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Test Drive the Electric Vehicle Hyundai Kona at Northside Hyundai in Nundah

These few months have been a turning point in the Australian car market as more electric vehicles are arriving in the country, including the Hyundai Kona. In Nundah, Northside Hyundai located at 1341 Sandgate Road can tell interested motorists all about this latest technological wonder from Hyundai.

Hyundai Kona Electric Vehicle Features

The Kona Electric is Hyundai’s first 100 percent electric small SUV and features a 150kW electric motor powertrain that can drive up to 449 kilometres within a single charge.

Powering up this electric vehicle’s battery takes 54 minutes to reach 80 percent when plugged into a 100kW DC fast-charger. A 50kW public charger, on the other hand, may deliver 80 percent in 75 minutes.

For an additional $1950, Hyundai can install a 7.2kW household charger that lets electric vehicle owners plug-in their cars overnight (or at least 9.5 hours) and it will be ready to go in the morning. The car also comes with an In-Cable Control Box (ICCB) that makes charging convenient using a regular household socket but with a slower charging completion.

Hyundai Kona Electric’s features are unparalleled, merging style and technology seamlessly, whilst delivering environmental and economic benefits.

Do you know that electronic vehicles produce 30 percent less greenhouse emission compared to petrol-powered vehicles? Do you also know that you can save between 60 to 90 percent of your hard-earned money when you go for electric cars since there are fewer maintenance costs?

Watch this video below to know what features of the Hyundai Kona:

Driving Hyundai Kona along Queensland’s Electric Super Highway

If you’re planning to take the Hyundai Kona Electric for a long drive, there shouldn’t be any worries of losing power while on the road. The Queensland’s Electric Super Highway has been prepared since 2017 to service electric vehicles with its 16 active charging stations from Brisbane to Toowoomba or from Coolangatta to Cairns.

“These stations alleviate range anxiety, one of the major barriers for future EV consumers,” Minister for Transport and Main Roads Mark Bailey said. “This will give EV motorists more options to stop, revive and survive.”

These charging stations, which are located near restaurants, cafes, shops and major roads, provide two types of charging options:

DC – CHAdeMO and CCS Combo Type 2 cables)
AC – Type 2 Mennekes socket BYO charging cable

Before your trip, download the PlugShare app to find more information about other charging stations and the Chargefox app to create your account for convenient payments.

To maximise charging power at these public stations, use the facilities with care and follow the instructions carefully. Don’t forget to read your electric car’s manual thoroughly before plugging in.

Cycle to Make a Difference in Someone’s Life at ‘Ride for Refugees’ in Nundah

Brisbane cyclers, would you like to up your biking game and gain something more meaningful aside from its health benefits? Join the “Ride for Refugees” event at the Albert Bishop Park Criterium Circuit in Nundah to help raise money for a worthy cause.

Whether you go as a team or ride as an individual, the goal of Ride for Refugees is the same: to raise money for the millions of people displaced and forced to leave their homes due to conflict or war and persecution. These are the orphans, the homeless, and the human trafficking victims who have lost their rights.

You can make a difference in their lives by sparing your time for this event. The money raised for Ride for Refugees will go to charity programs like:

*Photo Credit: Ride for Refugees Australia/Facebook*

Happening at 2:00 p.m. on Saturday, the 31st of Aug 2019, Ride for Refugees is divided into four courses: 25km, 50km, 75km and 100km. Each course corresponds to a pledge but you may also consider giving more to help boost the fundraising efforts.

The course starts at the Criterium Circuit for one lap to spread riders out and then exit to the left and follow the Jim Soorley Bikeway north-east. Riders cross Nudgee Road to continue on the shared path. Further along a left turn will take riders onto the Boondall Wetlands Cycleway to a turn-around point at the Boondall Wetlands Park approximately 12.5km away. The course can be completed once or a number of times to equal 25km, 50km, 75km or 100km.”
~ Ride for Refugees

Ride for Refugees is a non-competitive cycling event and it is open to families and their children. So, if you want your kids involved, you can also sign them up to race on Saturday. There will be a Kids RIDE Track, which is 1.2km long.

If you won’t be able to ride, you can sponsor a cyclist or a team. For more details on how to join either as a biker or a sponsor, check the official website and watch this video below.

Nundah Kerbside Collection: How to Encourage Responsible Scavenging

Nundah residents, it’s time to round up old furniture and other items for disposal for scheduled kerbside collection on Monday, the 19th of August 2019. Also, get ready for scavenge hunters who may come by your neighbourhood to claim items you no longer need for their own use.

In Brisbane, there is no law against the practice of scavenging during kerbside collection. In fact, the Council encourages residents to salvage and recycle other people’s stuff as much as possible as it will help limit landfill buildup.

Now that it’s clear that scavenge hunting is not illegal, here are a few tips to remember when you spot scavenge hunters in your street:

1. If you’re tossing out items you have no more use for, then let strangers look into your stuff. If they take home your old furniture think of how much this would be better for the environment.

2. Technically, the moment you discard goods by the curb, it becomes the property of the Council and no longer yours. Thus, anyone is free to help themselves to it until the kerbside collectors come around.

3. To prevent scavenge hunters from making a mess of your pile before the collectors arrive, place them by the kerbside an hour before pick-up time. Some come by at midnight or at dawn when you’re asleep and you could wake up in the morning with your old computer monitors or TV smashed to bits.

4. If you’ve got completely unusable toasters, TV and other appliances, make sure to cut off the cords before placing them on your pile. This way, if the scavengers are only looking for cables and copper, they won’t have to destroy everything else. They can just easily take what they need and go.

5. It might help to also label which items are still working well. Tape a sign that says, “Still Works But Not Worth Selling” and you’d be surprised how easy it would be to encourage more responsible scavenge hunting.

A spokesperson from the Council, however, has a piece of important advice for scavenge hunters: “Ensure that leftover items are stacked tidily and not creating any obstructions to the footpath or roadway.”

Ongoing Widdop Street Upgrade in Nundah to be Completed End of 2019

Good news! Upgrades to Widdop Street in Nundah, which have been ongoing since May 2019 and are expected to provide road access improvements around the Toombul Shopping Centre, are expected to be completed by the end of 2019.

Included in the Widdop Street upgrades is the installation of a new signalised crossing that will help pedestrians and cyclists using the Kedron Brook Bikeway to access the busy intersection safely. The project also entails the expansion of the bikeway’s western side with a larger paved path in anticipation of the volume of people that will be using it.

Widdop Street’s northbound lane, as well as the bridge at the Schulz Canal, will be widened to improve traffic flow. The northbound bus stop will be relocated closer to the shopping site for easier access to commuters.

While the roadworks are ongoing, temporary lane closures are expected to impact motorists and pedestrians since major constructions are taking place day and night from Monday to Sunday. Residents near the area might also experience increased noise and dust as the workers target to finish the project by its planned completion date.

For information and concerns about the Widdop Street upgrade, phone the Council at 1800 669 416 (working hours) or 07 3403 8888 (after working hours) or send an email at cityprojects@brisbane.qld.gov.au.

Virginia United FC Launches Walking Football

Nundah residents now have a less physically demanding alternative to staying fit and active as Virginia United FC introduces Walking Football, a slower low-impact version of soccer, beginning 19 July 2019.

Walking football is a low-impact sport with absolutely no running or jogging. However, VUFC envisions their walking football to be a more inclusive game, rather than just targeting the elderly, to include parents and their kids and everyone else regardless of gender, age, and ability.

Walking football, as a general rule, requires players to have at least one foot on the ground at all times. Participants get many benefits from playing the sport at VUFC, such as quick recovery rate, low cost, less impact compared to other sports, and flexible attendance apart from being extremely enjoyable and social.

*Photo Credit: Virginia United FC / virginiaunitedfc.com.au*

Playing Walking Football at VUFC is easy as there is no advance registration required and no long season commitment needed. However, VUFC only asks that you complete the name and contact email form, so you can be updated if a session is cancelled for any reason, and that’s it!

Once you arrive, just need to pay $7.50 by cash or EFTPOS at the club canteen and take your token to the coordinator on Field 3. The game is open to anyone and is divided into an under 50 and over 50 years old categories with five or six players each team. Also, games are self refereed and played on a 30-metre wide by 40-metre long grass fields, with 3-metre wide and 2-metre high goals.

So, head out to Virginia UFC at 547 Nudgee Rd in Nundah and tag everyone along! The game starts at 6.30pm and will run for one hour and 15 minutes.

Nundah Residents Urge Council to “Fiercely Defend” Its Decision to Refuse Walkers Way DA

Nundah residents are urging the Council, through an online petition, to take all the necessary steps to stop the proposed development at 77 Walkers Way.

“Petitioners request Council fiercely defend its decision to reject this development in the developer’s current appeal in the Planning and Environment Court,” the online petition said.

Some of the concerns raised by the residents and supporters include :

the development area being substantially flooding affected
increased traffic and parking problems
the fact they want to build three storeys overlooking backyards
the fact this area is zoned as rural.

77 Walkers Way DA — *Photo Credit: Brisbane City Council / pdonline.brisbane.qld.gov.au*

Developer Dennis Family Corporation Pty Ltd’s proposal is for a multiple dwelling comprising of 32 3-bedroom townhouses divided into clusters of 3-4 per row with a maximum building height of 3 storeys. The application also proposes the removal of the existing single detached dwelling to facilitate the development.

“The development proposes a maximum building height of 3 storeys to Hedley Avenue and the Kedron Brook Creek. Whilst it is noted that the maximum building height for the Rural zone is 2 storeys, commensurate to the surrounding low density residential development, it is considered that the proposed building height does not result in an overbearing outcome,” the Wolter Consulting Group’s Assessment Report said.

“This design ensures that the development is not overly bulky and reduces the visual appearance of the built form through a combination of high quality architectural design, substantial articulation and breaks in built form and landscaping treatments.”

On 26 April 2019, the Council refused the application because it was inconsistent with the Strategic Framework, conflicts with the relevant provisions of the Nundah district neighbourhood plan code, Multiple Dwelling code, Streetscape hierarchy overlay code, Flood overlay code, Biodiversity areas overlay code, and the Rural zone code.

In its Notice of Appeal dated 24 May 2019, DFC (PROJECT MANAGEMENT) PTY LTD said that Council’s decision to refuse the development application is “erroneous, unreasonable and unlawful… .”

On the matter of bulk and scale, the Appellant said that “the bulk, scale, form and intensity of the proposed development has been designed to integrate with the existing and intended neighbourhood structure for the area.”

The Appellant also stated that“…the proposed development is designed to safely and effectively mitigate the flood hazard in a defined flood event and that no unacceptable risks to person or property will arise.”

Residents and supporters have until 11 August to sign the ePetition, which has so far gathered 117 signatures.

BNE 2020 Preliminary Draft Master Plan Released for Community Feedback

Brisbane Airport has released its 2020 Preliminary Draft Master Plan for community feedback until 21 August 2019.

Brisbane Airport currently serves more than 23 million passengers per year, which is projected to more than double by 2040. Once approved, the Master Plan will form the basis for future development of airport facilities over the next 20 years, with particular focus on the next five years.

The 2020 Master Plan’s Development Objectives are grouped into four main pillars of focus: growing aviation markets, excellence in customer satisfaction, supporting business growth, and driving economic prosperity.

Current BNE projects underway:

Brisbane’s New Runway – Once the new parallel runway opens in 2020 the airport capacity is projected to effectively be doubled.
BNE Auto Mall – Due to open as the new BNE Auto Mall, a first of its kind development that includes a test track, among other facilities, is expected to attract more visitors to the airport.
International Terminal Check-in and Domestic Terminal Retail Upgrades – The $12.6-million upgrade of check-in facilities has had four of the six check-in rows already upgraded including the provision of 96 new self-service. The Domestic Terminal retail upgrade will deliver 50 new and refurbished retail offerings.
Multi-storey Car Park – The facility will provide up to 2,800 additional parking bays.

Building Brisbane’s new runway | Video Credit: Brisbane Airport / YouTube

Some possible future projects:

Domestic and International Terminals expansion – The draft master plan aims to address that future demand with a host of expansions to extend the capacity of International and Domestic Terminals as well as identification of areas for new expansions.
Aviation Support facilities and services – To meet existing and future needs, new precincts for aviation support facilities expansion are identified including a potential airside road connection
Future Northern and Western Terminal – BNE’s development strategy for the Domestic Terminal will focus on the development of the future Northern and Western Terminals. The Future Northern Terminal could be located with direct connectivity to the cross link taxiway system and both runways, whilst the Future Western Terminal could be situated with frontage to Brisbane’s new runway.
Potential Mass Transit System – A potential airport precinct future development option is the mass transit system comprising an airside MTS connecting the Terminals; a new rail station at Skygate; and a feeder bus shuttle service to ancillary airport precinct locations.

Will there be a new terminal when the new runway opens? | Video Credit: Brisbane Airport / YouTube

2020 Brisbane Airport Master Plan Timeline:

Planning and technical studies: October 2017 – March 2018
Engagement with government and key stakeholders: March 2018 – April 2019
Public comment period: 27 May – 21 August 2019
2020 Brisbane Airport Draft Master Plan and supplementary report produced: September – November 2019
Final draft submitted to Federal Minister: January 2020
Master Plan adopted, pending Ministerial approval: January 2020
Implementation: 2020 – 2024

The final draft of the Master Plan will be submitted to the Federal Government in December 2019.

For more information about the 2020 Brisbane Airport Master Plan, click here.

Feedback may be submitted through the following:

Submit feedback via the form here
Or email your submission to masterplan@bne.com.au
Or post your submission (no stamp required) to;

Brisbane Airport Corporation Pty Ltd
Reply Paid 87847
Hamilton Central QLD 4007

Shorncliffe Line Soon To Have Extra Train Services

The Shorncliffe line will have extra 12 train services per week out of the 430 extra weekly train services to be introduced across the South East Queensland network beginning 29 July 2019.

As announced by Queensland Rail, a total of 430 extra weekly train services across SEQ will be added, 85 of which will run in peak times and 142 will run on a Friday.

There will also be an upgrade of 59 existing services from three-carriages to six-carriages which equates to 200,000 extra seats per week. The extra services will add to the 32 weekly peak time services introduced last May 2019 and the 193 three-carriage upgrades, as well as the 46,000 extra seats added last December 2018.

The introduction of extra train services from 29 July, will restore the 8,290 services per week that was promised with the Redcliffe Peninsula Line opening, increasing current service levels by 5.5 percent.

Additional services to the Shorncliffe line:

Departure station	Departure time	Arrival station	Arrival time	Days services are added to
Central	9.13am	Shorncliffe	9.50am	Monday to Thursday
Central	6.58am	Shorncliffe	7.35am	Friday
Central	5.58pm	Shorncliffe	6.35pm	Friday (peak)
Shorncliffe	6.09am	Central	6.46am	Monday to Thursday (peak)
Shorncliffe	5.39pm	Central	6.16pm	Friday
Shorncliffe	6.39pm	Central	7.16pm	Friday

430 extra weekly train services | Video Credit: Queensland Rail / YouTube

To keep the Monday to Friday timetable consistent, a couple of changes to the service origins and departures will be implemented:

Shorncliffe service departing Central at 6.43am will depart Sandgate at 7.18am and arrive at Shorncliffe at 7.20am consistently Monday to Friday.
Friday service departing Shorncliffe at 7.28pm will now depart at a consistent time Monday to Thursday which is four minutes earlier at 7.24pm.

“Delivering a new timetable is a complex task which requires the consideration of a range of interconnected logistics beyond the availability of traincrew, including the planning, stabling and maintenance of trains, rostering and daily train movements,” Queensland Rail’s CEO Nick Easy said.

“More trains running across the network is naturally more challenging to operate, and as the implementation of these changes approaches in the coming weeks our teams will be 100 percent focused on ensuring we transition to these changes reliably.

“We hope these improvements can make a real difference to our customer’s schedules each week, providing more frequent services and more options for our customers to get to and from their commitments sooner,” Mr Easy said.

Nundah: A Sought-After Suburb for Singles

Despite going through a rapid transformation and revitalisation the past decade, Nundah has somehow managed to keep its old vibe and charm, making it a sought-after suburb for Brisbane singles.

Single households, in fact, make up almost 40 percent of the suburb’s total households — higher than the Australian composition of 24.4 percent, the ABS 2016 Census data says. The over 12,000 population of Nundah is also considerably young, whose median age is 33 and the predominant age group is between 24-29, CoreLogic’s onthehouse.com.au says.

*The Royal at Sandgate Road*
*Photo Credit: Kgbo [CC BY-SA 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0)] / Wikimedia Commons*

Whilst Nundah’s village vibe is definitely its main draw card, it is also among Brisbane’s more affordable suburbs despite being just 9 kilometres from the CBD.

According to Domain’s sales data from the last 12 months, the median price for a 2-bed unit in Nundah is $346,000, dropping 3.9 percent from $360,000 in 2018 and by almost 5 percent from $364,000 in 2017.

Corelogic’s propertyvalue.com.au, on the other hand, shows that the house median sale price in Nundah within the last 12 months is $700,000 or a drop of 1.41 percent from a year ago; the unit median price likewise dropped by 6.15 percent to $366,000.

Whilst a majority of Nundah residents are renters — 59 percent as compared to owners at 41 percent — renting a unit or house in Nundah is also relatively cheap despite the rent demand.

Based on realestate.com.au listings data from 1 June 2018 – 13 June 2019, the median house rent in Nundah is $460, slightly higher than the Qld average of $400. For the same period, the median unit price per week is $375,000, $5 more than the Qld’s average.

*Commercial strip in Nundah*
*Photo Credit: Orderinchaos [CC BY-SA 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0)] / Wikimedia Commons*

Nundah lost its appeal as a shopping haven from the 1970s with the construction of Westfield Shopping Town Toombul that caused increased motor traffic along Sandgate Road. Eventually, most commercial establishments that closed shop were replaced by less appealing shops.

However, thanks to the construction of a road tunnel under Bage Street that diverted traffic away from Nundah’s commercial centre, as well as the government’s urban renewal program, Nundah experience a renewed vibrancy and is now emerging as one of Brisbane’s property hotspots.

Hendra: Among Brisbane’s Out-Performing Real Estate Markets

A recent real estate markets analysis revealed that contrary to the common notion, the Brisbane housing market is already showing signs of recovery as many of its suburbs, including Hendra, have already achieved above-average price growth.

The latest analysis from Hotspotting’s Terry Ryder said that whilst most sources either show little or no growth, many suburbs in the Greater Brisbane area are performing exceptionally well.

Analysis of the quarterly and annual price data of 269 suburbs revealed that 83 suburbs recorded more than five percent growth, with 20 of them posting double-digit increases.

Sandgate led the list of higher-end markets that achieved annual house price growth exceeding 10 percent with its house median price of $755,000, a rise of 19 percent. Hendra also registered price growth, up by 13 percent to $1.1 million.

On the other hand, realestate.com.au sales data from 1 April 2018 to 30 April 2019 shows that the median house price in Hendra is at $1,030,000, higher than the state median price of $495,000.

Other high-end suburbs with highest annual house price growth include Graceville (13%), Bardon (11%), Kenmore HIlls (10.5%), Norman Park (10%), and Paddington (11%).

On the other hand, 100 suburbs record less than five percent growth whilst 47 posted less than five percent negative growth and the remaining 39 suburbs dropping more than five percent.

Of the 39 suburbs that posted declines of more than five percent, 27 were considered as units markets, led by Bowen Hills (-20%), Bulimba (-15%), East Brisbane (-15%), Woodridge (-10%), Greenslopes (-11%), Hamilton (-11%) and Woody Point (-18%). These figures indicate that the supply glut for the past years has not been confined to inner-city areas alone.

The analysis suggests that with the Federal Elections over and once lending restrictions ease up, the Brisbane housing market’s upward trend will become more apparent.