Cyclists at risk from road widening: expert

Council plans to add a third lane to a South Brisbane section of Vulture St will endanger cyclists and pedestrians, residents say.

Vulture St at Ronald McDonald House, South Brisbane. Council wants to widen the road near the adjacent hospital. Picture: Annette Dew

Council plans to add a third lane to a South Brisbane section of Vulture St will endanger cyclists and pedestrians, residents say.

Currently, there are only two lanes heading east up the hill. Council wants to add a third lane heading east near the Dock St/Stanley St intersection to allow for increased traffic volumes.

Councillor Jonathan Sri (The Gabba) said he opposed the plan, as did the Kurilpa Futures lobby group.

“Research tells us adding lanes and widening roads to increase car capacity is not a sustainable solution to traffic congestion,’’ he said.

“Instead, we need to improve public transport and pedestrian convenience so that commuters have practical alternatives to driving.

“We should be encouraging through traffic to stick to the Riverside Expressway and Captain Cook Bridge.

“I would like to see Vulture St reduced to 40km/h, with separated bike lanes, shorter wait-times for pedestrians crossing the road, and a T3 lane.’’

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Active Transport chair, Cr Adrian Schrinner, said the work would come ahead of the closure of the Victoria Bridge for Brisbane Metro.

“We have been working closely with the community, including on designs of the new Cultural Centre underground station and the conversion of Victoria Bridge into a green bridge,” he said.

“To help traffic adjust, we will invest $5 million to increase the efficiency of five inner-city intersections, including the intersection of Vulture, Stanley and Dock streets.

“The changes will include widening a 80m section of Vulture St to improve traffic flow, reduce congestion and help all road users travel more safely.

“These won’t prevent cyclists travelling eastbound along Vulture St on the road, as can currently occur.

“Brisbane Metro will help transform this precinct into a safer, people-friendly place that prioritises public and active travel.”

QUT Associate Professor Phil Heywood.

Changes would be made concurrently with the Woolloongabba Bikeway Project and include a new through-lane on Vulture St (eastbound) and off-road cycling areas on the western side.

Kurilpa Futures planning spokesman, Dr Phil Heywood, described the plans as a “kneejerk reaction’’ to other changes being made in the area.

“This is adjacent to a major children’s hospital. It’s a place for traffic calming — the opposite of this,’’ Dr Heywood, an adjunct associate professor in community planning at Queensland University of Technology, said.

“At the moment there’s heavy use by cyclists in four directions.

“All the work council is thinking of doing makes it much more difficult for active transport.

“This represents a taking of space from pedestrians and cyclists, there’s no doubt about that.’’

Dr Heywood said that section of road should be slowed and the road treated as a local road, with heavy through traffic instead directed to the Riverside Expressway, ICB, Gateway Express and Gateway Arterial.