Let’s hope Schrinner and the State take note!
1 Like
This is just a bad idea. Reducing the stigma of ‘red equals stop’ can only end badly. Once you allow it in places it will automatically expand to where they believe its safe (see: U-turns).
It may be feasible with flashing orange or something.
4 Likes
I would very strongly support a media release condemning this idea as dangerous. The current stat government will right now be actively considering whether to support their LNP colleague in Brisbane, and it seems like there is an emerging critical mass of civil society organizations opposed.
Adding our small, but significant voice to that chorus would be a very helpful thing I think.
Adding our small, but significant voice to that chorus would be a very helpful thing I think.
I see this as incredibly important to supporting pedestrian safety, and let’s remember that every single public transport user bar the small minority who park and ride starts and finishes their journey as a pedestrian, almost certainly passing by an intersection where this change would expose them to the risk of death and injury.
7 Likes
I completely agree, I think this makes the roads more dangerous to public and active transport users and further cements the sort of car-first, pedestrian-last thinking we should be opposing as an organisation
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Agreed, this is just yet another step of making Brisbane a padetrian-last city. We need to combat this.
There’s a reason newstead and newfarm are full of pedestrian refuges, even though they suck: Schrinner and Vicki Howard do not want anything that slows down the car flow.
5 Likes
A BTQ member is able to propose a provisional stance for the association to take on this issue and have (financial) members vote on it.
Members' Area > Provisional Stance Voting
You can see the relevant by-law (passed yesterday) on this mechanism here.
It’s changing the meaning of what a red light is. Isn’t flashing yellow meant to indicate proceed with caution?
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I am ok with it as it’s better than slip lanes and brings Qld in line with SA and NSW, which has had the provision in place for quite some time. There also no conclusive evidence that this road rule impedes safety and leads to serious and fatal accidents in SA and NSW.
Isn’t this similar to the situation where a green light (no turning light) means drivers must give way when turning, but rarely do? How safe do you feel as a pedestrian crossing when you know the driver hasn’t been explicitly given a red turning arrow to remind them not to turn across you?
Do you feel safe simply because the law says they must give way to you?
Now, imagine you also now have to deal with drivers who crawl forwards into an intersection on a red light, looking only to see if a car is coming, and either stopping there (blocking the crossing) or turning across without even looking if a pedestrian is there.
Does it make you feel safe?
Drivers do not currently check and give way to pedestrians when they legally are required to (think: slip lanes, turning at an unsignalised intersection). What makes you think they will for turning left on red?
The end result is that pedestrians will not feel safe to cross an intersection on a green crossing light if there is a car waiting to turn. Pedestrians will therefore walk timidly across and wait to see if the driver turns - which they will - leading to the same dangerous situation with slip lanes, where pedestrians wait until all drivers have turned before crossing.
Saying it is better than slip lanes does not make an argument for it. BCC/TMR will not suddenly do a slip lane removal blitz because drivers can now turn left on red. It simply provides yet another avenue for drivers to put vulnerable road users’ safety at risk.
Are we really looking to other Australian jurisdictions for leading practice? Which transit- and active travel-oriented countries allow drivers to turn left on red?
Drivers are given so many concessions already in QLD, and vulnerable road users are already placed at risk when crossing a road. This can only make things worse.
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I would support this and also, during the repaving of a street, they also designed it to be 30km/h with things like traffic calming to make it uncomfortable enough for motorists to follow the speed limit