The $186 million upgrade of the Indooroopilly Roundabout at Coonan St and Moggill Rd is part of the Moggill Rd Corridor Upgrade program, funded by Brisbane City Council and the Federal government.
This project is a prime example of how the major parties waste millions on road-widening projects. The cost and timeline have blown out significantly, while residents have dealt with major noise impacts and disruptions during construction. And in the end, it’s failed to incorporate planning for better public and active transport, and is projected to save drivers less than 30 seconds in traffic.
My work to date
Back in 2019, I wrote to the Lord Mayor urging Council to prioritise dedicated bus lanes, safe cycling infrastructure and better pedestrian access as part of the upgrade. Unfortunately the Lord Mayor's reply failed to commit to any positive changes, and in mid-2021, construction commenced.
Since then, local residents have been contacting me about significant noise impacts from ongoing night-time works, including near constant noise from 7:30pm on Sundays until 5:30am the following Tuesday. Using Right to Information laws, I discovered that average night time noise levels that were twice as loud as the objectives for human health and wellbeing provided in the Environmental Protection (Noise) Policy 2019. If you would like to see the prescribed noise limits for commercial and residential dwellings, please get in touch with me.
In August 2023, I spoke with 7 News about the ongoing impacts on local residents. I’ve also written to the Lord Mayor, the Environment Minister and the Transport Minister urging them to ensure public access to the environmental management plans for this project and others of this kind. Unfortunately, the responses from the Minister for the Environment and on behalf of Council make no commitments to ensure that these management plans are made public, despite the fact that they contain crucial limits for noise and other environmental nuisances.