Logan West Upgrade

Transurban and the Queensland Government (via Transport and Main Roads Queensland) are currently developing plans to add an extra lane in each direction to the Logan Motorway for approximately 10km between Formation Street and the Mount Lindesay Highway. We’re concerned that the project scope doesn’t explicitly include upgrades for active travel. That’s despite the Logan Motorway corridor being identified as a future route in the Principal Cycle Network Plan which has been in place since 2017.

Space4cycling and Brisbane South BUG have provided submissions because we believe this project offers a generational opportunity to provide active transport connections within and between the southern suburbs of Ellen Grove, Carole Park, Forest Lake, Heathwood, Larapinta and Parkinson. In many cases, those suburbs are completely cut-off from neighbouring areas by barriers like the motorway, railway, major roads, and creeks. That means residents often don’t have easy access to local jobs, schools, community facilities, parks, healthcare, shops, and to high-frequency public transport.

We’ve seen recent examples where major road projects have included good bikeway connections (even if more local links are still needed) such as the Gateway North, Pacific Motorway, and Ipswich Motorway upgrades. We know from examples like the V1 Veloway that retrofitting active transport links can be incredibly expensive, so the best time to do it is in conjunction with other major construction works. We certainly don’t want to see a repeat of the notorious southern Centenary Motorway project where a previous LNP government cancelled what would have been a fantastic bikeway to Springfield. Perhaps this project is an opportunity for the new Queensland Government to demonstrate they have learned from past mistakes!

We also highlight that as part of Transurban’s charter, they claim: “We want to leave local areas in better shape than when we started – building community infrastructure such as parks, playgrounds, new cycle and pedestrian connections and public art.”