North Toowong corridor
The corridor connecting the Western Freeway to Sylvan Road in Toowong is heavily used by cyclists but suffers from some major deficiencies. This article examines those deficiencies and attempts to identify possible solutions.
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Usage Profile
The primary use of the corridor is as a connection between the Western Freeway bikeway and the bike lanes on Sylvan Road and beyond to the Bicentennial Bikeway. Most cyclists using this corridor are commuters travelling from the Western and Centenary suburbs to the Brisbane CBD. There are also a significant number of recreational cyclists who use the corridor, again for access to and between the Western Freeway bikeway and Bicentennial Bikeway.
Since the opening of the Toowong roundabout crossing from Anzac Park to Mt Coot-tha, cyclists have also been able to use it to access recreational and training destinations (including mountain bike trails, the popular Sir Samuel Griffith Drive loop, the Botanical Gardens and Observatory) in relative safety.
Frederick Street (gateway to the suburbs to the north and north-west such as Bardon and The Gap) is still generally not accessible to cyclists due to the barrier formed by the heavy traffic along the Western Freeway and Milton Road and the lack of safe and accessible crossings.
Issues, deficiencies and hazards
There is a range of problems associated with the North Toowong corridor, many of which are inter-related to some degree. Other factors such as availability of road space, traffic volume, public transport provisions, and future TransApex plans for the area all serve to compound these problems.
Some of the problems appear to have fast, cheap and effective solutions, and all that is required to provide them would be some political will. Other aspects are much more complex, requiring an integrated or holistic approach to achieving the optimal outcome for all road users, and significantly more political will.
The map below shows the locations of specific trouble spots.
Dean Street crossing
Layout
Dean Street is a two lane, two way street that allows vehicles to turn left from the Western Freeway approach, and to turn left from Dean Street onto the Western Freeway approach and the roundabout that allows access to Sir Samuel Griffith drive.
Buses coming from the direction of Mt Coot-tha have a dedicated set of lights that allow access from the inbound lanes of the Western Freeway to Dean Street. The same lights also allow buses to turn right from Dean Street onto Mt Coot-tha Rd towards Milton Road and the city.
The bicycle crossing has yellow road markings, perhaps a warning zone, on the Anzac Park side, a centre island with two yellow lean bars, and a yellow lean bar on the bus depot side. The footpath on the bus depot side is shared path that ends at the entrance to the car park and bus lane, with a lean bar. The path continues on the other side of the car park entrance and directs bicycle traffic into the Park & Ride/Bus Depot car park.
Usage Profile
Inbound – Western Freeway Bike to CBD
Few inbound cyclists use the crossing as it has been designed, namely stopping with in the yellow road markings to look for traffic, then proceeding directly across, through the centre island, then doing a sharp 90-degree left-hand turn, proceeding straight across the entrance of the car park and then into the Park & Ride/Bus Depot car park proper.
Instead, most cyclists cross Dean St in either by making a left-turn into Dean St, proceeding along the road and making a right-turn into the car park entrance in the manner that any other vehicle would use to access the car park from that direction, or by cutting across Dean St diagonally to gain direct access to the car park and bus lane.
Outbound – CBD to Western Freeway Bikeway
Few outbound cyclists use the crossing as has been designed, mostly due to the way that the bicycle route through the Park & Ride/Bus Depot car park is used. The intention is for cyclists to access the shared path from the car park, cross the entrance of the car park to the other shared path, perform a 90-degree right hand turn and stop, proceed directly across Dean St and move onto the dedicated path through Anzac Park.
Instead, most cyclists exit via the Dean St car park exit/entrance, either because they rode counter-flow along the bus lane adjacent to the car park or while they did follow the marked route through the car park, they chose not to use the short shared path. Many cyclists tend to cut diagonally across Dean Street to the Anzac Park entrance from the car park exit, although some prefer to perform a left-turn onto Dean St, then a right-turn into the centre island, before continuing into Anzac Park.
Hazards
The inbound approach to Dean Street from the end of the freeway bikepath through Anzac Park has poor visibility of Dean Street to the right: it's not until cyclists already on the road that they can see oncoming traffic. The problem is exacerbated by parking on the Anzac Park side of the road.
In addition, there are no lean bars on the Anzac Park side of the crossing, which, although not a hazard itself, tends to encourage high-risk cycling behaviours such as “rolling stops” while cyclists try to spot oncoming traffic while maintaining balance and being prepared to come to an instant stop if there is traffic.
The island in the middle of Dean Street does not appear to have been intended to be used by more than a single cyclist in each direction at any one time.
The bus depot side crossing would appear to also suffer from a similar fault: use as intended by the volume of cyclists that exists is simply not possible in a safe manner.
Possible Improvements
First, the provision of appropriate lean bars on the Anzac Park side and of mirrors to allow cyclists a good view of oncoming traffic would mitigate the most obvious hazards, namely not being able to see oncoming traffic clearly and taking unnecessary risks in order to see on coming traffic. Lean bars give cyclists a safe place to stop and see if the mirrors show oncoming traffic before proceeding.
Second would be to re-design the crossing to make it more useful for large volumes of cyclists, perhaps by moving the path to be directly across from the car park/bus lane entrance, or similar. In any case, it is the design of the current crossing that encourages cyclists to find a more direct, more appropriate, and faster route – exactly the sort of route that is required and desired by commuter cyclists.
Bus depot carpark
After crossing Dean Street inbound the designated bike route goes through a carpark attached to Toowong bus depot. Carparks are dangerous places to cycle — cars often reverse out of spaces without being able to see properly, are not looking for cyclists, and manoeuvre without indication. Unlike when dealing with the risk of "dooring" from parallel parked cars, it is usually difficult or impossible to see a driver in a parked car before it starts moving.
This high risk is enough to make any carpark inappropriate for such a busy cycle route, but this carpark is made worse by a series of unmarked speed bumps along its length. They have had narrow sections removed to allow clear passage for bicycles but these are indicated only with non-reflective bike symbols that have faded such that in poor light they are almost as invisible as the bumps themselves. Additionally, the path of outbound cyclists entering the carpark is such that they will typically miss the first gap and go straight into a speed bump while still turning, an unpleasant shock and likely to cause cyclists to come off.
The carpark is also a deviation from the most direct route, with sharp, ninety degree turns at each end. The parallel bus road is much more direct, being closer to the Dean Street crossing, completely straight, and free of obstacles. A trivial but effective solution for inbound cyclists would be for bicycles to be permitted to use it. The width is between 6.7m and 9.7m, so it should be sufficient for bicycle traffic in the outbound direction as well. Council's Active Transport Unit reported in early 2007 it is independently investigating this possibility.
Crossing of Miskin Street
The crossing of Miskin Street next to the Frederick Street roundabout is a particularly dangerous location with a high level of conflict between motorists and cyclists. In canvassing local casual to intermediate cyclists this crossing was universally identified as having by far the highest perceived level of danger in the area. In several cases it was reported to be such an impediment that it was the sole reason for not cycling.
On the uphill-bound side of the road cars exit the roundabout at speed and continue accelerating up the hill through the crossing. This traffic approaches from directly behind outbound cyclists, making it difficult to distinguish from other traffic on the roundabout sufficiently early (particularly given frequent poor indication by vehicles on the roundabout). Additionally, the holding rail is located in relation to the path and kerb ramp such that it is difficult to reach, difficult to maintain balance against, and can be used by only one cyclist at a time. Inbound cyclists have a better view of the exiting traffic but still have great difficulty identifying exiting traffic with enough time to cross both lanes, and there is no longer a holding rail or much space to wait in the centre traffic island. The situation is similar to the Dean Street crossing but exacerbated by higher traffic volume and higher traffic speed primarily due to the gentle curve of the roundabout but also because motorists are keen to accelerate quickly to maintain speed up the hill.
There is also a problem with traffic in the downhill lane, but not so much to do with visibility and speed. The traffic tends to be slow or queuing as it approaches the roundabout and blocks the crossing. There are "keep clear" treatments on the road for the benefit of buses and perhaps cyclists, but the problem persists both because some vehicles do not obey them and because it isn't possible to be sure whether an approaching vehicle will stop before the treatment or continue across it, especially given that traffic is continually entering the roundabout and making more space available on the downhill side.
The conflict between cars and buses at this location also exacerbates the issue. Because buses frequently have difficulty entering and exiting the bus depot and adjacent bus road they end up blocking the "keep clear" areas themselves, block visibility of traffic that might be trying to squeeze past them, and cause an additional distraction for cars, buses and bicycles alike at an already dangerous location.
Minimal means of trying to improve the crossing could be:
- Restore the holding rails in the central refuge.
- This would make it easier for cyclists to safely cross half of the road and stop in the middle when necessary.
- Widen the central refuge.
- This is particularly important as the current width of the crossing is hardly enough to fit a bicycle. Cyclists must currently cross half the road and, if they need to wait before crossing the other half, they must quickly stop in exactly the right position to avoid being hit by cars on either side of the road. There is no margin of error nor enough space to allow a gradual stop without blocking the road while slowing. A wider refuge would greatly help all of these issues and allow for safe stopping between the two directions of motor traffic.
- Lengthen the central refuge.
- The existing refuge is not long enough to hold the number of cyclists that need to use it at peak times. The problem is made worse by the narrowness of the current refuge, which leads to cyclists trying to fit their bicycles into the limited space diagonally, taking up more length. A longer refuge would allow more cyclists to use it safely.
- Extend the path on the western side of the road about eight metres uphill, and move the refuge to match.
- This would allow cyclists to cross the Miskin Street to and from the bus road by the shortest possible path. It would also increase the distance between the crossing and the roundabout, which would give motorists more time to focus on the crossing after leaving the roundabout. In turn this could open up more options for treatments aimed at slowing or reducing the priority of motorists.
- Build out the kerbs at the exit from the roundabout.
- This would reduce the speed of motorists leaving the roundabout and approaching the crossing, giving more time both to the motorists to look for cyclists on the crossing and to cyclists to identify exiting motor vehicles. As well as providing a better opportunity to avoid a collision it would reduce the severity of any collisions that still occurred, which is particularly important for cyclists as vulnerable road users.
A more effective solution would be to install raised platforms (flat-top speed bumps) at the crossing. This would inhibit uphill motorists from accelerating until after they have cleared the crossing, and would more clearly demarcate the crossing to downhill motorists and discourage them from stopping on it. Such an approach should also include the other, smaller changes to the crossing suggested above. In August 2009 a red surface treatment was added, but it was at the existing crossing point (close to the roundabout), and lasted only a few weeks before being removed.
A larger scale fix, at least for the outbound direction, would be to continue the bike lane from Sylvan Road around onto Milton Road. There is plenty of available space that could be used for this purpose. Although the roundabout is not currently very attractive to cyclists this could be changed, with little impact on motorists, by allowing extra space and bike lanes on the approaches and exits. It might be appropriate to provide small separating islands at the points where the road joins the roundabout to prevent motorists from intruding into the bicycle space by cutting the corner. Cyclists could then turn into Miskin Street as a part of the traffic flow, allowing them to make a right turn directly to the bus depot carpark. Alternatively (and preferably) the lanes could be continued onto Mt Coot-tha Road as far as Dean Street, allowing cyclists to turn directly into it and then right into Anzac Park. Again, there is plenty of space that could be made available for such a bike lane, although it would require some expensive relocation of services.
An even more far-reaching approach would be to raise the whole roundabout and provide a tunnel under Miskin St at similar grade to the connections on each side. This would also facilitate a similar crossing to Frederick Street and Toowong Cemetery. While the scale of the works makes this hard to achieve in the short term, something similar might be quite feasible as part of the proposed tunnels.
Commercial premises on Milton Road
Between Miskin Street and Sylvan Road are commercial premises on or close to the bike path that conflict with passing cyclists. In particular the car yard parks its vehicles on the bike path from time to time, and the car wash results in a high level of motor traffic crossing and blocking the cycle route at the previously quiet Norwood Street.
It's also possible to pass behind the premises, connecting directly between Miskin and Norwood Streets. This is not currently a public thoroughfare, but it's possible that there could be some options for making it a more official route (on private land or otherwise) and avoid the conflicts that occur on the Milton Road frontage.
Council has reported that the block on the corner of Miskin Street is the subject of imminent redevelopment, which is potentially both a threat and an opportunity.
Connection to Sylvan Road
The transition to Sylvan Road from the path from Miskin Street remains problematic despite recent changes. Originally the path was such that inbound cyclists were supposed to dismount to cross Sylvan Road at the corner of Milton Road. Cyclists choosing to cross here had to avoid the traffic typically queuing on Sylvan Road to enter Milton Road and then stop in the centre of Sylvan Road (without a holding rail) and try to guess which of the outbound traffic on Milton Road will choose to swing left into Sylvan Road with little or no notice, and when the inbound traffic queuing to turn right into Sylvan Road will decide there's enough of a gap to make a dash across.
Most inbound cyclists instead proceeded a little further around the corner and entered Sylvan Road by cycling the wrong way down the bike lane, waiting for an opportunity to cross onto the correct side of the road. Despite the illegality of this manoeuvre and the risk of collision with outbound cyclists, it is still much safer than trying to cross at the intersection because of the much greater predictability of the traffic, and is also more attractive to cyclists because it avoids the need to stop.
Recently the bike path has been extended to the intersection of Norwood Street, which has succeeded in discouraging some portion of the cycle traffic from riding contra flow, but not the majority. Four possible causes of the limited success are the more continuous route that can be taken via the earlier ramp (avoiding the left and right turn necessary at Norwood Street), the avoidance of the more complex intersection scenario (with vehicles coming from three different directions), the confusing linework that might imply the ramp is the correct route, and habit. The Norwood Street extension also suffers from the need for inbound and outbound cycle traffic to cross over twice, with bikes travelling to the right of oncoming bikes for the length of the extension. A limited attempt to improve the linework by grinding off some sections was made in mid 2007, but more explicit changes such as the addition of arrows are believed to be both necessary and planned.
Some suggestions for addressing the crossing here are:
- Move the crossing back a few car lengths from Milton Road.
- This would allow motor vehicles waiting to enter Milton Road to quickly accelerate into gaps without needing to also look left or risk hitting a crossing cyclist. When only one or two vehicles are queuing it would allow cyclists to cross without danger from outbound vehicles. However, when more vehicles are queuing, those further back from the intersection will tend to be "crawling" rather than stopped, making crossing between vehicles more treacherous.
- On the far (eastbound) side of the road cyclists would be more easily able to discern traffic as it turns into Sylvan Road.
- This suggestion was put to Council (Cr Magub and ATU) at a meeting in early 2007, but rejected on the grounds that it would be more dangerous because motor vehicles entering Sylvan Road from Milton Road would have accelerated to a greater speed by the time they reached the crossing point.
- Give cyclists right of way across the end of Sylvan Road.
- Having motor traffic give way to crossing cyclists would be ideal from cyclists' points of view. A conspicuous green bike lane treatment across the end of Sylvan Road (parallel and adjacent to Milton Road) would provide a clear crossing point, but the practicalities of getting motorists to honour it might make it useless (or worse). Queuing motorists are primarily looking to the right for approaching motor vehicles, not to the left for approaching cyclists. Additionally, they will prefer to come as far forward as possible (onto any bike area) so as to get a good view down Milton Road and a quick entry onto it.
- Note that in theory traffic turning onto Sylvan Road from Milton Road is required to give way to any cyclist already crossing Sylvan Road, but this is not usually done in practice and is often not even known.
- Put a roundabout at the bottom of Norwood Street.
- This would allow cyclists to enter Sylvan Road with right of way over eastbound traffic on the road. It was rejected in mid 2006 by Cr Magub on advice from ATU that the location is not best for a roundabout because it does not have "balanced traffic flow".
- Run a contra-flow bike lane along Sylvan Road.
- Another idea is to put a "Copenhagen style" lane on the southern (currently inbound) side of Sylvan Road. This could run as far as Coronation Drive, with cyclists then using the lights to cross to the Bicentennial Bikeway. A shorter lane would require a crossing of Sylvan Road at some other location, perhaps the lights at Jephson Street and Croydon Street.
- Indication from Council is that this is currently unlikely because of the impact on parking in Sylvan Road, but it remains a possibility.
- Divert motor traffic on Sylvan Road between Milton Road and Jephson Street to Croydon Street instead.
- This would dramatically reduce the danger from motor traffic, but would obviously have a significant impact on traffic in the area. Lesser measures include prohibiting traffic from turning right from Milton Road into Sylvan Road, and have much more chance of being implemented.
Improvements to date
The Hutchinson works allowed the old footpath to Norwood Street to be expanded to a signed shared path. This was to allow inbound cycle traffic to continue around the corner from Milton Road and enter the road at Norwood Street, immediately then turning right onto Sylvan Road. However, many inbound cyclists continue to use the outbound ramp.
As a result of the above, the ramp closest to the corner of Milton Road is now less important. There was an old "Cyclists must dismount to cross road" sign, which is no longer in the MUTCD. Main Roads advised it had no legal effect and should be removed, which it subsequently was, but was later replaced by an identical new sign in January 2008.
Crossing to Frederick Street and Toowong Cemetery
There is a need for a safe pedestrian and cycle crossing of Milton Road to Frederick Street and the Toowong Cemetery entrance. This was well demonstrated by the large petition sponsored by local MP Andrew Fraser [1]. The response to the petition seems to refer to the Mt Coot-tha Road roundabout half a kilometre further to the west, and the subsequently constructed Toowong roundabout crossing is several hundred metres further west again, meaning that it doesn't address the need for a crossing at the eastern roundabout.
Frederick Street provides a viable trunk connection to the north for experienced cyclists and is also the main pedestrian access to west Auchenflower. Existing cemetery paths are open for use by bicycles and provide a less hilly and challenging route to Bardon and beyond for walkers and cyclists. Some experienced cyclists can travel through the existing roundabout on the road, but the environment is such that pedestrians and most cyclists are unable to safely cross the arterial road barrier at this location.
Crossing to Mt Coot-tha Road
The recently constructed Toowong roundabout crossing, opened in March 2009, has provided much safer access to Sir Samuel Griffith Drive for cyclists wanting to train around Mt Coot-tha. Prior to its construction cyclists had to take their life into their hands to get across Mt Coot-tha Rd near the bottom of Dean Street to get across to and through the western roundabout. Although signage changes to grant permission to use the bus signals at the bottom of Dean Street would have been a cheap and effective way to provide this access for many cyclists, the bridge invites use by a wider range of cyclists and skill levels.
Proposed tunnels
The TransApex plan proposes two new tunnels terminating at the end of the Western Freeway: the Northern Link and the East-West Link. These have potential for massive disruption of cycling in the area and unfavourable outcomes for cycling after completion. Experience with the construction and plans for the North-South Bypass Tunnel indicates that this is largely due to cycling not being considered during contract preparation and the obstacles to adding adequate provision later. If this can be dealt with earlier in the process of these new tunnels a significantly better cycling result can be achieved, both in terms of disruption during construction and eventual outcome. The cost of these projects will dwarf anything else spent on traffic (let alone cycling) in the area, and a desirable outcome should be achievable at little or no additional cost if integrated into the planning from the start.
However, these projects are still some years from becoming reality, and may never do so. So, while they need to be watched and actively engaged, they shouldn't stop other solutions from being pursued in the time being.
Other suggestions
In addition to the suggestions presented above, some higher level solutions are possible. One is to include cyclists on the road rather than trying to find ways to route off-road paths through the existing traffic environment. This could involve treatments such as wide kerbside lanes, Bicycle Awareness Zones and/or bicycle lanes on at least Milton and Mt Coot-tha Roads. This would be desirable regardless of any other actions taken, in keeping with the principle that "every road is a cycling road."
A contrasting approach would be to provide a completely separate route, avoiding the congested area entirely. A suggested route leaves the Western Freeway bikepath as it enters Anzac Park (making use of the higher land there and/or the work for the proposed new bridge) and travels along Wool Street and Ascog Terrace, coming down to Sylvan Road on Norwood Street or even possibly continuing on to Bennett Street along Augustus Street or Lissner Street. The roads are already suitable for on-road cycling, so the only non-trivial work required is at the stairs where Wool Street crosses Dean Street and a ramp would need to be built.
Along similar lines, another possible route is to follow Moggill Road to Oakman Park, and then Toowong Creek through the streets of West Toowong and finally up Broseley Street to Stanley Terrace and back to the bikepath from Taringa Parade. [2]
Finally, with all the interest in Brisbane in digging big tunnels, we shouldn't rule out using one of the machines for a little while to dig a tunnel into the hill in Anzac Park and out onto the river bank!
Conclusion
The North Toowong corridor is a major cycling route but particularly problematic due to a number of problems. A variety of solutions exist and further investigation and discussion needs to be undertaken to identify the most feasible ones.
The future proposed TransApex tunnels in the area are a potential disaster for cycling in the area but could become a major boon if addressed well.
