This was published 7 months ago
Schrinner promises $15m to speed up traffic lights in re-election bid
By Sean Parnell
Lord Mayor Adrian Schrinner has promised to reduce congestion if his LNP council is re-elected on March 16, with $15 million to be spent upgrading Brisbane’s traffic management system.
In the latest campaign pledge ahead of the Brisbane City Council election, Schrinner said better technology would help identify the intersections and traffic lights that unnecessarily slow the flow of vehicles.
A re-elected Schrinner LNP council would spend $15 million improving traffic light sequencing at selected intersections in Brisbane.Credit: Dan Peled
Schrinner cited a UK project as proof that automated traffic signal sequencing can adapt to different periods and pressures to improve traffic flow. In Birmingham, the installation of 500 new sensors made traffic lights more responsive to conditions, improving the flow by up to 23 per cent.
“We live in Australia’s fastest-growing capital city, and keeping Brisbane moving is a key priority for my team,” Schrinner said.
“By upgrading the management system that controls traffic signals, we will be able to improve travel times and deliver the safety improvements our growing city needs.
“Better traffic light sequencing and co-ordination will mean Brisbane residents spend less time sitting in traffic and more time with their friends and family doing what they love.”
The commitment stops short of identifying specific intersections for improvement, or predicting the benefits for motorists. The council would need to find the technology first, then upgrade the system, collect the data, and plan and budget for infrastructure works.
But Schrinner said it would benefit not only motorists but those using buses, heavy vehicles, and even cyclists and e-scooter riders.
One of the current impediments to change is the decades-old sensors embedded in city roads.
“By upgrading our existing transport network, we can identify the most efficient and effective solutions and get people where they want to go sooner and safer,” Schrinner said.
“Our plan is in stark contrast to Labor, whose big idea for tackling congestion is to set up a committee.”
Labor’s lord mayoral candidate, Tracey Price, has promised a suburban traffic congestion taskforce and investment in local roads.
On Sunday, Price described the LNP’s election pledge as “nothing more than a software upgrade”.
“The LNP have no plan to make transport cheaper or actually address the traffic issues they’ve created over the last 20 years of neglect,” she said.
The LNP’s main criticism of Labor has been the suggestion it would need to form a coalition with the Greens to take power, which would see more council funding, and focus, directed to the inner-city and disadvantage residents in the suburbs.
In response, Labor has released positive ads about Price, as well as an anti-Greens website.
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