More gridlock ahead as Olympic builds, booming schools clog busy road
More than 5000 students attend three private schools on Gregory Terrace in Spring Hill, and traffic congestion is set to worsen as enrolments boom and construction starts on Olympic venues nearby.
Traffic already slows to a crawl during pick-up and drop-off times outside Brisbane Grammar School, Brisbane Girls Grammar School and St Joseph’s College, while crashes have occurred when drivers ignored “no right turn” signs.
Brisbane Grammar School welcomed 2000 boys in 2025 – about 200 more than last year – according to its annual report, tabled in parliament last week.
Brisbane Grammar School at Spring Hill.Credit:
BGS chair Warren Traves acknowledged in the report that the milestone had the “potential to increase congestion around the school”, which already has traffic control staff managing pick-up and drop-off zones at the main gates.
But Traves noted the new Brisbane Metro’s M2 route – which replaced the 66 – provided a “high-frequency electric bus service at the school’s back door”, via the Normanby stop.
About 55 per cent of students travel to the inner-city school via public transport, one in three use private transport, and 10 per cent walk.
A BGS spokeswoman said the school actively promoted the use of public transport and pick-up and drop-off locations away from the Gregory Terrace site.
“With the recent announcement of the new stadium location, Brisbane Grammar School welcomes the opportunity to collaborate with the Queensland government and Brisbane City Council to address any impacts to traffic associated with the new infrastructure projects,” she said.
The school – where half of its year 12 graduates last year received an ATAR of 95 or above – is in hot demand, despite charging Brisbane’s most expensive private school fees, at $36,420 annually. Further expansion is on the cards.
Enrolment applications to BGS will ensure its waiting list remains strong for the next 10 years, its annual report revealed, with about 1200 applications last year – almost double pre-COVID levels – even though just 300 students join in years 5 and 7 each year.
A non-refundable fee of $580 is charged just to apply – with no guarantee of a place – with BGS making $524,000 in enrolment fees last year and $559,000 in 2023.
Last year, BGS also opened an $80 million six-storey STEAM Precinct, and it is planning a new gymnasium sports science centre, performing arts centre, and an expansion of the boarding precinct.
Next door, Brisbane Girls Grammar School had 1538 students last year and will introduce years 5 and 6 in 2026, the opening of a five-storey junior school adding 200 students.
Traffic controllers manage the set-down and pick-up zones, and families are asked to obey traffic rules and signs to keep traffic flowing along Gregory Terrace and surrounding streets, not block residents’ driveways or park on yellow lines.
While the school declined to comment, its website revealed that several crashes and near-misses had occurred when drivers ignored the “no right turn” sign at the school’s exit and turned right across oncoming traffic on Gregory Terrace.
Parents were asked not to use Dark Lane and Dark Street to avoid queuing on College Road, as residents said they were finding it extremely difficult to access their homes due to congestion.
“We encourage families to speak to their daughters about the option of using public transport, carpooling, or varying their drop-off and pick-up times outside of peak times to improve traffic flow along Gregory Terrace,” the BGGS website says.
School commutes in Brisbane make up one in four car trips during morning peak hour.
On the same street, St Joseph’s College, Gregory Terrace had 1519 students last year, and expansion plans were approved under a ministerial infrastructure designation in 2022.
A new 63,000-seat stadium in Victoria Park and the transformation of the heritage-listed Centenary Pool on Gregory Terrace into a National Aquatic Centre, to be built before the 2032 Olympics – within one kilometre of the three schools – will add pressure to nearby roads and transport options.
Cross River Rail, which includes a rebuilt Exhibition Station further down on Gregory Terrace, is expected to start services by 2029.
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