Following is a message from Jonathan Sri, Councillor for the Gabba Ward:
Dear residents,
I’ll start with some good news. After pressure from my office and a range of community groups, we’ve had clear confirmation that council is going to roll out a 40km/h zone along Old Cleveland Road in Stones Corner!
This won’t completely address all the pedestrian safety issues in this area, but it’s certainly a positive step. I’m also continuing to push for a major redesign of the O’Keefe St roundabout intersection and other pedestrian safety solutions (e.g. an underpass). Council says their deadline for rolling this out is 31 March next year, but if they’re receiving strong positive feedback from residents, they’ll probably get it done sooner than that.
They’re currently focussed on the stretch between Montague St and the O’Keefe St roundabout (blue shaded area in above picture), but my strong advice has been that the 40km/h zone should be larger, taking in the pedestrian crossing on Logan Rd just north of Cowley St (a key crossing for pedestrians accessing Buranda train station and Buranda State School) as well as the pedestrian crossing on O’Keefe St to the west of Carl St (a major route for the bicentennial bikeway that also carries very high volumes of foot traffic). (Blue extdended line in above image).
In council’s recent ‘Move Safe’ online consultation, residents identified that this whole area is dangerous and inhospitable for pedestrians, and so it makes sense to have the broader precinct rezoned for 40km/h rather than just one short stretch.
To make sure this happens, I need your help. If you support a 40km/h zone for the entire area surrounding Buranda train station, the Woolloongabba busway and the Stones Corner shops on Old Cleveland Road, please send an email to: tpo_contact@brisbane.qld.gov.au CCing chair.infrastructure@brisbane.qld.gov.au.
Tell them you’re very strongly supportive of the 40km/h trial, but that you think it should take in a larger area.
Lowering speed limits in congested inner-city areas does not have a discernible impact on motorist travel times. The congestion around the O’Keefe St roundabout has a lot more to do with the intersection itself than the maximum speed limit. However, dropping the speed should help make the area safer and more comfortable for pedestrians, which will in turn encourage more people to choose walking and public transport over driving. Please send an email saying you support this!