Newnham Rd Wecker Rd upgrade: Bunnings questioned still unanswered
Residents near a $13 million upgrade to a notorious southside intersection say the design “penalises them” by adding up to 10 minutes to their commute, while the Bunnings turn remains a concern. WATCH THE VIDEO.
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Residents of a suburban cul-de-sac on Brisbane’s southside are railing against designs for a planned $13.3 million fix to a notorious intersection, saying the loss of the ability to turn right out of their street “penalises them”, while failing to address the question of a dangerous turn from a nearby Bunnings Warehouse.
Earlier this month, designs were released for the long-awaited upgrade to the intersection of Newnham Rd and Wecker Rd at Mount Gravatt East, to be jointly funded by the Federal Government and Brisbane City Council.
How this dangerous road could be fixed
Why this Mount Gravatt East intersection is dangerous
The project would see the removal of 13 trees and 12 on-street parking spots in order to install new right-hand turning lanes on both Newnham and Wecker Rd.
According to BCC statistics, there have been 18 major accidents at the intersection, which services approximately 35,000 vehicles daily, between 2014 – 19.
“13 of these crashes were related to motorists being unable to make a safe right turn from Newnham Rd into Wecker Rd due to high volumes of traffic on Newnham Rd.,” a BCC report said.
However, for residents of quiet Enfield St, opposite Mount Gravatt East Aquatic Centre, the upgrade will be anything but convenient for them, as it removes their ability to turn right onto Newnham Rd when exiting their street.
“It could add up to 10 minutes to our daily commute,” an expaserated Gloria Quiroga-Vigoulette said.
“We pay our rates – this doesn’t work for us.”
Husband Adrian said Enfield St residents felt “excluded” by the plan.
“Replacing (the painted median strip) with a ‘Keep clear’ sign would include residents of this street in the plan, instead of penalising them,” he said.
Online concern, however, coalesced around concern that the design as it stands does nothing to address the issue of turning right from Bunnings Mount Gravatt onto Wecker Rd, which also takes drivers across the path of school parents leaving Mount Gravatt East State School during term.
“Why not incorporate a safe exit from Bunnings into the scheme?” asked Simon Boundy. “Turning right exiting Bunnings is a death trap.”
William Burns said the design “fails” to address the Bunnings issue.
Said Timothy Stephens, “I rarely turn right onto Wecker from Bunnings as it’s often too hard to bother.
“That said, it ought to be possible to do so safely.”
That said, many locals gave their tick of approval to the design.
“Awesome – designated turning lanes, a common sense solution that will work,” Tina Hennessy said.
“Yes please, this intersection is a nightmare,” Joanna Carter said.
Construction is planned to commence in mid-2021 before being completed the following year.