Peak hour pain is back after COVID reprieve

Peak hour has returned and some Brisbane roads are at record traffic levels after being empty during the height of COVID, exclusive data from Transurban shows.

Southeast Queensland risks worse congestion than Sydney and Melbourne if significant road and rail commitments are not made soon, an exclusive new report reveals.

Peak hour has returned and some Brisbane roads are at record traffic levels after disappearing completely during the height of COVID, exclusive data from Transurban shows.

By 2041, SEQ’s population will rapidly expand to exceed 5m people, surpassing Sydney today, with Greater Brisbane alone set to grow by 38 per cent over the next 20 years to reach 3.6m people.

Two-thirds of all growth will take place in the satellite cities surrounding Brisbane with the strongest growth to be seen in Logan, Gold Coast, Ipswich, Moreton Bay and the Sunshine Coast, the Deloitte Access Economics report commissioned by Transurban shows.

The northern Moreton Bay area between Narangba and Caboolture is forecast to be home to an extra 55,000 by 2036 and 75,000 people by 2041 while the southern Sunshine Coast areas including Caloundra, Landsborough and Pelican Waters will have an extra 50,000 residents in the next 15 years and an extra 70,000 by 2041.

The growth will put pressure on the Bruce Highway already notorious for commuter and weekend delays.

Ipswich region will grow by 150,000 by 2036 and 210,000 people by 2041 with nearly 100,000 of these in developing areas of Ripley, Springfield Lakes, Redbank Plains and Brookwater along the southern Centenary Highway and the Cunningham Highway.

Transurban boss Sue Johnson inside their traffic control room at Eight Mile Plains. Photo Steve Pohlner

Transurban data shows parts of the network reaching new traffic records and peak hour - which disappeared completely during last year’s lockdown - has come roaring back.

Transurban Queensland boss Sue Johnson said all transport and work options needed to be looked to keep the state moving, including staggered start and finish times, public and active transport.

“The way people get to their workplace may also be changing, and driving is proving to be a popular choice as restrictions ease,” Ms Johnson said.

“When choosing a mode of transport our research tells us the number one consideration is now safety, as opposed to convenience.

“With perceived fewer health risks, around one in ten people now intend to travel by private vehicle every day.”

With most jobs growth (24 per cent) within 5km of the CBD but population growth (23 per cent) further out - between 30km and 50km from it, getting people from their homes to their jobs and back efficiently is essential, the Deloitte report shows.

Urbis regional director Ben Slack said Queensland had gained 30,000 new arrivals from other states in the last three months of last year, with many drawn from Sydney and Melbourne by Queensland’s lifestyle.

Ipswich topped the table with 15,578 people moving in each year, followed by the Gold Coast (14,667), Brisbane City (14,137), Moreton Bay (10,343) and Logan (10,186).

“The large master planned communities in SEQ including Aura, Flagstone, Springfield, Harmony and Yarrabilba have experienced a large take up of their residential stock with stages being sold in a weekend in the Sunshine Coast region,” Mr Slack said.

“This is no doubt due in part to the Federal government stimulus. It is also linked to the desire of people to live in areas which have low levels of congestion, a laid-back lifestyle, great weather and proximity to natural attractions such as beaches.

Where the growth will be across southeast Queensland. Credit: Urbis

“For many, the desire to be closer to family has driven their migration ‘home’ to the Sunshine State.

“It is expected that the flight to SEQ will continue owing to these factors.”

Urban Development Institute of Australia Queensland CEO Kirsty Chesser-Brown said the lack of land to develop was creating a “housing crisis”.

She said transport and infrastructure took time to develop for housing and the amount of land ready to go had dropped too low.

“Across the state, but particularly in southeast Queensland, hearing the stories of people who are trying to buy their first home or to move home to a more desirable place to live or buy close to the area where they live, the options are just not there.

“There are significant supply issues in getting stock to market.

“There is a housing crisis.”

GW Homes managing director Andrew Williams, whose family firm has been building homes since 1956, said land supplies had slowed down pre-COVID then been hit by strong demand thanks to Home Builder. He said southeast Queensland had the land that would come online but it took time to get the roads and other infrastructure necessary to open it up.

“I’m sure I’m not the only one who’s a bit frustrated with the supply of land at the moment, it’s very hard to get,” Mr Williams said. “But it will give the industry time to catch up a bit.”

Deputy premier Steven Miles said the state government was working to open up more housing land and infrastructure.

“As well as having the tools to respond to growth challenges in the SEQ region, the Palaszczuk Government is delivering well designed, efficient and effective infrastructure that supports economic development and recovery,” Mr Miles said.

“Over the next four years the government will invest $56.bn in infrastructure, including $14.8bn in 2020-21 to directly support around 46,000 jobs.”

He said the growth area teams would be opening land at Caboolture West and Caloundra South and were looking at other areas.

“As well as SEQ development opportunities, we are currently rolling out a program across Queensland to capture the current and future infrastructure needs required regionally to drive growth, deliver positive economic outcomes and support the needs of our regional communities,” Mr Miles said.