Improved travel time reliability for Sandgate Road and Mains Road traffic
Published Sunday, 21 September, 2008 at 05:00 AM
Minister for Main Roads and Local Government
The Honourable Warren Pitt
Brisbane motorists can expect greater travel time reliability along two key routes by the end of the year, as the $6 million roll-out of single control for the city's traffic signals starts in earnest.
Acting Premier Paul Lucas and Brisbane Deputy Mayor and Infrastructure Chair Cr Graham Quirk today announced Sandgate Road and Mains Road would follow pilot site Moggill Road in having their traffic signals synchronised under the Department of Main Roads' STREAMS technology.
"Motorists travelling along Sandgate Road on Brisbane’s northside and Mains Road through Sunnybank and Macgregor on the southside will be the first to benefit from this city-wide roll-out of STREAMS," Mr Lucas said.
"Both of these roads are extremely busy, with Sandgate Road carrying up to 55,000 vehicles per day and up to 38,000 vehicles per day using Mains Road.
"It's very difficult to compare different roads, but I know traffic experts, building on the success of the Moggill Road pilot, are hopeful of delivering improved travel time reliability on these roads by the end of the year.
"During the pilot program on Moggill Road, between the Kenmore Village roundabout and Coonan Street, travel time reductions of up to 13 per cent were recorded during week-day peak periods and up to 17 per cent on weekends.
"With initiatives like this, the Queensland Government is further demonstrating its commitment to managing traffic growth within South East Queensland."
Cr Quirk said the project would provide tangible benefits for Brisbane families – in terms of both travel times and environmental outcomes.
"The Brisbane City Council and the state government are committed to working together to reduce congestion on the city's roads," he said.
"The most obvious benefit of single system control of traffic signals will be better traffic efficiency and more reliable travel times.
"But there will also be important environmental outcomes associated with the project.
"Less time in traffic means less carbon emissions – the trial on Moggill Road estimated a yearly reduction of some 10 per cent, or 3800 tonnes, along that stretch of road alone."
Over the next 18 months, all of greater Brisbane's 1400 traffic signal sites will be brought under single system control.
Currently, Main Roads traffic signals operate on the STREAMS system and Brisbane City Council signals operate on the BLISS system.
The shared focus between the Queensland Government and the council in improving management of the city's traffic is already demonstrated by the state-of-the-art Brisbane Metropolitan Transport Management Centre.
The purpose-built nerve centre officially opened last year and now controls movement across some 6500km of metropolitan roads through advanced software such as STREAMS.
The move to single system control of Brisbane's traffic lights is one of a number of "congestion busting" measures announced by the Queensland Government in recent months.
In late August, Premier Anna Bligh announced three new significant incident response initiatives for state-controlled roads – the introduction of two new heavy duty tow trucks, the establishment of specialised police patrols during peak times and new "Open Roads" legislation that will provide for quicker clearance of stationary vehicles and spilt cargo.
Media contact: Minister Pitt’s Office 3227 8819
Acting Premier Paul Lucas and Brisbane Deputy Mayor and Infrastructure Chair Cr Graham Quirk today announced Sandgate Road and Mains Road would follow pilot site Moggill Road in having their traffic signals synchronised under the Department of Main Roads' STREAMS technology.
"Motorists travelling along Sandgate Road on Brisbane’s northside and Mains Road through Sunnybank and Macgregor on the southside will be the first to benefit from this city-wide roll-out of STREAMS," Mr Lucas said.
"Both of these roads are extremely busy, with Sandgate Road carrying up to 55,000 vehicles per day and up to 38,000 vehicles per day using Mains Road.
"It's very difficult to compare different roads, but I know traffic experts, building on the success of the Moggill Road pilot, are hopeful of delivering improved travel time reliability on these roads by the end of the year.
"During the pilot program on Moggill Road, between the Kenmore Village roundabout and Coonan Street, travel time reductions of up to 13 per cent were recorded during week-day peak periods and up to 17 per cent on weekends.
"With initiatives like this, the Queensland Government is further demonstrating its commitment to managing traffic growth within South East Queensland."
Cr Quirk said the project would provide tangible benefits for Brisbane families – in terms of both travel times and environmental outcomes.
"The Brisbane City Council and the state government are committed to working together to reduce congestion on the city's roads," he said.
"The most obvious benefit of single system control of traffic signals will be better traffic efficiency and more reliable travel times.
"But there will also be important environmental outcomes associated with the project.
"Less time in traffic means less carbon emissions – the trial on Moggill Road estimated a yearly reduction of some 10 per cent, or 3800 tonnes, along that stretch of road alone."
Over the next 18 months, all of greater Brisbane's 1400 traffic signal sites will be brought under single system control.
Currently, Main Roads traffic signals operate on the STREAMS system and Brisbane City Council signals operate on the BLISS system.
The shared focus between the Queensland Government and the council in improving management of the city's traffic is already demonstrated by the state-of-the-art Brisbane Metropolitan Transport Management Centre.
The purpose-built nerve centre officially opened last year and now controls movement across some 6500km of metropolitan roads through advanced software such as STREAMS.
The move to single system control of Brisbane's traffic lights is one of a number of "congestion busting" measures announced by the Queensland Government in recent months.
In late August, Premier Anna Bligh announced three new significant incident response initiatives for state-controlled roads – the introduction of two new heavy duty tow trucks, the establishment of specialised police patrols during peak times and new "Open Roads" legislation that will provide for quicker clearance of stationary vehicles and spilt cargo.
Media contact: Minister Pitt’s Office 3227 8819