The lights are on at Albany Creek Road, Robinson Road West, and Gympie Road in central Aspley.
In a surprise twist, only one of the three previously-existing slip lanes at this intersection has been signalised. The other two appear to have been removed…. ish.
It’s a pretty half-baked job – a product, no doubt, of attempting to rebuild the intersection without closing lanes or disrupting traffic flow for peak-hour commuters. While the raised traffic islands are gone, painted remnants remain. And while the left-turn movements are now fully signalised, many drivers are still treating the left turn lanes – which are curved along the former slip lane alignment – as if they remain slip lanes, running red lights in the process.
The current state is extremely dangerous for pedestrians, especially those crossing Albany Creek Road. The dogleg in the pedestrian crossing means pedestrians stepping onto the road here cannot see cars approaching from behind them on Gympie Road – or vice versa.
Now, obviously the works here are not yet finished. The corners are still made up of temporary curbing and piles of asphalt, and the lining is crudely spray painted. One would hope that the final stage of the project will include extending and squaring up the corners, straightening the turn lanes and properly aligning the crossings. But unfortunately, we simply don’t know.
TMR have not publicised the work that they’re doing here at all. There’s no information about the project online. And local MP Bart Mellish, whose office is 50 meters from the intersection, has not mentioned it once in his regular email newsletter, nor responded to requests for information. So while TMR should be applauded for apparently turning a corner on their slip lane policy in Aspley – two out of three slip lanes removed at this intersection is definitely a good start! – as advocates we still need to be vigilant, noisy, and push to ensure the final outcome here is as safe as it possibly can be.