SIGN UP HERE FOR UPDATES ON THE COMMUNITY CAMPAIGN TO MAKE METROAD 5 SAFER

The Bardon roundabout is a local hub, next to Rainworth State School, a childcare centre, small businesses, Bowman Park and Bardon markets. It should be safe for families to walk and cycle to all of these places, but I've been hearing for years about how unsafe it is for pedestrians, cyclists and motorists. Unfortunately, I've heard from pedestrians who have been hit here, had near misses, or seen car crashes

The Bardon Roundabout on Boundary Rd is on a section of road controlled by the State government as part of "MetRoad 5". In my electorate of Maiwar, MetRoad 5 is called Macgregor Tce, Boundary Rd, Rouen Rd and Frederick St in Bardon and Toowong. Since being elected, I have been advocating strongly for safety upgrades at the Boundary Rd roundabout. See below a list of the actions I've taken in this advocacy and find out about the community campaign I'm running now.

Survey and community campaign

From September 2022 to April 2023, I ran a community survey about safety at the roundabout. The results were overwhelming. The report, Let’s Make the Bardon Roundabout people friendly - Survey Results shows that locals find it dangerous to walk and cycle at the roundabout. We found:

• People found it particularly difficult to cross at the many roundabout exits/entrances, pointing to speeding cars as a particular problem, and locals support a lower speed limit.
• Families who don’t need to cross the roundabout/MetRoad 5 to get to school are almost twice as likely to let their child walk to school than those who need to cross the roundabout.
• Respondents overwhelmingly identified the northern zebra crossing across Boundary Rd to Norman Buchan Park as the most dangerous part of the Bardon Roundabout. Many reported that they’ve personally been hit or had near misses here.

From the survey findings I've put together a list of proposed safety improvements including:

• Reduce the speed limit from 60 km/h to 50 km/h or 40km/h along MetRoad 5 in Bardon and Toowong
• Create a raised wombat crossing at the Boundary Rd north crossing (across Boundary Rd to Norman Buchan Park)
• Create safe crossings at all roundabout entrances including across Runic St, Rouen Rd, Rainworth Rd, and Boundary Rd (west)

Check out the fill list on the last page of the report. While we’ve had some small safety wins at the roundabout (see below), the government continues to put “traffic flow” ahead of safety for locals. With this in mind, I think it’s time to get the community together to put pressure on the Minister for safety upgrades. I’ve put together a helpful email template you can use to contact the Transport Minister, check it out here. 

Live near the roundabout? Sign up for a Bardon Roundabout yard sign! Yard signs are a creative way to demonstrate community power and get the word out to people walking past. Sign up for a sign here and we'll be in touch.

Action I have taken

Since being elected, I have been advocating strongly for safety upgrades at the Boundary Rd roundabout. 

• In October 2018 I wrote to both Transport Minister Mark Bailey (Labor) and Paddington Councillor Peter Matic (LNP) calling for pedestrian safety improvements and for some action on the issue of noise from compression braking. You can read my letter of 31 October 2018 to Minister Bailey is here and my letter of 31 October 2018 to Cr Matic is here. 
• On 8 December 2018 I held a community meeting of local Bardon residents in response to two proposed childcare developments, including one directly facing the roundabout. Some photos are here and here. 
• Also in early December 2018 Minister Bailey responded to my letter with a commitment to install coloured pavement at the existing pedestrian crossing north of the roundabout to increase visual awareness of pedestrians, promising that this would happen by June 2019. That commitment was very welcome, but I'm also calling for flashing lights to be installed to improve visibility. You can read his letter here. I did not receive any response from Cr Matic. 
• In early 2019, I met with officials from the Department of Transport and Main Roads and asked for lower speed limits and improvements to the roundabout. The officials refused to consider the option of flashing lights, and advised that the government did not support lower speed limits. 
• By June 2019, the promised improvements had not occurred. Shockingly, in September 2019 there was a serious accident at the pedestrian crossing at which police, fire and ambulance services all attended. The accident was caused by a driver slowing for a pedestrian and then being hit from behind by a second driver who failed to see the pedestrian crossing at all. 
• This accident prompted me to write to the Minister again on 1 October 2019, calling for flashing lights and clearer markings at the crossing, as previously promised by the Minister. This crossing must be fixed before someone is badly injured or killed. You can read my letter here. 
• In November 2019, I met with Departmental officials to discuss this roundabout and other issues on MetRoad 5. The Department committed to addressing the pedestrian safety issues at the pedestrian crossing above, and agreed to consider starting a speed limit review. My letter to the Minister dated 10 December 2019 after that meeting is here. 
• By late January 2020 I had received no response and no action from the Minister, and school had recommenced. Construction had also commenced at the Runic Rd childcare centre. On 30 January 2020, I sent the Minister another letter to ask for urgent safety upgrades. 
• On 15 April 2020 the Minister responded agreeing to conduct a speed limit review covering much of MetRoad 5, scheduled to take up to 6 months. The Minister also committed to some very welcome safety upgrades including better warning signs at the roundabout, among other commitments. 
• On 29 April 2020 I sent this update to local residents in Bardon letting them know about our progress. I also wrote to Cr Peter Matic and to the local police seeking their support for lower speed limits. 
• On 18 December 2020 I made a submission to the Brisbane City Council's North West Brisbane Transport Network study which focussed on MetRoad 5 and the Bardon roundabout in particular, calling for lower speeds, safety upgrades and fewer trucks.
• In December 2021, I met with officials from the Department of Transport and Main Roads. In this meeting, they agreed to convert the existing painted centre island on Runic St to a raised, concrete pedestrian refuge island.
• In September 2021, we received the results of the speed limit review, with the Department agreeing to a small speed limit reduction (see more info below)
• In October 2022, I followed up with the Department on the previously committed pedestrian crossing upgrade on Runic St. They informed me that a raised pedestrian refuge island would not be possible at this crossing, as it would restrict the entry and exit of rubbish trucks. I stressed to them the importance of safety measures at this specific crossing and asked them to provide alternative safety upgrades.
• In November 2022, the Department followed up with some welcome safety upgrades including new pedestrian signage, handrail installation, and more.

Progress so far...

As mentioned above, I have been able to secure some small but significant steps forward to make the Bardon roundabout safer for locals:

• Some small safety upgrades installed in early 2020 at the dangerous pedestrian crossing on Boundary Rd north of the roundabout (between Norman Buchan Park and French Tarts). These include:
  • hi-visibility target boards installed on the pedestrian crossing signs,
  • advance pedestrian crossing warning signs,
  • reflective hand rails or yellow bars installed in the “pedestrian staging area”,
  • new asphalt with zebra crossing line marked with long-life thermoplastic white lines,
  • installation of advance pavement messages advising of the crossing,
  • vegetation clearing maintenance undertaken on the roundabout.
  • You can see a (rather low-tech) illustration of these upgrades from the Department of Transport here. 
• A speed limit review for much of MetRoad 5 in Bardon, including the roundabout, was conducted in 2020-2021.
  • from this review, we got a speed limit decrease of 60 to 50km/hr on Macgregor Tce in Bardon (between Coopers Camp Rd and Fernberg Rd). 
• In November 2022, the Department committed to some more small safety upgrades 
  • upgrading the directional sign to Runic Street and adding "No Through Road" and "Unsuitable for Large Vehicles" signs
  • installation of two "Pedestrians on Side Road" signs on the roundabout approach to Runic Street
  • installation of handrails at the pedestrian refuges on Boundary Road and Rainworth Road
  • vegetation clearing maintenance undertaken on Boundary Road to improve visibility
  • pressure washing and painting of the islands and pedestrian refuges around the roundabout
  • painting the entrance of Runic Street orange to indicate a changed driving environment