Queensland motoring group RACQ warns council and state governments must cooperate to fix Brisbane’s traffic light mess
April 8, 2011
The RACQ has welcomed Brisbane City Council’s plan to improve the synchronisation of traffic lights but warns cooperation between the State Government and the Council is the key to its success.
RACQ Executive Manager Traffic and Safety John Wikman says Brisbane needed a better synchronised traffic system to reduce the time motorists wasted stopping and starting in traffic, which created stress and used more fuel.
He says RACQ had been concerned for years about the congestion caused by two separate traffic signal systems operating in Brisbane – one by the Brisbane City Council and the other by the Queensland Department of Main Roads.
“We welcome any move to improve the synchronisation of traffic lights and believe that this can only happen through a coordinated approach between the Council and the State Government,” Wikman says.
“We understand that two systems will still continue to operate and they will be allocated to certain types of roads in the network.
“Only time will tell as to whether this new arrangement will reduce congestion and better manage traffic signals in Brisbane.”
Wikman says RACQ travel time surveys and member feedback had confirmed that peak hour vehicle speeds continued to dwindle across the Brisbane arterial road network.