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Fixing Ryan Transport

As a life-long resident of Ryan, nobody needed to tell me that traffic congestion - and all the issues that comes long with it, like noise, road safety, and pollution - is a problem in Ryan. As your new federal representative, what quickly became clear is that no level of government is working on a solution. We need a massive investment in public and active transport infrastructure to 

So I decided to act!

The Ryan Transport Survey

I launched the Ryan Transport Survey in late 2022 so I could get a full picture of the traffic and transport problems in Ryan. Have you completed the survey? 

Results so far

The preliminary survey results show only a tiny 8% of commuters in Ryan don’t experience much congestion on their normal trip to work or school (if you’re one of the 8% – lucky you!). It’s hardly a surprise, given the RACQ found Moggill Road is one of the most congested roads in Brisbane, but it does highlight the scale of the problem. While Moggill Rd seems to be the main offender, Waterworks Rd, Coronation Dr, Centenary Highway and Upper Kedron Rd are some of the other main roads with serious congestion issues at peak hour. Congestion around school dropoff locations is also a problem that needs attention. 

69% of people who've responded so far have said that the cost of public transport in Brisbane is too high. That’s a real barrier to getting cars off the road, because there’s little incentive to take public transport. I am considering advocating for a 6-month trial of free public transport to help with cost of living and to see how much impact it has on uptake of public transport (and solving congestion). I was encouraged to see that over 70% of respondents supported this idea. This was not just confined to Greens voters either, but seemed to have broad support across the political spectrum. More on this soon!

Another problem with public transport in the area is the services themselves. Almost 1 in 2 respondents (47%) rate the connectivity and frequency of their public transport as poor or very poor. Respondents were very generous in suggesting ways this could be fixed, with ideas for route expansions and making particular buses more frequent. My team and I will be sifting through these as we make plans for advocating for better public transport services and infrastructure on the West Side. So thank you!

About 50% thought that riding a bike was unsafe or very unsafe – which has discouraged many from riding at all – but again, there were many amazing suggestions from respondents for how to improve cycling infrastructure on the West Side. (I’m very happy to see the proposal for the new Moggill Rd separated bike lane and I am pushing to ensure Federal money is committed to this project.)

Next steps

My team and I will keep collecting data for the first few months of 2023: the more responses we gather, the more complete the picture we'll have of the problems. 

If you’ve raised a specific issue that needs to be addressed, one of my team may be in touch to get more details. My team and I will also be producing a physical report of the findings and will email you with the full report and our next steps for campaigning for transport solutions early in the new year.

I’d appreciate it if you could share the survey with neighbours, colleagues and friends who live in the area.