Gympie Rd shamed as congestion hot spot

A north Brisbane road, which regularly tops lists of the city’s worst crash hot spots, has once again been shamed — this time for congestion.

Gympie Rd has been shamed as a congestion hot spot. Picture: AAP/Josh Woning

GYMPIE Rd, which regularly tops lists of Brisbane’s worst crash hot spots, has once again been shamed — this time for congestion.

The RACQ has been conducting the Red Spot Congestion Survey of Queensland drivers since 1996 and Gympie Rd is one that continues to rate poorly — it was ranked 10th across the state in 2010, eighth in 107 and third this year.

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Drivers nominated more than 450 roads across the state which caused unnecessary delays, with Gympie Rd making the list at two locations (Hamilton Rd, Chermside and Beams Rd, Carseldine) behind the Pacific Mwy and Centenary Mwy, and followed by the Bruce Hwy in fourth.

Mid week afternoon traffic on Gympie Road, Chermside. Picture: AAP/Josh Woning

RACQ spokeswoman Lucinda Ross said, “We found both the Hamilton Rd and Beams Rd intersections were ones which really ground the gears of many Gympie Rd motorists.

“Respondents to our survey reported a lack of green signal time at the traffic lights at both these intersections and, combined with the limited number of lanes at both locations, this is a recipe for reoccurring congestion and long queues.”

Late last year Gympie Rd was named the worst in the city for crashes after insurance claim data was released by both AAMI and the RACQ.

Ms Ross said, “It’s no surprise that Gympie Rd continues to make a regular appearance on this list.

“We also see crashes frequently occur along the road as a result of its high traffic volumes, many major intersections, and driveways which see many vehicles entering into and exiting from (Gympie Rd).”

Mid week afternoon traffic on Gympie Road, Chermside. Picture: AAP/Josh Woning

Ms Ross said the survey “demonstrates just how critical projects like the Northern Transitway project need to be delivered”.

“This project would help improve public transport patronage and travel times along Gympie Rd, and reduce congestion by removing some drivers from the road.

“Intersection upgrades are also required to manage congestion into the future, along with constructing the North West Transport Corridor to further relieve the demand on Gympie Rd.”

Ms Ross said the survey information from motorists, “who are in the best position to identify problem spots”, would be made available to federal, state and local governments, and would be used by RACQ to help prioritise its advocacy work.

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“More than 2500 nominations came in from across Queensland, so it’s clear congestion is an issue that really grinds our gears.

“It costs us time and lost productivity, and that’s why we need to address it now.

“We’ll use this information to guide our policy and use it to lobby all tiers of government for solutions to bottlenecked areas.”

In March this year urban design think-tank Suburban Alliance proposed a vehicle tunnel be built under Gympie Rd at Chermside as a way to relieve traffic congestion.

At the time an RACQ spokesman said this would be an expensive solution to reduce congestion and there were other more effective projects already in the pipeline.

Queensland’s top 10 most congested roads according to RACQ’s Red Spot Congestion Survey:

1. Pacific Mwy (Eight Mile Plains to Loganholme, Exits 41 to 57, and Varsity Lakes to Elanora)

2. Centenary Mwy (Ipswich Mwy to Toowong, and Logan Mwy interchange)

3. Gympie Rd (Hamilton Rd intersection, and Beams Rd intersection)

4. Bruce Hwy (Pine Rivers to Sunshine Coast)

5. South Pine Rd (Stafford Rd intersection, and Eatons Crossing Rd intersection)

6. Eumundi Noosa Rd (Grays Rd intersection)

7. Gateway Mwy (Wynnum Rd and Old Cleveland Rd interchange areas, and north of Deagon)

8. Moggill Rd (Kenmore to Chapel Hill, Kenmore Rd intersection, and Brookfield Rd intersection)

9. Logan Rd (Miles Platting Rd and Padstow Rd intersection, and Kessels Rd and Mount Gravatt Capalaba Rd intersection)

10. Captain Cook Hwy (Smithfield roundabout, Cairns Western Arterial Rd roundabout, and Aeroglen township).