Brisbane City Council is beginning the political year with a full throated campaign on what it is doing to improve connectivity in the CBD, promoting progress on its Brisbane Metro project and what this means for pedestrians in particular.

With more bus services set to go underground once the Brisbane Metro Adelaide St tunnel is complete, the resulting calmer traffic conditions on the thoroughfare have provided incentive for the council’s urban planners to propose widening footpaths and installing extra seating and more public art.

With the ambitious tag of the “Adelaide Street Vision”, the plan involves upgrading the stretch between Edward St and North Quay, building six new bus shelters to replace the hodge-podge of more than 30 stops currently existing.

Commuters have had to put up with changes to bus stop locations and general traffic mayhem on Adelaide St for months as the Metro project’s construction blocks lanes and disrupts movement.

There will be more changes with the upgrade of Adelaide St but thankfully the council plans to do most of the work at night. Starting from Thursday, February 16, for example, Adelaide St bus stops between Edward and Albert St will be moved to between Albert and George Sts from 7pm between Sundays and Thursdays.

Work on the revamp is due to finish in late 2024.

“Adelaide Street has some fantastic shady trees already however it’s also a very busy bus thoroughfare,” Lord Mayor Adrian Schrinner said in a statement.

“Brisbane Metro’s Adelaide Street tunnel means many services will go underground which creates this opportunity to make the surface more pedestrian friendly ahead of the Brisbane 2032 Olympic and Paralympic Games.”

The council’s plans do not stop at beautifying Adelaide St. As part of its City Centre Master Plan, Mary St – a long neglected CBD thoroughfare – will be refurbished to ensure it is a major pedestrian spine linking the two if the city’s major commercial projects, Queens Wharf and Waterfront Brisbane.