One of our Brisbane North BUG members spotted an update on the plans for a new Everton Park Link Road, which will connect South Pine Road, north of the Kedron Brook Creek, to Stafford Road, east of Mountridge Street.

Included in the claimed benefits is that it will deliver “increased connectivity for cyclists with dedicated facilities including a link to the Kedron Brook Bikeway”, so Stephen went along to one of the community information sessions on the weekend to find out more. He spoke to one of the designers from the Department of Transport and Main Roads (TMR), and was happy to report that they seem to have adhered to the latest design standards for cycling facilities, and the plan seems very positive. Notably:

1) The bike lanes on Everton Park Link Road will be 2m wide and separated from traffic by a physical divider!

2) People on bikes travelling north will have priority over traffic turning left into the new entry to the shopping centre carpark (behind Spotlight). We can’t confirm yet if the lights will dwell on green for the bikeway, with red only triggered when a vehicle is detected in the left turn lane, but that’s obviously what we’re hoping for.

3) The new entrance onto the Kedron Brook Bikeway will be 3m wide and connect just after the bridge.

4) Cyclists wanting to turning right into the new road off South Pine Rd will be best to  turn left early and use the existing underpass on the Kedron Brook Bikeway.

5) For cyclists wanting to turn right off Stafford Road onto the new link road, that will be best achieved by the lights. A bypass for the lights at the top of the T-intersection should minimise the time spent waiting to cross.

6) TMR did investigate implementing a floating bus stop on Stafford Rd, but unfortunately there wasn’t room to do that within the existing road corridor.

Overall, this road project seems to make good provision for people travelling by bike. It’s good to see TMR following the latest best practice designs.

You can see more details about the project on TMR’s website.