BOLD PROPOSAL FOR GREENING INNER-CITY BRISBANE

Known as the Roma Street Canopies, the project would see a network of walkable parklands, gardens and pedestrian pathways built above the existing rail infrastructure, effectively stitching together neighbourhoods long divided by transport corridors and major roads. According to Proberts, Managing and Creative Director of bureau^proberts, the concept has the potential to return approximately 7.5 hectares of new green space to Brisbane’s inner city.

The proposal positions the railway yards not as a barrier but as an opportunity, using contemporary engineering to support new layers of public space above active transport infrastructure. If realised, the Roma Street Canopies would create new pedestrian connections between the Brisbane CBD, Roma Street Parklands, Suncorp Stadium and the planned Victoria Park Olympic Precinct, significantly improving walkability across the inner city.

Roma Street Rail Corridor currently

“The technology exists to build above the existing rail yards, and this initiative will create a large-scale elevated canopy that will carry earthworks, landscaping, plantings, trees and the other infrastructure required to develop new parklands," explains Proberts. “This would transform the Western edge of Brisbane’s CBD with this series of interlinked canopies acting as the foundations for landscaped gardens, walkways and bicycle paths.

The Roma Street Canopies concept is designed to reconnect communities, major sporting venues and civic facilities that are currently divided by roads, rail corridors and Brisbane’s distinctive inner-city terrain.

According to Proberts, this proposal will mean that residents and visitors will be able to catch a train to Roma Street Station and walk directly from the station to Victoria Park in fifteen minutes, all on one easily accessible level, bypassing the ridges and steep streets of Spring Hill.

“The project optimises the use of new infrastructure, including the Cross River Rail, to reduce our reliance upon cars to create a healthy walkable city,” he said. “This aligns with several initiatives that have been proposed for Brisbane, including the Green Pathways, Gold Places strategy,” he says.

In addition to public realm improvements, the project would unlock development opportunities across the Roma Street precinct, supporting new housing close to the CBD and major employment hubs.

“We want to provoke some ambitious thinking about how we make our city a better place to live and work,” he says. “We believe in Brisbane’s status as one of the best cities in the world and that we can be adventurous in how we think about the city’s future.”

“This is exactly the kind of bold, future-focused vision Brisbane deserves,” says Jess Caire, Executive Director Queensland of the Property Council of Australia. “This aspirational concept has the power to unlock enormous potential, connecting key precincts while creating new housing and vibrant public spaces.”

Roma Street aerial view currently

Caire said elevated green corridors reflect Brisbane’s subtropical character while delivering economic and social benefits. “Elevated green corridors pay homage to our subtropical climate, making the city more walkable, reducing car dependency, and boosting economic activity,” she says.

“Ambitious plans like this will not only enhance Brisbane’s liveability and long-term prosperity but also cement our position as a global city for decades to come."

bureau^proberts is now acting as the champion for the idea, with discussions underway with state and local governments and potential partners as part of a proposed submission to Economic Development Queensland.