Why bus lanes will help horror road

A BREAKDOWN which threw the Centenary Motorway into chaos last week has reignited calls for bus lanes to provide commuters with an escape route.

News BCM 14.11.05 Ipswich Motorway. Traffic on the Centenary Highway. PicPeterWallis

A BREAKDOWN which threw the Centenary Motorway into chaos last week has reignited calls for bus lanes to provide commuters with an escape route.

Robert Dow, from Public transport lobby Rail Back on Track, said the State Government’s announcement last month that it would fast track design work on a duplicate bridge at Jindalee, was the perfect opportunity to include bus priority lanes as part of the development.

Brisbane West Bicycle User Group co-convener Chris Cox said the ­problems with the western corridor road route had ­existed “for the entire 41 years I’ve lived in the area’’.

“The whole of the Centenary shut down last week ­because a ute had broken down in the right hand lane, past the bridge,’’ he said.

State LNP MP for Moggill Christian Rowan said that bipartisan leadership across three levels of ­government was needed.

Rail Back on Track's Robert Dow. Picture: Peter Cronin

“This is the kind of incident that shows we need all of our political representatives, from all levels, to work together,’’ Dr Rowan said.

“While the design work on the new bridge is a step forward for one section, it’s a specific, one-off project and we need several to address the problems with the Centenary.’’

Mr Cox said the breakdown about 7.30am on Wednesday last week triggered an 8km traffic jam stretching back to Richlands.

All roads feeding into the motorway were blocked, for up to two hours.

“This did not simply affect people who chose to drive,’’ he said.

“Because of the complete lack of prioritised public transport infrastructure along the Centenary and Western Freeway motorway corridors, bus commuters were stuck in the same jam.

“The Western Brisbane Transport Network Strategy (WBTNS) is a strong piece of work developed by the State Government to provide an integrated approach to transport planning in the western corridor.

Dr Christian Rowan is calling for a bipartisan approach across all levels of government to fix the Centenary. Picture: Jono Searle

The Centenary Bridge project forms a significant piece of the puzzle, and is particularly important in respect to Project 3 — Darra to Indooroopilly Transit Lanes.

“Had these been in place, there would have been much less impact on bus commuters which, in turn, would have ensured more people would have been using public transport.’’

A Transport and Main Roads spokesman said the The Western Brisbane Transport Network Strategy (WBTNS) would guide all levels of government in developing an integrated network for western Brisbane that catered for walking and bike riding, rail, bus, roads and freight.

We are planning to upgrade the Centenary Motorway to improve safety and cut travel times,’’ he said.

“The new Centenary Bridge involves building a new, wider northbound bridge.

Transit lanes and bus priorities are not being included in this project but they are being considered as part of the Centenary Motorway Planning Study.’’