Mayor’s column | Greater Springfield Chamber of Commerce monthly newsletter
February 2024
Ipswich City Council renews its six-month e-scooter trial in Springfield Central
Partnering with e-scooter hire company Beam Mobility, the six-month extended trial will continue to survey the benefits of shared electric micro-mobility vehicles.
More than 3,000 users have scooted across the trial to date, demonstrating how quickly e-scooters have been adopted by Springfield Central residents.
Residents spent 3,000 hours travelling 30,000 kilometres in total during the first six months of the trial.
Council has decided to extend the trial to July 1, 2024, to collect additional data that may help evaluate the long-term viability of e-scooters in Ipswich.
The distinctive purple e-scooters require a smartphone. They are found at designated parking hubs and along footpaths in Springfield Central, Springfield Lakes, and Spring Mountain during the trial.
Council’s Shape Your Ipswich page remains open for residents to provide feedback on the e-scooter trial.
Springfield Parkway and Springfield Greenbank Arterial Road upgrade update
Work continues on the largest road upgrade in Ipswich’s history, the Springfield Parkway and Springfield Greenbank Arterial duplication.
Starting from Sunday night 11 February at 7pm until 5am Monday 26 February, there will be nightwork being carried out.
This work will be for utility network upgrades along Springfield Greenbank Arterial and Main Street, Springfield.
To upgrade both the water and recycled water main network that runs underground along Springfield Greenbank Arterial, a weekend shutdown is required.
The shutdown will start at 8pm on Friday 23 February and be continuous until 5am on Monday 26 February.
Once the work is completed, the stormwater drainage and water main will be upgraded, the electrical network will be installed along with new street lighting poles.
New Children’s Art Gallery
Ipswich City Council has put its support behind an innovative proposal for what is believed to be Australia’s first standalone Children’s Art Gallery, forecast to add 95,000 visits a year to Ipswich’s revitalised CBD.
Council at its January Ordinary Meeting approved the pursuit of funding for a dedicated Children’s Art Gallery as part of the redeveloped Nicholas Street Precinct.
The council report highlighted that the option to relocate current children’s programming into a dedicated children’s art gallery has the potential to increase attendance by a net total 95,000 visits per annum (175,000 total visits across Ipswich Art Gallery and Children’s Art Gallery).
The report also highlighted that children’s programming is oversubscribed and the current available spaces cannot expand or facilitate any additional programming.
Ipswich had hit several milestones in recent times by growing its Gross Regional Product past $12 billion, attracting more than 2 million visitors per annum and recently welcoming its 250,000th resident.
Australian Day winners
Six remarkable recipients have been announced as winners in the 2024 Ipswich Australia Day Awards.
St Augustine’s College’s Louie Galman is Ipswich’s Young Citizen of the Year.
As the 2023 Youth Member for Bundamba in the Queensland Youth Parliament (QYP) Louie successfully passed a “Nurturing our Nutrition” Youth Bill.
He represented Australia at the 2022 Children’s General Assembly, and served on the 2023 Ipswich Youth Advisory Council.
Louie was appointed to be the Convener, Program Coordinator, MC and Speaker for the 2023 Filipino Australian Foundation Queensland (FAFQ) Inc. Youth Leadership Training Program, which empowers 20 youth to become community leaders.
Louie exemplifies what it is to make meaningful contributions to our community, and I wish to congratulate him on being named our Young Citizen of the Year.
There were 35 nominations across the six categories in the 2024 Ipswich Australia Day Awards:
- Citizen of the Year – Amanda Draheim
- Senior Citizen of the Year – Fay Ison
- Young Citizen of the Year – Louie Galman
- Cultural Award – Jenny Stubbs
- Sport and Recreation Award – David Reid
- Community Group of the Year – Riverview Neighbourhood Watch
Background on individual winners available here: https://www.ipswichfirst.com.au/meet-your-2024-ipswich-australia-day-award-winners/