From Redlands2030 Newsletter – 28 August 2025
Ancient koala trees are at risk if Redland City Council constructs a 2.5 metres wide concrete path right next to them at Luke Street Thornlands says Lynn Roberts, President of the Eprapah Creek Catchment Landcare Association Inc. Lynn has initiated a petition to Redland City Council asking it to stop construction of the path which she says is unnecessary.
Sign the Petition
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Statement – Eprapah Creek Catchment Landcare Association
Our group has been horrified by the environmental destruction that is occurring at the Luke Street construction site for the bridge across Eprapah Creek. We argued strongly against the construction of this bridge when it was before Council in 2018.
However, even at this late stage there is one small change which would make a very big improvement to the impact this construction is having. There is absolutely no need for the most damaging access path parallel to the cul-de-sac of Luke Street. This path would isolate and degrade a thin strip of highly important vegetation which protects many invaluable veteran trees, that are hundreds of years old. There is no way these trees will survive into the long term with a 2.5 metre concrete path within a metre and a half of their base.
There is no need for this path as the upper part of Luke Street is a cul-de-sac and as such has limited pedestrian traffic. The planned (and already cleared) path from Marcoola Street servicing the main populated area to the future bridge is a much more direct route from the playground, see below.
Green paths already cleared would save the trees along Luke Street – access to the bridge from Luke Street (yellow arrow) and Marcoola Street (orange arrow) : Burchill Engineering Report 2019
There is already a concrete path connecting the playground with the Marcoola Street path to the bridge (see attached map showing the path in green). Combined with the path from the lower end of Luke Street (also marked in green) giving access to the bridge from the already established residential areas in the west, the Marcoola Street path services the larger population from the north.
Path along edge of Luke Street is unnecessary
There is absolutely no need for the destructive path along the edge of the end of Luke Street (crossed out in red) as there are so few houses in this part of Luke Street.
Another important point is that the proposed path through old growth koala trees would require constant expensive maintenance as it is directly underneath these old trees. As ratepayers we are concerned at the ongoing cost of this maintenance. Apart from the expense of building this unnecessary path, there is also a duty of care safety issue as constructing a path through these old growth trees would expose users to falling branches as well as the potential for expensive litigation if a branch were to fall on a user.
Elimination of the Luke Street path would save time and money and protect the highly significant trees along Luke Street. The lower Luke Street access (yellow arrow) would of course be the main route from the existing residential areas to the west.
The mayor at the time of the acceptance of the Southeast Thornlands Structure Plan promised that our group would be consulted when any pathways were built along Eprapah Creek. We hope this suggestion will be considered as it would help to allay the criticism not only from our group but also the residents of the area who have already expressed their concerns.
Lynn Roberts BSc (AES)
President – Eprapah Creek Catchment Landcare Association Inc.
