Mums with prams, elderly speak out about controversial northside bus lane works

Mums with prams and the elderly have spoken out about what they say is a dangerous temporary crossing at the site of the controversial Northern Transitway.

A crossing along Gympie Road that Kedron residents say is dangerous. Picture: Supplied

Kedron residents say they fear for their safety when they cross a busy six lane intersection on Gympie Rd because of works on a bus lane near a fatality black spot.

A flimsy rope barrier is all that has separated pedestrians from trucks, buses and cars for the past two months at a centre traffic island at the intersection of Castle and Strathmore streets.

The crossing is busy because locals run daily errands at a nearby Coles, KFC, Subway, Post Office and newsagent.

The works were part of the marathon Northern Transitway project, which has infuriated some local business owners who claimed disrupted access had badly affected trade.

The Department of Transport and Main Roads project has also been plagued by cost overruns, but the state government said it would bring much-needed, efficient public transport to northsiders.

The dangerous crossing along Gympie Road causing havoc for Kedron community members. Picture: Supplied

Residents claimed there had been many near misses at the previously safe crossing, which also was a trip hazard due to uneven ground.

They said the temporary plastic rope and bollards did nothing to protect pedestrians from large trucks and cars.

Mum Katie said on Facebook that she had to cross with her baby while manoeuvring a pram.

“It’s so terrifying waiting in the middle of the road,’’ she wrote.

“I’ve almost been taken out by multiple cars turning left at the Coles intersection as they get a green light at the same time as green walk man, but can’t see pedestrians because they can’t see around the corner properly.’’

State Labor MP for the area, Jimmy Sullivan, referred Quest Newspaper’s inquiries to the Department of Transport and Main Roads.

A TMR spokesman said the pedestrian island was being rebuilt as part of ongoing works for the Northern Transitway project.

“These works are expected to be completed late June 2023, construction and weather conditions permitting,” he said.

“The only alteration to the crossing is the previous fencing around the refuge has been temporarily replaced with bollards and bunting.

“Following an on-site safety audit on 31 May, we realigned the bollards and bunting to make it clearer for people to see where they can safely wait when crossing the road.”

The spokesman said the Northern Transitway project would benefit thousands of people.

“The Northern Transitway project will benefit more than 9000 people currently using buses to travel along Gympie Road between Kedron and Chermside each weekday,” he said.

“It will encourage more Queenslanders to use public transport by supporting high frequency bus services through improved bus travel time and reliability.”

Local Councillor, Fiona Hammond, said she was appalled at the temporary arrangements for pedestrians.

Brisbane City Councillor Fiona Hammond. Picture: Supplied

“This project has gone from bad to worse. The State Government needs to immediately review the safety around this site before someone gets killed,” Ms Hammond said.

“I never felt this Band-Aid busway would deliver the best long-term transport outcomes and now the delivery of this project is downright dangerous.

“Residents have been contacting me concerned that this chaotic construction site along this main road is endangering the lives of the thousands of schoolchildren, along with other residents young, old and of all abilities, who need to cross this road every day.

“I agree with residents, this construction site is an accident waiting to happen.

“Residents must be listened to, so I ask the State Government to urgently review the works and ensure safety is put first.”

Kedron Post and Newsagent owner Peter Lincoln said the roadworks had taken a long time to finish and the intersection was dangerous.

“Cars go a couple inches past you and some of those people at the social housing have trouble with mobility … they have trouble getting across there,” he said.

“They have started working on it. They have most of the concrete around it now, but there’s still a bit of a gap and all they did was put up a barricade tape with the flags.

A rope barrier is all that has separated pedestrians from trucks, buses and cars for the past two months at a centre traffic island at the intersection of Castle and Strathmore streets. Picture: Supplied

“A lot of the time the lines aren’t on the road where the stop lines are, the cars are stopping in front of where they got a gap in the rope so the people can walk through.

“It makes it a quite difficult situation for those people, especially ladies with prams and babies.

“The lights are working, it’s just you don’t have much room on that island and you can only go half way … and you have to stay in the middle until the next change of lights.

“ … A lot of people think the lights aren’t working and go to walk out and nearly get ran over by the car (that’s) turning left.

“It took us – the business people along Gympie Rd — over two years to get a meeting with the current state member.

“When it first started (the Northern Transitway) we asked them how much time it was going to save … and they didn’t really know and someone came up with a figure of six minutes.

“All the residents come in and complain about it.”