BRISBANE CBD SERIES
Moving On Up to the West Side of the CBD…
Ed has moved on up to the west side of the CBD. Santos has done a re-org and Ed will be working on Turbot Street on the west side of the CBD, across the CBD, from the Eagle Street location on the east side of the CBD.
This provides an excellent opportunity to show you more of the Brisbane city structure, particularly on the west side of the CBD (circa ~2015-2018).
Ed’s new office is located in the colorful tall Santos building.
The highway that you see at the front of the picture, running along the Brisbane River is the busy M3 motorway (Pacific Highway).
Take a close look at the bottom left corner. There is a pedestrian and bicycle pathway under the busy motorway. Look for it again in an upcoming blog where we take a walk along the water’s edge and under the motorway.
M3 – Pacific Motorway – on the West Side of the CBD
While we are on the topic of the Motorway, to give you a better perspective of the size of this highway which runs along the west side of the CBD, I want to show you some pictures taken from above the motorway from the Victoria Bridge. Northward view on the left and south on the right.
In the second picture, you will also see the North Quay (pronounced “key”) ferry station. Most of the ferry stations were upgraded during the time that we lived in Brisbane (2013-2019).
I try to avoid this highway on the west side of the CBD, but I have taken it a few times. You have to concentrate during busy times to avoid being in a lane that is exiting, while still trying to be able to exit when you want to.
I rely on my GPS a lot. Even after years of living and driving in Brisbane, I like to have it on, even if I know where I am going.
Speeding
I have heard people express different opinions on this, but it has been my experience that Brisbanites do not speed. Even when passing on the highways they tend to only exceed the speed limit by a few km/hour, if at all.
1 William Street
In the picture on the right above you can’t help but notice the very tall building in the background. This is the newly constructed skyscraper on the west side of the CBD is home to the Brisbane Government offices. It is currently the tallest tower in the city at 260 m. It will lose that title in 2019 when the Brisbane Skytower is slated to be completed. The residential Skytower (on the east side) will stand at just over 270 m tall.
This skyscraper is so tall that looks like it is sitting atop the elevator in the foreground. The elevator is used to take you down to the river level to access the North Quay (pronounced “key”) Ferry station that you see in the photo below. Most of the ferry stations were upgraded during the time that we lived in Brisbane (2013-2019).
This view affords you the opportunity to see some of the old city structures juxtaposed in front of the newer and talled buildings. Check out the Old and New blogpost if architecture interests you.
TRIVIA GAME
The picture to the right(or below) is one that I took when I was first here in 2013. Since then there have been two significant changes in the landscape, shown in the more recent picture above. If you find them, put your answer in the comment box below.
Brisbane CBD Peninsula
I want to try to give you some perspective on the Brisbane CBD. It is a peninsula surrounded on three sides by water. In fact, the Brisbane River is a key feature of Brisbane and will be featured in an upcoming blog post. When approaching the city from downriver, the first stop is at Riverside at Eagle Street on the east side (ferry icon by Stamford Plaza Brisbane on the map). North Quay is the last convenient ferry stop on the west side of the CBD (icon by the Treasury Casino). The city is easily navigated by foot and an enjoyable afternoon can be had there. See “CBD Street Scene”
Brisbane City Botanical Gardens
At the very tip of the peninsula is the Brisbane City Botanical Gardens, a really lovely place to spend some time. Check out the pictures below. They were taken from the other side of the river while we were doing the Cliffs Walk and they give a great perspective on the City. From this view you can also see the Government offices building on the west side of the CBD and the under construction competition on the east.
Above: That is the M3 on the left. The CBD looms above the green of the Botanical Gardens.
Final View of West Side of CBD
This is one of my favorite pictures. It captures a great view of the west side of the CBD.
Beautiful! Thanks, Diane.
Love,
Linda
Thanks, Linda. It is good to hear from you. Love, Diane
Great job on the blog today Diane! The answer to your question is that the Brisbane Government Building had not been built in 2013.
Yes, Diane. Good job! One more detail to go.
Yeah for you and Ed! What an amazing experience for both of you! Wes and I have visited twice and love Australia. Thanks for sharing your blog.
Thanks Martha. Ed and I enjoyed the 5+ years that we lived there. It really was an amazing experience. Beautiful country and wonderful people. We love being back in Canada now, but we miss Australia very much, at the same time. I’m glad that you have experienced it for yourself!