Greens councillor Jonathan Sri defends human chain along West End road

A chain of human bollards formed along a major West End road on Friday morning has been labelled an “irresponsible stunt” by council’s public transport chairman, while Greens councillor Jonathan Sri argued it was the only way to get cycling safety on the agenda.

On Friday morning, traffic cones, traffic markers and a chain of people standing like bollards created a barrier-separated bike lane on Hardgrave Road towards West End State School.

Greens councillor Jonathan Sri has been accused of promoting 'irresponsible' stunts.Credit: Tony Moore

Ahead of the event, Cr Sri said West End residents would defy the council by creating their own temporary pop-up bike lane to apply political pressure for safe, separated bike lanes.

“While pop-up bike lanes have been used in other cities around the world, this will be the first of its kind in Queensland,” he said.

A pop-up lane protest was held at West End on Friday.

Cr Schrinner said marking out an unofficial bike lane using pot plants and other obstacles was illegal and unsafe.

“This would be an irresponsible stunt with significant public safety implications,” he said.

“Placing objects such as pot plants or witches' hats on the road without approval or appropriate assessment by qualified traffic engineers could lead to confusion and potentially put the safety of both cyclists and motorists at risk.

“Cr Sri seems to think he is above the law and can single-handedly override road rules and parking restrictions to push his anti-motorist agenda.”

Public and Active Transport chairman Adrian Schrinner.Credit: Glenn Hunt

After the protest, Cr Sri told Fairfax Media the protest had a good turnout and had received a lot of positive feedback from residents.

"I was surprised how many people came down, even people who don’t ride their bike but to say they supported it," he said.

"I heard from one resident who said parking was a big issue in the area and we have to think carefully before we remove street parking for bike lanes."

Cr Sri said he envisioned a future plan for Hardgrave Road in which a dual carriage bike lane was on one side of the road and street parking was on the other side.

Cr Schrinner warned the actions breached Queensland road rules and could potentially attract a penalty from police of up to $2523, under the Transport Operations (Road Use Management) Act 1995.

Cr Sri the protest wasn’t held “for the fun of it”.

“We do it because the council isn’t listening,” he said.

“Right now cyclists who ride along Hardgrave Road have no protection whatsoever from general traffic.

“I think civil disobedience is an important way to get issues on the agenda and show public support for change when the political establishment is dragging its feet.”

Cr Sri said he had been issued a notice of permission to hold a public assembly.

The notice, sighted by Fairfax Media,  was submitted to police on behalf of Cr Sri and gave permission for about 100 people to reclaim street parking bays to create a temporary pop-up bike lane.

“Uniformed police will assist with the regulation of traffic, pedestrians and participants where required,” the notice said.

When asked whether he would have gone ahead with the protest without police permission, Cr Sri said “probably”.

“But I always prefer to work constructively with the local police officers,” he said.

All Brisbane city councillors are expected to follow a code of conduct.

Within the code, it states councillors must respect and uphold the laws of the Commonwealth of Australia, the state of Queensland and all legal and policy instruments of Brisbane City Council.

A council spokesman said any complaints made about councillors breaching the code were reviewed by an independent panel that could hand down penalties for breaches.

"Any member of the public is able to refer a councillor on the basis of conduct," he said.

"All councillors are expected to uphold local government, state government and federal government laws."

The pop-up bike lane protest was from 8am to 9am on Friday on Hardgrave Road, West End, between Skinner Street and Vulture Street.