Walter Taylor South Action Group Inc. Protecting the Streetscapes

The comment period for Oxley Road Corinda changes has been extended until the 3rd of June due to a distribution problem.

You can find further details of the proposed changes at this link with some text extracted below.  Also attached is a draft diagram of the changes.

An copy of the newsletter and template feedback form is attached.

ABOUT THE PROJECT

The Oxley Road and Clewley Street intersection is a very busy thoroughfare, linking local residents with key destinations including the local shopping precinct, Corinda train station, local schools, parishes and other community services.

Currently, the intersection is the cause of significant delays for motorists in peak periods and has recorded 11 accidents in the five year period to 2008. Seven of these accidents occurred when vehicles were undertaking a right-hand turn from Oxley Road into Clewley Street (both directions). There have also been a number of accidents, some involving hospitalisations, involving pedestrians crossing Oxley Road to the pedestrian refuge at unsafe times.

The project will involve:

• widening the Oxley Road approaches to cater for two through lanes
• installing dedicated right-turn lanes from Oxley Road into Clewley Street (both directions will be controlled by a turning arrow)
• removing the pedestrian refuge from Oxley Road to cater for the right-turn lane and to promote safer crossing at the Oxley Road/Clewley Street intersection traffic lights
• installing dedicated right-turn lanes from Clewley Street into Oxley Road (both directions)
• installing a right-turn lane from Oxley Road into Martindale Street
• relocating Bus Stop 59 (located outside Coles in Clewley Street) 20 metres east of its current location
• turf and landscaping
• relocating footpath furniture, signage and street art as required to provide space for the upgrade
• standardising parking restrictions on Oxley Road between Martindale Street and Nelson Street.

Construction is expected to start in mid 2011, and take approximately 8 months to complete, weather permitting.

WHAT ARE THE BENEFITS?

• Improve safety for motorists, cyclists and pedestrians
• Reduce congestion and improve traffic flow.

FOR MORE INFORMATION

If you would like to provide comments, ask questions or find out more about the Oxley Road and Clewley Street intersection upgrade, you can:

• call the project team on 1800 669 416
• call Council on (07) 3403 8888
• email roadactionprogram@brisbane.qld.gov.au
• write to

Oxley Road and Clewley Street intersection upgrade

Transport Infrastructure

Brisbane City Council

GPO Box 1434

Brisbane Qld 4001

 Why is it that BCC cares so little about Corinda and Sherwood 'villages'?  Nothing has ever been planned to protect them.  Much of the traffic flow through Corinda could've been diverted years ago if a by-pass to Sherwood Road had been planned, perhaps via the present turf/golf/BBC site and through what is now becoming a bus depot, or even through the flood land behind the markets which we are fast losing as 'green space'.  Council is aiming to speed up four lanes of traffic through our shopping stretch and then bring it all into two lanes under the railway bridge - only a hundred metres or so from Clewley Street.  What a joke.  If they insist on doing this, why not put a proper crossing with lights in where the present 'try your luck' one is- in front of the Post Office.  Our aged and disabled do not need to walk the extra distance planned to cross from Coles to pay their bills at the Post Office, visit the pharmacy and so on.  Such a crossing is not going to delay the traffic much since the proposed right turn lights will impose further waits on traffic anyway. I remember reading an article in the local paper when pedestrian crossings were taken from us:  the number of people killed on them decreased markedly!  Of course: when you don't have any, that's sure to be the result, but the overall numbers of pedestrians killed probably didn't change.
I heard recently that St Joseph's (corner of Clewley) is to lose its front garden area (to be replaced by a small strip).  While this area may not be used by the majority in the area it is a significant contributor to our community.  The greenery is precious on our ugly Oxley Road street scape providing at least some fightback to pollution and concrete.  But its value to the church community and friends is far greater.  This green barrier helps filter out noise and pollution from the louvred and generally eco-friendly church.  It is a gathering place for people to talk together and with their spiritual leader after ceremonies and services.  It has been a significant site for many families after weddings, funerals and baptisms.  We would not be allowed to desecrate such areas if they were categorised differently- I'm not sure how to explain that without sounding discriminatory!  And the worst is, that the changes will contribute nothing to the general community in return.
I think we need to come up with more ideas to save and improve our shopping strip especially with medium density ramping up.  Many of us don't want to be forced to Shopping Town and Bunnings.  And Sherwood congestion is a similar mess which will only get worse when five storeys surround it.  Maybe make the strip a 30 kilometre zone and put in speed hump diversions via Martindale and Clewley (via the railway station which could possibly be taken through to Cliveden).  I realise many people won't like such ideas, but I'd like to see community solutions and presentations to council.  
P.S. Is the real agenda for these changes facilitation of traffic to and from the bus depot?
Y.Bursle
 

I find it concerning that the proposed design changes moves away from both the recent Neighbourhood Plan and earlier SCIP work in creating a village atmosphere for locals to meet and shop.  I also note that there are no references to traffic light signaling changes (ie will there be right and left turn arrows) and not details on how will these interact with pedestrian movements.
 
In aiming for safety for pedestrians, the design has actually given more car presence in the main shopping precinct with the inclusion of dual through lanes in the shopping centre making it more dangerous.  This will also congest traffic at either end of the shopping precinct as the road narrows, giving the traffic through the shopping area the opportunity to travel more quickly.
 
I would instead suggest that a better design would be to have a single all-through lane, and careful use of left and right turning lanes with long lead ins will allow vehicles to slow outside of the main traffic flow.  Perhaps thought could be given to no right turn into Clewley Street and create an easier traffic flow around Browne Street to Clewley Street.  Perhaps even Brown Street could be one-way?  A left turn lane into Nelson Street is required alongside a right hand lane into Brown Street.
 
The good ideas in the existing plan are the left hand turn only from Martindale (blind spot under railway line always makes right hand turns dangerous).  No right turn at Donaldson Street stops traffic flow.
 
The removal of a central pedestrian crossing area to the most convenient shops and the railway station also seems like a retrograde step in terms of pedestrian access.  Also little thought seems to have gone into the design to make the traffic flow bicycle friendly.  I think a lot more work is required to get this right including examining whether to remove some of the pedestrian crossing on some sides of the lights to avoid turning traffic/pedestrian clashes.

Great replies and comments everyone.
 
Mine was as follows:-
 
My comments (as a motorist and as a pedestrian in the area) are as follows:-

Just a comment re your question about a petition. I too would be surprised and also disappointed if a petition was in place that supported the current proposal.
I do know that there was a petition at the newsagency to object to the removal of the pedestrian safety zone. Yes, some of the shop owners might be said to have a particular interest in keeping the crossing where it is. However - if you have ever used it, particularly at "peak" times, you will see there is a significant number of people using it. If these were transferred down to the intersection it means a very long wait both for cars (when slower walkers or just plain selfish ones cross) and pedestrians (just how long will the "walk" sign be on for - and watch how aggressive some motorists can be when their light is in danger of changing to red!)
As for non-peak times, i am sure that many people, if forced to cross at the lights, will start taking risks of crossing against the sign when the lights take a long time to change and vehicular traffic is sparse. At least the safety zone allows you to cross half the road width at a time in safety (as the name suggests). I do not believe that enough local knowledge and experience was used in the formulation of the planned changes.

I'm not a transport planner, but strongly endorse Murray Henman's approach.
As a long term user of the Corinda shopping centre I would hate to see any modification that hinders pedestrians' ability to cross Oxley road. To me, the proposed modifications are largely useless while the railway bridge is only 1-lane each way.
I'm surprised that council and state government can't find something more useful to do (with their borrowings!) after all the disasters we've had this year.
Regards
Mike Fox

My submission on the Nelson St to Clewley Rd 'upgrade' dealt with all the issues mentioned in this Forum. However, cycling north from Dunlop Tce one morning last week, early enough that there were more bikes than cars on the road, I looked again at the way this 'arterial' road had evolved.
From Ipswich M'way to Walter Taylor Bridge, Oxley Rd is like an elongated funnel. It narrows from south to north, bit by bit, until once past Graceville State School it is an uncompromised two way/one lane each way road. The southerly part is usually dual lane, with a few squeeze points, little on-street parking by residents, three significant right-turn locations (Cliveden, Sherwood, Graceville Ave) and two shopping centres, through both of which dual lanes are compromised by parking. From long observation, speed of traffic follows this funnel shape, faster, much faster, in the south and slower the further north. I've no evidence about traffic density, except to observe the well-known congestions: the bridge at peak hours, from north of Dunlop Pk to the M'way travelling south at school pick-up times. Drainage into Sherwood Rd and Graceville Ave is significant but doesn't appear to affect how many vehicles go to the bridge. All of this seems a bit backwards if Oxley Rd were really a well designed arterial road. We all know it isn't, it just changed with 'improvements' over the past 60 years.
What does this imply for Corinda shopping centre precinct? I would suggest that there is no traffic reason for Oxley Rd to be dual-laned, and that stretches that are dual-laned simply mean faster speeds between squeeze points, but no faster journeys end to end. If so, it strengthens the argument that the Corinda shopping centre precinct should be single-laned, indeed that south of Nelson St could be single-laned without affecting journey times. This would also discourage opportunistic use of Oxley Rd as a substitute for the M'ways, Ipswich and Centenary.

 Has anyone got a map of the proposed changes?  If you have, please post.  Easier to imagine than lots of descriptive text.

A link was given to the map showing proposed changes and other useful items in Comment #1 above, but here is the map link: attached is a draft diagram of the changes.

To : Mr. Barry Broe, Divisional Manager/Brisbane Infrastructure
Date: 15-Jun-2011
 
I am writing to you to update you with feedback about the Oxley Road/Clewley Street intersection upgrade that has come to me as the local councillor.
 
Firstly, can I say there is strong support for safety improvements in this location.  As a result, the project is well supported by the community.  However, there are some refinements that have come through quite strongly that I am bringing to your attention for consideration.
 

1. Retension of the right hand turn green arrow at Nelson St to provide access to the shops and rail station, bus stop and drop off zone.  Please note: a large petition has been tabled in support of this change.
2. Strong support for rentention of the mid-block crossing between Coles and the chemist, with pedestrian crossing strongly supported.  Please note: a petition has been tabled in support of this change.
3. Retension or replacement of the street furniture, trees and sculptures which were undertaken as part of the SCIP and contribute to the amenity of the area.
4. Extension of the lines beyong the railway bridge to Quarry Rd to improve safety around Martindale St and reduce congestion, including extension of the no standing yellow line through to Quarry Rd.

 
A number of miscellaneous individual issues were also raised including reduction of the speed limit through the Corinda shopping precinct, on-road cycle lanes to improve cyclist safety, a right hand turn pocket for Jerrold St, Sherwood (outside the precinct) concern regarding phasing of the lights with respsect to the gree arrown and improved signage around the pedestian refuge.
 
Residents have also raised concerns about the right hand turn lane into Donaldson St and a potential connection for future bus depot traffic.  I have previously been assured this is not the case but believe this needs to be publicly restated.
Some residents also raised concerns with the efficiency of the letterbox drop and that it may not have reached all residents.  I was not advised that the time frame for consultation had been extended and I would think letting me know about any future planning or consultation changes so I can advise the community is important.
 
In particular I attach a letter from the Corinda Medical Centre on behalf of their hundreds of patients regarding Nelson St that should be carefully considered.
 
I would appreciate your feedback on these and the other outcomes of community consultation via a briefing in due course.
 
Regards
Nicole Johnston
Councillor for Tennyson

BCC have released this document on the work related to the Oxley Rd and Clewley Street intersection.
 
The document is a presentation to the council infrastructure committee and shows proposed timeline, costings, and accident history for the intersection.
 
It would appear that now community consultation is done the final design is near completion to allow external tendering.
 
As soon as we can get our hands on the final design will will also publish this detail.

Seven community concerns are addressed in the flyer:
1. Keep ped refuge: we won this one, but no ped crossing, traffic engineers hate them because they slow down motor traffic.
2. Keep right turn into Nelson St: yep.
3. Widen rail underpass: Pass the parcel to State govt.
4. Reduce the speed limit on this section of Oxley Rd: "You can't lower the speed limit on an arterial road, it would slow down the traffic and increase congestion!" The Council's traffic planners have thus shown themselves to be about 40 years behind the rest of the civilised world, but about on par with other Australian planners. In fact, traffic doesn't travel at 60 through Corinda shopping centre during peak hour due to the squeeze point, so it's irrelevant when traffic flow is important. Out of peak hour, slowing doesn't affect flow in any case. But, more importantly, faster speed doesn't in general mean faster flow. Queuing theory has known this for a century, traffic planning has been using queuing theory for a very long time, but Council planners might find the sums a bit tricky (I write with irony - they're engineers and very good at sums, so I can't understand why the obsession with 'speed').
5. On-street parking: community response was divided, so we'll make up our own minds.
6. Provide on-road cycle lanes: oh, no, can't do that, we'd have to resume some land, and we only do that for cars, not bicycles (note the resumptions this final project involves, some results already being seen at St Josephs).
7. Provide right turn lanes for Clewley St as well as Oxley Rd: can't do that because Clewley St doesn't carry enough traffic and arrows at the lights might slow down Oxley Rd traffic.

So that's about all they've done in response to community concerns. At least there's a refuge for us still, even if they've reinstated it between gritted teeth, but the holy car must have precedence through the shopping centre because we have to do our little best to attract more of them to use Oxley Rd by making it faster for them.
Bring back the toll on Walter Taylor Bridge, I cry! (with exceptions for local residents, of course...) :)
Anyone with better suggestions for deterring excess use of Oxley Rd through our suburbs and our shopping centres??

BCC Community Newsletter#2 - See diagrams in attached document 

Brisbane City Council is upgrading the Oxley Road and Clewley Street intersection at Corinda to improve safety and minimise congestion in this busy area.

 The Oxley Road and Clewley Street intersection upgrade will involve:

• widening Oxley Road to install new dedicated right-turn lanes and new right-turn traffic light arrows from Oxley Road into Clewley Street in both directions
• installing new dedicated right-turn lanes from Clewley Street into Oxley Road in both directions
• installing a right-turn lane from Oxley Road into Martindale Street
• changing Donaldson Street to left-in and left-out only onto Oxley Road
• changing Martindale Street to left-out only onto Oxley Road (left and right turn movements from Oxley Road will remain available)
• relocating street furniture and street art.

Construction timing

Early works, including service relocations, are currently underway. The main construction period is scheduled to start in early 2012, to avoid disruption to local businesses over the Christmas period, and will take six months to complete, weather permitting.

Construction impacts

Council will make every effort to minimise disruption to the local community and road users during construction. Some traffic delays will be unavoidable, as one lane of Oxley Road will need to be closed for the majority of the works. The speed limit through the work area will be reduced to 40km/h. Please allow extra time to travel through the area if at all possible.

Some works will be undertaken at night to avoid major traffic disruption and maximise safety for workers and motorists. Local residents and businesses will be notified in advance of these works.

Changes to pedestrian access will be required, although safe access through the area will be maintained at all times. Please take note of barricades and signage and only cross the road at designated crossing points.

Access to homes and businesses in the project area will be maintained.

Council would like to thank motorists and local community members in advance for their patience and understanding during these important works to improve the safety and efficiency of this busy intersection.

Stay informed

Council is committed to keeping the local community informed about activities in their area. The project team will provide fortnightly construction notices by email. To receive these updates, please email the project team at roadactionprogram@brisbane.qld.gov.au. 

More information

To find out more about this project you can: phone the project team on 1800 010 705 (business hours) or 3403 8888 (after hours), email roadactionprogram@brisbane.qld.gov.au visit www.brisbane.qld.gov.au and enter a search for ‘Oxley Road/Clewley Street’

Your feedback about the preliminary draft plan