Action at last to fix notorious intersection

After years of colourful protests, petitions, newspaper stories and pressure from the local councillor, a notorious Brisbane intersection is finally getting fixed.

Greens councillor Jonathan Sri leads a blockade at the corner of Montague Rd and Victoria S, West End, highlighting the need for traffic lights. The Budget has set aside $11 million to install lights. Picture: Liam Kidston

Council will spend $11 million installing lights at the dangerous Victoria St intersection in West End.

Residents and Councillor Jonathan Sri (The Gabba) have staged multiple protests at the sight, which they say will only become worse due to planned highrise developments nearby.

“I’m psyched that funding for traffic lights at Victoria St has finally been allocated, following on from last year’s lights at the Vulture-Montague intersection,’’ Cr Sri said.

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“This coming financial year, the LNP are only installing six or seven sets of new traffic lights across the entire city, so I had to lobby very hard for these lights to get funding.

“The protests, petitions, media coverage and resident phone calls to the mayor’s office all helped, but it also required respectful negotiation across party lines.’’

Cr Sri said some important details still needed to be ironed out, including bus stop indentations and the best way to accommodate vehicles turning right.

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A concept design would be published for resident feedback before work began.

The project is expensive, in part due to the need to relocate underground cables and service pits and to accommodate the slope of the road.

It could take 18 months to finish, Cr Sri said.

The West End Community Association, which had also been lobbying for an upgrade of the intersection, also welcomed the Budget initiative.

Cr Sri’s ward was one of the bigger winners in this year’s Budget, with money allocated for another of his pet projects, a new park at Carl St, Woolloongabba.