Roma St overpass closed as part of Cross River Rail, but concerns on commuter jaywalking

The closure of an important pedestrian link in Brisbane’s CBD has left commuters taking the long way round or making a dangerous dash, with at least one near-miss between a car and pedestrian so far.

PEDESTRIANS are dicing with death across an “extremely dangerous” CBD street after a popular footbridge was closed as part of Cross River Rail works.

Public transport advocates claim they’ve noticed a spike in the number of jaywalkers across Herschel St and Roma St following the closure of the pedestrian bridge linking the Transit Centre with the Supreme Courts on January 13th.

Brisbane property developer blames Cross River Rail for delaying Albert Street tower

Designs for Cross River Rail will add no capacity: Former QR infrastructure manager

The Courier-Mail visited the site on Friday and spotted over 10 jaywalkers in the immediate surrounds of the bridge in less than five minutes.

The pedestrian link, which has closed to make way for the construction of Cross River Rail’s underground platforms at Roma St Station, was popular with commuters going to and from nearby offices.

The Courier-Mail spotted at least 10 jaywalkers across Roma St at around 1pm Friday. Picture: AAP, John Gass.

Someone crossing Roma St with the closed bridge in the background. Picture: AAP image, John Gass.

No replacement pedestrian crossing has yet been installed, despite promises by the Cross River Rail Delivery Authority for new lights at street-level.

Public transport advocate Jackson Burgess, who frequently walks through the area for work, described the practice as “extremely dangerous” and said he’d already witnessed a near-miss between a jaywalking pedestrian and a car.

“It will only be a matter of time before a more serious accident occurs,” Mr Burgess said.

He said he first noticed an uptick in jaywalking after the bridge was closed, especially in peak hour, when he said hundreds would flood across the road every hour.

Cross River Rail work doubles in 2020, creating more jobs

“The overpass was there for a reason,” Mr Burgess said.

“Lights should have been built unless the overpass demolition has to be done first,” he said.

“From the groundworks they appear to be doing, the demolition of the overpass wouldn’t have prevented them constructing the crossing prior to closing the overpass.”

The pedestrian bridge has been closed since January 13, as part of demolition of the much-maligned Transit Centre at Roma St. Picture: AAP image, John Gass.

Scramble crossings were installed in late 2018 by Brisbane City Council near Cross River Rail’s other CBD station on Albert St.

The Cross River Rail website states that the authority will install “additional signalised pedestrian crossings at the intersection of Roma and Herschel streets,” however does not state when construction would commence.

In response to a request for comment, a Cross River Rail spokeswoman said new signalised pedestrian crossings would open in March.

People jaywalking across Roma Street. Picture: AAP image, John Gass.

“Signage has been installed all around the area to direct pedestrians to the two signalised crossings of Roma Street,” the spokeswoman said.

“Temporary fencing is being installed along Roma Street on the Brisbane Transit Centre side to safely direct pedestrians to the two signalled crossings.”