TRAFFIC through Logan Village has become such a concern for some residents that they’ve created a petition directed at the state government, and they encourage residents in the greater Logan Village area to get onboard.
For Paul Casbolt, of Buccan, the breaking point was seeing that current road works didn’t include any measures to address the road congestion or safety concerns through Logan Village, or to the town centre’s north.
“We also heard that the Transport and Main Roads community consultation only involved discussion with residents directly impacted by the current road works, not our broader affected community,” he told the Times this week.
“We are concerned that TMR plans to spend all the $40 million from Yarrabilba on one short section of Waterford-Tamborine Road, when this work will not reduce the current traffic congestion through and north of Logan Village.”
- Read more: Logan Village road works to commence in August
- Read more: Logan Village set for traffic signals
- Read more: Road works under way on Abell Road
Urban growth
Mr Casbolt said that because the Queensland government approved high growth in the region, the state should provide an overall transport plan to show expected upgrades for state-controlled main roads, council-controlled local roads and public transport to support the rapid urban growth in the region.
“We don’t want band-aid fixes after problems or deaths occur,” he said.
“We also want genuine community consultation on growth plans, as this provides opportunities for local ideas usually not considered by so-called experts operating remotely from our community.”
Political support
The group behind the petition has the attention of Logan City Council Division 4 councillor Laurie Koranski and Member for Logan Linus Power.
“Linus Power has announced that $8 million will be available in 2018-19 to replace the North Street roundabout with lights, but we’re not convinced this is the solution, nor will it happen soon enough,” he said.
“We therefore want the state government to engage with our community to urgently prepare an overall plan with Logan City Council and community consultation, to reduce vehicle congestion on Waterford-Tamborine Road through the township of Logan Village.”
Mr Casbolt said the group wants the government to progressively implement this plan to reduce current and future vehicle congestion as traffic volumes grow, to ensure the safety of pedestrians, cyclists and motorists in Logan Village.
“A development plan for Logan Village was issued in 2009 and is available on the Logan City Council website, but appears to be being ignored by our state government,” he said.
Critical planning
According to Cr Koranski, the Division 4 suburb of Yarrabilba is one of the fastest growing areas of the region.
“Our population is around five and a half thousand at the moment, and we’ve got a lot of traffic pouring out onto our local roads, but infrastructure is failing,” she said.
“We certainly know we’ve got upgrades coming, some $40 million from Anzac Avenue down to Logan Village, and we’ve also had the state promise another $8 million to upgrade the North Street roundabout, but unfortunately there’s very little going on in between.
“So we’re going to have four lanes of traffic trickling down to a bottleneck here in the village, and then beyond North Street there’s no planning.”
Cr Koranski said she supports the community reaching out and trying to motivate the state government to provide greater resources for emerging communities that are being built in the Logan Village area, and beyond.
“It’s actually Logan Village’s plan for the area. We’ll be revisiting that plan very soon, looking at Logan Village as a city centre, but with the growth being what it is it’s critical to ask what happens to the infrastructure between Logan Village and Anzac Ave, so that we can do broader planning for the village itself,” she said.
Any Queensland resident can sign petition 2778 at the Queensland government e-petition page or in person at Taylor & Cook Real Estate or the Logan Village Community Bank on Wharf Street, Logan Village.
