Lack of connection between Bicentennial Bikeway and Inner City Bypass

Although Brisbane's Inner City Bypass is quite a good road to cycle on, it is severely lacking in its connections to the Bicentennial Bikeway (and Coronation Drive) to the western suburbs. The two pieces of road are well linked by Hale Street for motor traffic but no realistic, safe options are available for bicycles.

Eastbound

Travelling eastbound gives no real option other than north along Hale Street, which is a hair-raising ride for any cyclist willing to try it. It requires crossing two lots of traffic merging in and travelling in the middle lane uphill while being overtaken on both sides by typically speeding and impatient motorists. Approaching the top of the hill there is a concrete wall on the left, no shoulder, and a curve that prevents traffic approaching from behind being able to see cyclists until they are almost on top of them.

Some potential alternatives are:

• Come left off Hale Street up to Musgrave Road, turn right across the top of Hale Street, do a U-turn at the next lights, and then come down on to the Kelvin Grove Road entrance, from which it is possible to veer right to the ICB. This is a very circuitous detour, requires waiting for several additional sets of traffic lights, involves moving across traffic to make several right turns, and serves to avoid only a part of Hale Street.
• Go up to Milton Road, cross it at the traffic lights, cycle along the concourse outside Lang Park to Caxton Street, cross at the lights again, then join the entrance back down to Hale Street. This also requires waiting for several additional sets of traffic lights, is mostly on pedestrian areas not suitable for commuting cycling, and again serves to avoid only a part of Hale St.

Westbound

Cycling westbound along the ICB to Hale Street and down to Coronation Drive is nowhere near as dangerous as in the opposite direction, but signs at the Ithaca Street exit to Kelvin Grove Road require cyclists to exit there. Worse, subsequent signs then forbid cyclists from travelling on Kelvin Grove Road but instead direct them up to College Road. From there the options for getting down to the Bicentennial Bikeway just get sillier and even more remote [1].

The only problems with continuing on the ICB to Hale Street (other than the signs forbidding it) are that the Ithaca Street exit is two lanes, so crossing it requires moving out to the middle lane, and that the next section of road (continuing up to the top of the hill) has only a tiny shoulder.