Toowong - Sylvan Rd - crossing
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Intersection Crossing Problems
This is where the Western Freeway bikeway meets Sylvan Road adjacent to Milton Road at Toowong. Inbound cyclists are faced with a dangerous crossing of Sylvan Road to get onto the on-road bike lane down Sylvan Road. The crossing can be dangerous as Milton Rd is heavily trafficked and cars are often turning into Sylvan Road across the congestion and do this very quickly and are usually paying attention to oncoming traffic on Milton Road and are likely not to see a cyclist and vice-versa. There was a sign requiring cyclists to dismount to make this crossing and it is arguable whether this is actually any safer, particularly if the cyclist has pedal cleats. Noticeably there is a yellow grab rail for cyclists which is conducive to remain on your bike rather than dismount.
The legality of forcing cyclists to dismount at this point was challenged with Council. It is arguable that cyclists in most part are not actually crossing the road at this point but merely making a right hand turn from one piece of cycling infrastructure to another. Main Roads advised that this "Cyclists must dismount to cross road" sign was defunct and should not be used any longer. Council removed this sign approximately April 07 as shown in the second thumbnail below. Council also erased the somewhat confusing dividing line in the middle of this ramp. There also exists a sign warning motorists of cyclists crossing at this point but this sign is poorly located and largely obscured to oncoming traffic by a power pole, see third pic below.
The 4th picture below shows a number of inbound cyclists choosing to enter Sylvan Rd by cycling contra flow on the outbound on-road bike lane rather than dealing with crossing safely to the correct side. These cyclists will usually continue contra-flow for a short distance and when a gap in traffic appears they will usually 'veer' across to the correct side. Other riders will stay on the footpath which at this point is not a divided shared path and so this is legal. They then cross Sylvan Rd further down. Both of these manoeuvres do not require the cyclist to have to stop or to dismount.
The intersection from the bike path, looking towards the city prior to removal of the Dismount sign.
The current arrangement as of Dec07
Cyclist warning sign obscured by pole
Cyclists entering the bike lane contra flow.
Possible solutions
Lane across Sylvan Road
One proposed solution is along the same lines as the intersection of Rosebery Tce and Wharf St in Chelmer, near the end of the Jack Pesch Bridge. The bike lane across the end of Rosebery Tce is clearly marked, and cars turning into it need to give way to cyclists in the lane. A similar lane across the end of Sylvan Rd would allow inbound cyclists to continue directly from the path across the road and to turn right into the bike lane at the far side of the road. Outbound cyclists would be unaffected, save for the improved safety from not having to avoid inbound cyclists on the wrong side of the road.
Roundabout at Norwood Street
Another option would be to extend the bike path from Milton Road down Sylvan Road to a new roundabout at the end of Norwood St, which would allow cyclists to join the traffic flow on the road more safely. This was proposed to the local councilor (Judy Magub) in April 2006 but rejected on the grounds that a roundabout would be inappropriate there because there is not "balanced traffic flow".
Progress towards a solution
Current indications are that Council is not interested in putting much effort into the intersection as the area is the western end of the TransApex East-West Link and would be changed as a result of any eventual construction as a part of that. The State Government is similarly uninterested [1].
Along with the removal of the Dismount sign and dividing line in approximately April 07, Council reconfigured the footpath to extend the shared path down to the ramp onto Norwood St. The benefits of this reconfiguration are unclear and there appears to be little change in the routes taken by cyclists. One of the problems is that at the intersection of Norwood St and Sylvan Rd where this ramp joins has no treatment to allow for the ingress or egress of cycle traffic from or onto Sylvan Rd and the stop line for car traffic allows cars to totally block this ramp.
Other problems
There are several secondary problems in the immediate area, as discussed below.
Hutchinson works
The problems around this area have become worse now with re-development of the old Hutchinsons site on the corner being redeveloped since around mid 2006.
Energex works
During October 2006 the developers and/or their contractors dug up part of the footpath and placed little more than an orange safety barrier around these works. The work completely closed off what forms the pedestrian side of the divided shared path at this point. There was no provision for an alternative path for pedestrians and presumably they were just expected to walk out onto the designated bike path section. There werre no warnings of this for either pedestrians or cyclists and no safety lighting was provided. The issue was been raised with the BCC who in turn wanted to wash their hands of it and blame Energex.
Cyclists passing the obstruction.
A close-up of the obstruction.
The obstruction, looking outbound.
The works lasted a few weeks and the barriers were removed in mid October 2006. There was no Council intervention in the meantime. The next barrier to contend with follows:
Digger blockage
On 7 September 2006 during the morning peak hour a digger was left unattended, unsigned, and blocking the path, on the ramp connecting the outbound bike lane to the path.
A cyclist tries to get around the digger.
Cyclists having to stay on the road to avoid it.
The digger completely blocked the ramp.
Subaru Car Sales
There seems to be a growing problem, especially on weekends where the Subaru car dealership located between Miskin St and Sylvan Rd, displays its cars on the shared path in front of their driveway totally blocking the pathway. This total disregard for Road Rules presents a serious public safety risk as well as a risk of handlebar or pedal damage to these cars. These cars are a danger to cyclists before they even get an owner behind the wheel. This type of obstruction is often common on the shared paths in front of car dealerships. Another problem which has progressively become more dangerous is the gradual build-up of fine gravel on the concrete bikeway. This gravel comes from the car dealership's display yard. The problem was brought to the attention on staff at the dealership early in '08, pointing out the risk that it presented to path users. No immediate action was taken by the dealership to remove the gravel but eventually after several days the gravel was swept from the actual bikeway onto the other part of the footpath which forms the driveway; essentially just swept to the very edge of the bikeway. The gravel will no doubt find its way back onto the bikeway in a short time and Council may have to intervene to ensure safe operation.
Wanna buy a car? (Nov 06)
Or this one? (Feb 07)
Gravel from dealership on bikeway (Dec 07)
See also
- The nearby crossing of Miskin St near the first roundabout
- The nearby proposed Toowong roundabout crossing near the second roundabout
