Call for traffic lights where teen Ashley Anderson died in crash

An outraged councillor has declared “enough is enough” after two years lobbying to fix a deathtrap intersection where a teen died on the weekend.

An intersection where a teen driver died on the weekend, has been singled out for urgent traffic lights as plans for a Woolworths store at the site take shape.

The death of 17-year-old Ashley Anderson early on Sunday prompted an emotional call from a local councillor to the state government for traffic lights to be installed at Bannockburn Rd and Beenleigh-Beaudesert Rd at Bahrs Scrub, where the speed limit is 80km/h.

An aerial view of the intersection where a Woolworths store will be built.

Ashley and his three friends were returning home after a party at Bahrs Scrub when their Mitsubishi Lancer collided with a Holden Colorado at the intersection of Beaudesert-Beenleigh Rd and Belivah Rd, just after midnight.

Logan councillor Laurie Koranski told of a foreboding letter from a resident on January 24 predicting the death at the busy intersection, which also includes a petrol station.

Cr Koranski said she had told the state government last year the site was a death trap and would only get worse once a Woolworths opened in three months and as the population grew.

An artist’s impression of the proposed Woolworths that is being built at Bannockburn Rd.

“I dutifully wrote to the state member (Melissa McMahon) requesting her investigation and her action,” Cr Koranski said.

“But sadly, within a month of that correspondence, a local 17-year-old boy lost his life near this intersection and seven others were injured in the two-vehicle collision.

“Our residents have been telling us that this section of road is notoriously dangerous and our residents are dying while others are being forced to deal with the carnage of witnessing these events and losing loved ones.”

Macalister MP Melissa McMahon said the Woolworths was approved nearly 10 years ago with no requirement to upgrade the intersection.

She said her office was looking at the site and possibilities including traffic lights.

“My office hasn’t received any formal correspondence from either the councillor or the council on this particular intersection although it has been a point of discussion in my previous meetings with Cr Koranski,” Mrs McMahon said.

“I contacted the Transport Department this year to request their upgrade timeline and the work that has been done so far in planning the upgrade.

“If the timeline is unsatisfactory, I will request that the scope of the Beenleigh Better Roads project be expanded to incorporate further south along Beaudesert-Beenleigh Rd.”

Logan resident James Herbst said a left angle in the road “tricked” southbound drivers coming down the hill towards Bannockburn Rd.

“For a split second, those unfamiliar with the road can judge that cars approaching on that angle are turning left on to Bannockburn Rd,” he said.

“When, in fact, they’re going straight on. A split-second wrong decision is all it takes, but the layout of an intersection can contribute to making poor split second decisions.”

Along with a Woolworths, the Bannockburn centre will also include a drive-through pick-up facility, a BWS and a cafe, a medical centre and gym.

A Logan City Council housing study for the area showed 56,000 new dwellings would be developed over the next 15 years, on top of 30,000 approved since 2010.

A $55 million shopping centre, also anchored by a Woolworths, opened at Flagstone last year.