Trina Massey

John and Mary from Brisbane South BUG recently caught up with Cr Trina Massey (The Greens) at her Gabba Ward office. Trina is a long time walker, rider and public transport user who only got her drivers licence a few years ago. The Greens have already released their active transport policy, and Trina reiterated the goal of having protected bike lanes on various roads and streets through The Gabba Ward and reducing traffic speeds on some streets. These align with a number of the BUG priorities agreed a while ago and released by Bicycle Queensland.

Some of the key roads identified include Montague Rd, Vulture St, Gladstone Rd and Vulture St in West End, and Main St and Wellington Rd in Woolloongabba/Kangaroo Point. Grey St in South Brisbane was also on the cards. Trina clarified that Grey St is being delivered as part of the Brisbane Metro work and we all agreed that it needs to connect to a Vulture St protected bikeway to really help those getting about by bike. The need to improve the east-west connections from Kangaroo Point and the Gabba to West End and Highgate Hill was already on Trina’s radar. The river circuit is certainly scenic and flat, but direct and quick connections are really needed for people trying to efficiently ride from A to B. The new bridge connecting the PA bikeway to Dutton Park being delivered by Cross River Rail will certainly help avoid a terrible railway bridge but the nearby intersection is still an issue for riders. Further up the road we reinforced with Trina the need to continue the protection for riders along Annerley Road for those heading south.

We took the opportunity to identify a number of more specific and systemic issues across the road network that hinder both riders and walkers. Trina was quite cognisant of these matters and told us she was also keen to hear about specific issues from the community directly so she can address where possible. The hot topics included the barriers to walking and riding created by signalised crossings that are not responsive to walkers and riders; busway entrance crossings that stay on red despite being rarely used; and the lack of safe crossings in general across the ward. The issue of slip-lanes and drivers not giving way and other poor driver behaviour was vigorously discussed and Trina told us about flashing amber lights being trialled in her ward as a way of reminding motorists to give way. If the trial is successful, she hopes it will be rolled out across Brisbane. We welcome any strategies that help driver compliance and improve safety for all road and path users.

Trina shared the outcomes of a recent community meeting to discuss ideas for Hampstead Road – and protected bike lanes are on the agenda. She told us she will not put forward any designs until she really understands what people want, after giving everyone an opportunity to raise their concerns and hopefully have them addressed.

We thank Trina for making time to discuss matters that impact on the ability of riders and others to comfortably and safely move around the Gabba Ward and the strategies being used by Trina as a Councillor to make improvements to the liveability of the area.