A pedestrian and cyclist bridge connecting Kangaroo Point to Brisbane CBD, which was once an integral part of lord mayor Graham Quirk's platform, was first proposed in the 1800s.
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And although the Brisbane City Council supports a bridge, it has not budgeted the money to fund it.
The council received two petitions with a total of 238 signatures from residents calling on the council to commit to a new pedestrian and cyclist bridge linking the Kangaroo Point peninsula to the Brisbane CBD.
The bridge had previously had $32 million allocated in forward estimates and, in 2013, Cr Quirk said the council would go it alone in funding the bridge.
Funding for the bridge has never appeared in subsequent budgets.
Information supplied by the council revealed a bridge in this location was first proposed in the 1800s and a design was developed by 1890.
This bridge was never constructed and the council suggested this was because of the severe economic recession of the 1890s and the cost of the 1893 flood.
The council’s public transport chairman Adrian Schrinner said the council was supportive of the bridge being constructed and had a corridor identified but did not have the money to build it this term.
“it’s not part of our current four-year term budget commitment, but we do want to see the bridge built,” he said.
“A Kangaroo Point bridge would provide a wonderful transport outcome for the city, catering for pedestrians and cyclists, but also connecting an area of the city that has quite significant density through Kangaroo Point.
“A lot of people need to get across, not only from the immediate Kangaroo Point area but that whole eastern suburbs catchment.”
The council has identified the connection across the Brisbane River between Kangaroo Point and the City on the council’s bicycle network overlay within the Brisbane City Plan 2014.
The petitioners requested planning for the bridge to start in 2018 with detailed design and construction by 2023.
Opposition transport spokesman Jared Cassidy questioned Cr Schrinner about the detailed design being completed and money allocated.
“What would the cost be for at least the design to send a signal that we are serious about it,” he said.
Cr Schrinner said construction of the bridge would cost in excess of $100 million and the detailed design could cost more than $5 million.
“We’re not talking about a couple of hundred thousand, it’s a significant amount of money,” he said.
“We don’t have that kind of change lying around.”
The head petitioner was told the council recognised the need for the connection but that needed to be balanced against citywide transport priorities.
“In the short-term, funding is not available to construct a bridge between Kangaroo Point and the CBD,” the response said.
The committee voted in favour of the recommendation.
