Slip lanes at Brisbane CBD, Sunnybank, Coorparoo could be removed
Slip lanes at some of the Brisbane’s most dangerous intersections for pedestrians could be removed under the city council’s massive road safety push.
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SLIP lanes at some of Brisbane’s most dangerous intersections for pedestrians could be removed under the city council’s massive road safety push.
Brisbane City Council will debate the final Move Safe Brisbane report, which Lord Mayor Graham Quirk announced in June after a spate of fatal pedestrian crashes, this Tuesday.
“Brisbane is known as a walkable and accessible city and we want everyone – whether they live in Brisbane or are visiting – to be safe on our streets,” Cr Quirk said.
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The report has identified three slip lanes at major Brisbane intersections for review with potential projects to improve pedestrian safety to be announced by June 2019.
They are Ann St and Creek St, CBD, Mains Rd and McCullough St, Sunnybank, and Old Cleveland Rd and Harries Rd, Coorparoo.
The slip lanes could be removed and controlled left turns provided instead, which is Queensland Transport and Main Roads’ preferred option.
Other options are signalising the slip lane, installing a zebra crossing or redesigning the slip lane to reduce the crossing width and reduce vehicle speed.
It is the law to give way to pedestrians on a slip lane but feedback during consultation for the report indiciated that “awareness of this law is extremely low”.
The report found Mains Rd and McCullough St and Old Cleveland Rd and Harries Rd had the highest rates of pedestrian crashes in the past five years and the most submitted complaints.
At Sunnybank there were two complaints and 13 pedestrian crashes, including one fatality, while Coorparoo had five complaints and three crashes, including one fatality.
Ann St was one of the most complained about roads during consultation, with 46 calls for speed reductions, and nine pedestrian crashes since 2013.
Another seven slip lanes where pedestrian crashes have occured in the past five years are also on the council’s radar to be investigated at a later stage.
The are Bridge St and Honour Ave, Chelmer; Logan Rd and Chatsworth Rd, Greenslopes; Bowen Bridge Rd and Butterfield St, Herston; Vulture St, Stanley St and Dock St, South Brisbane; Montpelier Rd, Markwell St and Abbotsford Rd, Bowen Hills; Stanley St and Vulture St, Woolloongabba; and Ann St and James St, Fortitude Valley.
Zebra crossings that run across four-lane roads at Orange Grove Rd at Salisbury, Logan Rd at Woolloongabba and Logan Rd at Holland Park West, and Gladstone Rd at Highgate are also likely to change.
The report suggests ‘Smart Crossings’ as a better alternative, which will first be trialled at Fitzgibbon and Kedron, to allow pedestrians to cross the road.
The council will also investigate putting ‘pedestrian protection’ - the red arrow lantern to stop cars as pedestrians cross - at nine locations, with seven in the CBD and two on the southside.
TOP TEN SUBURBS FOR PEDESTRIAN COMPLAINTS
1. Brisbane City CBD ... 449
2. South Brisbane ... 233
3. Woolloongabba ... 164
4. Greenslopes ... 120
5. Indooroopilly ... 112
6. Fortitude Valley ... 111
7. Graceville ... 110
8. West End ... 106
9. Annerley 100
10. Morningside ... 92
TOP COMPLAINTS FROM PEDESTRIANS
1. No safe place to cross ... 1741
2. Cars travel too fast ... 1452
3. Drivers turn across the crossing ... 622
4. Waiting too long for green walk signal ...457
5. Should be separate path from bicycles ... 307
6. Don’t feel safe walking here after dark ... 301
7. Too many drivers on mobile phones ... 192
8 No street lighting ...151
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