also that very few people were using the terminal, with as few as two people using the ferry on some weekdays.
“I think the Council is just trying to get its foot in the door before the apartments are built,” he said.
Mark said he wasn’t aware of any plans for the Council to add additional services at the moment but suspects more will be added upon completion of the nearby units.
Currently six services are being run from the terminal to cater for morning and afternoon commuters.
Weekend services run approximately every ten minutes between 9am and 4pm.
Weekend services run approximately every ten minutes between 9am and 4pm.
The successful north side Bretts Wharf terminal, approximately three kilometers up river, runs 41 services a day, during the week, with a City Cat departing approximately every ten minutes during peak hours.
Inside the terminal - the design supposedly resembles that of a shipping container
Construction of another terminal at Teneriffe has also recently begun and is due to be completed by the end of the year.
New terminals have also been proposed for 6 existing sites that were damaged during the January floods including the University of Queensland, Regatta, North Quay, QUT Gardens Point, Holman Street and Sydney Street.
#QUTOJ1 New City Cat terminal at Hamilton is of no benefit to local businesses: remains unused for most of the day
@MitchDunkiii Mitch Dunk
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