Rogers Reserve Footpath Construction Progress

The construction of the O'Brien Road Footpath on the edge of the Charles and Motee Rogers Bushland Reserve has begun.

These photos show the progress and stages of the construction process.  The Orange tape around the trees on the edge of the reserve is to show the areas in which the footpath will need to be raised over tree roots to ensure they aren't damaged during the footpath construction.

26/11/2014 - O'Brien Road Footpath Construction on the edge of Charles & Motee Rogers Bushland Reserve, Highfields.

12/11/14 - Construction Begins.

10/11/14 - Orange Bollards in place for the footpath works to begin. 

Proposal for 4 Lane Road Widening for O'Brien Rd Highfields.

The High Country News, Highfields has made mention of the recently discussed proposal for 4 lane road widening for O'Brien Road at Highfields in their newspaper article titled "Business hears of plans for future development"  reported by Miles Noller, published on 8th of July 2014. (see below).

The article mentions many future changes for Highfields that were discussed at a recent meeting of the Highfields and District Business Connections Group last week.

Specifically, the mentioning of the proposal to widen O'Brien Road at Highfields to four lanes to cope with the growth of the town and the planned town centre which will be located  close by.  This mention of the road widening proposal has stood out as an area of major concern for the fate of the Charles and Motee Rogers Bushland Reserve.  I have personally contacted Cr Bill Cahill regarding this newspaper article and asked for copies of the plans that were shown at the meeting, to which he attended. I have expressed that while I understood that the Toowoomba Regional Council needs to plan infrastructure to cope with the high-growth of the Highfields area, I believe that none of the last patch of remnant bushland in the centre of Highfields (Charles and Motee Rogers Bushland Reserve) should be sacrificed for such plans.

In High Country Herald Newspaper (18th March 2014 Edition), journalist Miles Noller confirmed plans for future road widening on O'Brien Road to four lanes for the future.  Based on the a news report the rumored road widening for O'Brien Road, Highfields to 4 lanes, (which would result in mass tree-clearing and land loss within the Charles and Motee Rogers Bushland Reserve), is something that was planned to occur within 10 years as advised by Mike Brady, General Manager Infrastructure Services Group, TRC. Read the 18th March 2014 Article Here...

I will update this post once I have received a response from Cr Cahill and further information about the mentioned road widening proposal.

Full Newspaper featuring this article can be viewed online here.

J Gray.

"Business hears of plans for future development"  reported by Miles Noller, published on 8th of July 2014.  Featuring mention of the proposal to widen O'Brien Road to 4 Lanes. See Highlighted Sections.

High Country Herald Confirms Plans for road widening of O'Brien Road 17/03/14

High Country Herald Newspaper has confirmed plans for future road widening on O'Brien Road to four lanes in the near future.  Based on a news report by High Country Herald journalist Miles Noller, in the 18th March 2014 Edition,  that the rumored road widening for O'Brien Road, Highfields to 4 lanes, (which would result in mass tree-clearing and land loss within the Charles and Motee Rogers Bushland Reserve), is something that is planned to occur within 10 years as advised by Mike Brady, General Manager Infrastructure Services Group, TRC.  This is a serious issue that will need to be addressed in the near future.

This article also hastily  featured the plan proposal for the Option A Path through the Charles and Motee Rogers Bushland Reserve, of which councillors were expected to vote for.  On the day that this article was published, eight Toowoomba Regional Councillors voted against the proposal printed in the paper, and voted instead for Option B (see more here).  As mentioned in the Herald article that Option A ensured that no trees would be removed within the reserve, Option B also ensured that no trees, undergrowth or wildlife habitat would be removed, making it a far better option for the *Endangered Ecosystem. The final result by Council does not see any tree removal as stated it would in a previous article in the High Country Herald (see article here).

(*Charles and Motee Rogers Bushland Reserve is a certified Ecosystem under the Queensland Vegetation Management Act 1999 and listed as an Area of Ecological Significance in a biodiversity area in the Toowoomba Regional Council Planning Scheme & Town Plan 2013)

High Country Herald Front Page 18 March 2014 "Trees will remain intact"

High Country Herald Article 18th March 2014 - printed the Plan A path proposal for the Charles and Motee Rogers Bushland Reserve, prior to the TRC Councillors Voting for Option B later that morning.  This article does confirm plans by TRC Infrastructure General Manager Mike Brady to widen O'Brien Road to 4 lanes within 10 years.