Brisbane City Council has announced it will undertake a review of suburban clearways in a bid to beat traffic congestion and keep Brisbane moving.
The Council says the Brisbane Clearway Action Plan – Keeping Brisbane Moving initiative will identify locations where extending clearway hours to use road space more efficiently could ease congestion.
The review will focus on clearways currently in place across Brisbane’s major suburban corridors.
“We are committed to keeping Brisbane moving and the Brisbane Clearway Action Plan will make getting around Brisbane simpler and quicker,” said Civic Cabinet Chair for Infrastructure, Andrew Wines.
“We will be consulting with residents and businesses along the corridors to ensure these major roads are used most efficiently when they’re needed most.”
The first clearway changes under the Brisbane Clearway Action Plan – Keeping Brisbane Moving – are proposed to be on the Musgrave Road and Waterworks Road corridor between Red Hill and The Gap.
The busy Musgrave Road-Waterworks Road corridor currently has clearways in effect during peak times, between 7-9am inbound and 4-7pm outbound on Monday-Friday.
The time and days of this clearway will now be reviewed as part of the Brisbane Clearway Action Plan – Keeping Brisbane Moving with community consultation to open this month.
Almost 130,000 vehicles travel this corridor between 5am and 7pm during the week and a more than 39,000 over the weekend.
“Brisbane is one of Australia’s fastest growing capital cities and I want to make better use of our existing road network to bust congestion and get people home sooner and safer,” said Lord Mayor, Adrian Schrinner.
“It’s frustrating to be unnecessarily stuck in traffic, which is why I want to take a holistic look at how our clearways work and how we can make them better.
“Reviewing suburban corridors and making more of the road accessible when it is needed most will keep Brisbane moving and help people spend less time stuck in traffic.
“We have seen the results from clearway changes in other capital cities and I am interested to see how a similar approach could make getting around Brisbane easier.”
This will be the first change to a clearway in almost two and a half years. The last change to a clearway was at Kelvin Grove Road-Enoggera Road in August 2022 when the hours were extended by just one hour in both the AM and PM peak and delivered total time savings through the corridor of almost 6500 hours per year.
In the coming years, Council says clearways along other major corridors will be considered including:
- Bowen Bridge Road – Lutwyche Roadwhy
- Abbotsford Road
- Wynnum Road
- Vulture Street
- Wellington Road
- Moggill Road
- Webster Road
- Wickham Terrace – Leichhardt Street
- St Pauls Terrace
- Klumpp Road
In 2024 there was at least 9,650 instances of motorists blocking clearways and more than 1,660 vehicles had to be towed from clearways.
“It’s important residents also follow the rules and don’t stop or park in clearways. If someone stops in a clearway, they reduce the capacity of a two-lane road by 50%,” Council said in a statement.
The Brisbane initiative will be similar to the NSW Government’s Sydney Clearways Strategy, which reviewed more than 1,000 kilometres of road and considered if new or extended clearways could reduce congestion and delays on the road.
The Sydney program delivered better and more reliable trips on the road with weekday travel times reduced by up to 46% and weekday weekend times by up to up 40% in some instances.
Council said residents and local businesses will be consulted on the Brisbane Clearway Action Plan – Keeping Brisbane Moving to ensure the right balance between road users and the needs of residents and businesses is reached.
“Brisbane residents are early risers and commuting habits have changed over their years so we’re reviewing our major corridors as part of our plan to keep Brisbane moving,” said The Gap Ward Councillor, Steve Toomey.
“I look forward to working with residents and business owners in the area to get the balance right between busting congestion and the needs of people who live, work and commute around this major corridor.”
