WRONG. Don’t let the Labor councillors hide behind this spurious excuse.

The Liberal Lord Mayor claims his election gives him a mandate to build the bridge because he and the Liberals pushed for the TransApex project during the election campaign, and the bridge is one element of TransApex.

But that's a perversion of democratic principles. At the last Brisbane City Council election only 9 Liberals were returned, while 17 Labor councillors were elected. So clearly the people of Brisbane preferred Labor's policies; they just preferred Newman to the alternative mayoral candidate.

The ALP majority in Council has a clear mandate to protect the interests of Brisbane ratepayers. It should do this by voting to stop the bridge.

WRONG. It will actually make traffic congestion worse.

Time after time all over the world it's been shown that building more road infrastructure merely worsens the problem it's intended to fix. That's because the easier it is to drive, the more people are encouraged to drive their cars, so the temporary benefit of more road space to drive on soon disappears beneath the extra car trips generated ('induced traffic').

Only by reducing the number of private motor vehicle trips will we reduce traffic congestion (by substituting more efficient alternative modes of transport, such as bus and rail).

WRONG. This one actually contradicts the previous myth, but it's just as false.

The proposed bridge is designed to carry traffic to and from the Inner City Bypass, which runs along Hale Street. Without all the through traffic the bridge is designed to accommodate, the bridge would simply be uneconomical.

Currently West End residents are the highest users of alternative transport modes (public transport, cycling and walking) in southeast Queensland. To encourage a high level of reliance on private motor vehicles by West End's new residents is clearly inconsistent and irresponsible.

STOP the Hale Street Bridge