Wooloongabba - Stanley St - slip lane danger
There is an on-road bike lane on a section of Stanley Street at Woolloongabba, just prior to the entrance to the South East Freeway. There is a left hand slip lane into the freeway entrance at this point. There is also an on-road bike lane which traffic must cross over to enter this slip lane. This bike lane now carries an increased number of cyclists due to the closure of a section of the South East Freeway Bikeway adjacent to the freeway in 2006.
This left hand slip lane is regulated during afternoon peak hours to prevent traffic entering from Stanley Street, however, it is plain that hundreds of cars still use this slip lane to illegally enter the freeway at peak hour. This can be dangerous for cyclists in the bike lane who might not be expecting the left turning traffic at that time or because the left turning car traffic are not paying attention as they try to quickly 'sneak' in to make this illegal manoeuvre.
There are a few problems, some of which are likely the responsibility/fault of the Brisbane City Council.
1. Firstly, the only sign, prior to this slip lane that warns motorists of the legal times for entering the slip lane and freeway is the tiniest possible sign mentioned in the MUTCD and this is located on a kerb mounted pole in a location that is obscured by trees. Even if these trees are maintained, the sign is not sufficiently prominent to be effective. There is a large overhead gantry holding other directional signage that should be used for this purpose as this is where motorists are likely to be looking.
2. There is a black and yellow variable message sign after the slip lane which may belong to Main Roads which is activated during the afternoon peak hour which seems to be totally ignored by motorists. This could be due to its late positioning or possibly because of its black and yellow status which would suggest that it is 'advisory only'.
3. The Police response to a request to police this slip lane is that 'occasionally' they do wait on the freeway to catch motorists who have used it illegally but it is not a priority because it only relates to freeway congestion management and not really safety. This ignores the safety issue for cyclists in the bike lane.
4. While there is probably the biggest bike lane symbol in Brisbane located on the overhead gantry, the bike lane itself, particularly in the vicinity of the slip lane is totally unprotected. The pavement bike lane symbols have been totally neglected and allowed to be worn to a dangerous level. The BCC has not seen fit to provide any other measures such as use the highly visible green treatment which it has deemed necessary at the section of the same bike lane further inbound on Stanley St. This is probably one section where the green treatment would benefit cyclists by making the left turning motorists more aware of the presence of the bike lane, particularly in the light of the South East Freeway Bikeway closure which has forced many cyclists to seek other routes in the area.
The following gallery of pictures highlight the problem. The matter was brought to the attention of Council (April 06) and it was suggested that a Council officer go down there at afternoon peak hour to observe the level of non-compliance and to see the dangers presented to cyclists. While there is the expectation that any trees obscuring signage will be trimmed, the problem goes well beyond that and more needs to be done to ensure compliance and improve cyclist safety.
Tiny No Left Turn sign on kerb partly obscured
Black and Yellow variable sign background
Showing gantry obscured and markings
