New transport options to be considered for Queen Street Mall after community meetings Community meetings will consider new ideas for the Queen Street Mall. A SERIES of community meetings could force Brisbane City Council to consider proposals for a Queen St Mall extension and add new transport options for the popular pedestrian strip. Lord Mayor Graham Quirk says he plans to attend the talks next year with a completely open mind but says it will remain a "mall for all." Fresh projects dreamt up by community members will all be put on the table next year when a council-led forum considers bold new ideas for the popular mall. Nurol and Yasmine Moussalli enjoy shopping in Queens Street Mall. Last year Cr Quirk hinted that he was open to a possible "shared extension" that would include some traffic use and "broad pedestrian use." Cr Quirk yesterday revealed the plan to hold the "visioning discussion" to determine its future - but stressed that the aim was to keep the mall "ahead of the ball game" and that there was nothing to say it was "broken." "We go into those discussions with no preconceived ideas," he told The Courier-Mail. I want this to be a broad-ranging discussion about the future. But we go into those discussions with the starting point that the Queen St Mall is by far the most successful mall in Australia. Could the Mall be set for a revamp? Council will also look at other ways to support high-end retail, particularly along Edward and Albert Streets. The draft Brisbane City Centre Master Plan proposed making Albert St the city's "green spine," with a bolstered tree-line and added indoor-outdoor spaces. Cr Quirk pointed to the success of Edward St as a blossoming retail precinct, adding there was more that could be done to enhance it. "We want to - not in a construction sense but in a preliminary sense - we want to look at the sorts of things we might do there over the coming years to support that high-end retail," he said. And Albert St obviously lends itself to further boulevarding opportunities to create that line of precinct between King George Square and the Botanic Gardens. February will also see debate shape the final version of the City Plan. "We need to bed that down and to have that 20-year blue print in place," he said. Cr Quirk said 2013 had been a bumpy year in terms of economic confidence, but he suspected that would change in the new year. "I think the one thing that remained a hallmark of 2013 was a nervousness about the economy," he said. In going to Christmas, I sense a growing level of confidence. I see people, particularly decision-makers around investment, with a bit more of a spring in their step. He said he expected to see a move towards increased investment. "I think we're going to see a year of increased confidence in the marketplace," he said. More people will be prepared to do things in terms of development and that does lend itself opportunities.