Brisbane’s most dangerous walking and cycling suburbs revealed in Move Safe Report
Brisbane’s most vulnerable road users have revealed the city’s most dangerous suburbs and streets for pedestrians and cyclists. We asked the local councillors how they were going to fix it.
Southeast
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BRISBANE’S most vulnerable road users have provided overwhelming feedback on the city’s most dangerous suburbs and streets for pedestrians and cyclists.
The final Move Safe Brisbane report revealed the suburbs where pedestrians and cyclists raised the most safety issues, or “pinned” their problems with the area.
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The top ten hot spots were in the inner city, inner south western suburbs and the southside, and Quest Community News asked local councillors what they were going to do about it.
Brisbane City was the worst suburb for pedestrians with 449 complaints, followed by South Brisbane with 233, and Woolloongabba with 164.
Greenslopes had 120 pins, then Indooroopilly (112), Fortitude Valley (111), Graceville (110), West End (106), Annerley (100) and Morningside (92).
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Brisbane City and South Brisbane also topped the list for cyclists, with 271 and 203 pins respectively, followed by Toowong with 156.
Woolloongabba had 152 cycling pins, followed by Dutton Park (85), Indooroopilly (81), Greenslopes (67), West End (64), Bowen Hills (60) and St Lucia (60).
The council has announced seven funded projects out of the report, including dropping the speed limit at three suburban shopping centres.
The report also produced nine pedestrian safety outcomes to inform investigations into other possible projects, like investigating changes to slip lanes and Senior Citizens Safety Zones.
INNER CITY
As well as having the suburb with the highest number of concerns, the CBD also has three of the top 20 roads prioritised for pedestrian safety improvements.
Adelaide St, Roma St were the top two in terms of complaints and pedestrian crashes, while Ann St made an appearance at number 11.
LNP Cr Vicki Howard did not respond to requests for comment or debate the report when it came to the council meeting.
However, of the seven confirmed projects to come directly out of the report, with more to be investigated, four are based in the CBD.
The council has already reduced the speed limit on Ann St to 40km/h and reconfigured two Albert St intersections into scramble crossings.
It is also designing a new mid-block pedestrian crossing for Adelaide St to be delivered by July 2019.
INNER SOUTH
The inner south is a walking and cycling hub so it is not surprising it has so many complaints.
Cr Jonathan Sri (The Gabba) said 2016 Census data showed 60 per cent of residents in South Brisbane and West End and 55 per cent in Woolloongabba travelled to work via public and active transport.
“We urgently need more investment in dedicated pedestrian crossings and shared streets, where cars have to slow down and give way to other road users,” he said.
“A strong majority of residents aren’t driving as their primary mode of transport, yet the design of our local road network continues to prioritise cars,” he said.
Main St, Kangaroo Point; Vulture St, West End; Logan Rd, Woolloongabba; Beaudesert Rd Moorooka; Orange Grove Rd, Salisbury; and Gladstone Rd, Highgate Hill were also named within the top 20 priority roads for pedestrian safety improvements.
The council has identified Vulture St at West End as one of six roads to be investigated for a possible reduction in speed limits in the future.
Cr Nicole Johnston (Tennyson) said the report identified Ipswich Rd at Annerley as the third highest priority for pedestrian improvements but promised no new solutions or funding.
“Council is conducting a standard review of Ipswich Rd as part of it corridor congestion reviews, which it announced in the Budget in June. There is nothing being done as a result of Move Safe,” she said.
EAST
Greenslopes appeared in the top suburbs for complaints about cycling and pedestrian safety.
LNP Cr Ian McKenzie (Coorparoo) said the biggest problem area in his ward was the Old Cleveland Rd/Logan Rd corridor through Stones Corner.
Stones Corner was recently declared its own suburb, but used to be a locality within Greenslopes.
“It’s very narrow and it’s an entry point to people from the eastern suburbs travelling into the city in the morning, it’s narrow and busy,” he said.
The road is a top priority road for safety improvements and the council will trial reducing its speed limit at Stones Corner to 40km/h in the first quarter of this year.
The intersection of Old Cleveland Rd and Harries Rd had the second highest rate of pedestrians crashes and complaints, including one fatality, of all intersections in the city.
The slip lane at that intersection could also be reviewed for possible upgrades.
Nearby Morningside also appeared in top ten list for pedestrian safety concerns, while Riding Rd at Hawthorne was identified as a top priority road for improvements.
The Move Safe Brisbane report listed Riding Rd at Hawthorne as another location to be investigated for possible speed reduction.
Labor Cr Kara Cook (Morningside) did not respond to requests for comment but supported a speed reduction during debate on the report.
“I note that the report does say, and I quote: ‘At some locations further investigation is needed to ensure that a reduction in speed will not result in unacceptable impacts on network performance’,” Cr Cook said.
“Now I can tell you, Lord Mayor, my residents want to see pedestrian and cyclist safety prioritised. Not network performance.”
WEST
In Brisbane’s west, Cr Julian Simmonds (Walter Taylor) said he was “not surprised” to see the demands from cyclists and pedestrians to improve safety at Indooroopilly.
“It’s one of the reasons we’ve taken on the Riverwalk project,” he said.
Cr Simmonds said there was “an opportunity” at Station Rd to lower the speed limit to make it safer for people travelling between the train station, shopping centre and bus interchange.
He expected concerns in Toowong were related to the “sheer volume” of cyclists on the bicentennial bikeway and improving on-road cycling links was important in St Lucia.
“My comment would be the feedback from residents highlighted the hot spots that we would expect and that council are very keen to always look at opportunities to improve those areas,” he said.
The council announced it would reducing the speed limit at Oxley Rd, Corinda, to 40km/h as part of its seven projects but Cr Nicole Johnston (Tennyson) said it was not enough.
She said Graceville was high on the list for complaints because there were not enough safe crossing points along the very same road - Oxley Rd - which divides the suburb.
She said the suburb had two active travel schools at Graceville State School and Christ the King and the Graceville Railway Station.
“It shouldn’t take serious injuries and death to get council to act on what Brisbane residents want, which is safer crossing points in their local neighbourhood,” she said.
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