Deagon - Handford Rd - Sloping Gully Grates
These gully grates are common around Brisbane streets. They are not the very latest designs and they can be found in most suburbs. These grates themselves are suitably 'modern' that they don't present huge dangers of trapping a cyclists wheel like the earlier designs, they do in fact comply with the relevant Australian Standard AS3996-92 for gully grates and covers but the problem is that they are placed at quite steep angles to match the crossfall on the road pavement and the Standard does not address this. The problem when these grates are placed at such steep angles is that when they get wet there is virtually no resistance to prevent a bicycle wheel slipping sideways down the sloping grate. This can occur instantaneously and makes for a very dangerous situation in the wet, particularly on a narrow and heavilly trafficked road where a cyclist may not see the grate or is forced over it by a motorist. The problem was reported to the Brisbane City Council on 30 Jun 2005. No substantive reply was received until 6 Jan 06. In that response the BCC claims that there is a program in place to replace these gully grates over a 15 year period with the newer types that have the bars running both ways. There is no evidence to suggest that these newer types have been tested at various angles in the wet to prove them safe for cyclists.
As of 10 Sep 06 the reported gully grates on this major road (Handford Rd) have not been changed while it is noted that up to 24 gully grates were replaced at the time of the complaint in the cul-de-sacs around Chapel Hill where these grates presented virtually no risk to cyclists.
Around Oct 06 it was noticed that Council were installing a newer gully grate supplied by Gatic. These grates seem to address the problem of sideways or cross fall traction with their design. The grate shown is not located on Handford Rd but at Fleming Rd in Chapel Hill. It is yet to be seen if this new design grate will be retrofitted to areas where there is more bicycle traffic and higher risks of accidents. Gatic claim that this grate can be retrofitted to existing frames so that the whole structure does not need to be reconstructed.
