Cleveland-Redland Bay Road accident at the Giles Road intersection – 8:10 am on 10 October 2017 (Photo supplied)
Yet another crash on Cleveland-Redland Bay Road at the Giles Road intersection happened earlier this week, three cars involved and one person taken to Redland Bay hospital.
In February there was a fatal accident at this spot. In June a person was injured here in a two vehicle accident.
Vehicle involved in the latest Giles Road crash
Eleven years ago I was the volunteer P&C secretary for Redland Bay State School, and we sent a letter to the then Queensland State Government and the Redland City Council to upgrade this intersection BEFORE our school population was about to rapidly increase by six Prep classes the following year .
Our request was rejected by both the Government AND the Council , even though they were both well aware of how the area was growing, and supposedly planning infrastructure for population growth here.
Nothing has been done since then to make that Giles Road intersection, or the Double Jump Road and Anita Street intersections safer either.
Yet housing approvals, housing estate approvals, townhouse approvals and now apartment approvals are still happening at Redland Bay and the southern Moreton Bay islands.
Over a decade later, even though consecutive State Governments are fully aware of how dangerous all these three intersections along Cleveland-Redland Bay Road are, rapid small lot development is still happening due to the pro-development stance followed by the Council.
Proposed Shoreline Development area
The Council blames the lack of upgrading these intersections on the State Governments, saying it is a State road yet the Council shows no signs of slowing down their pro-development stance, even when they approved a whole new suburb at southern Redland Bay that was out of the Regional Plan’s urban footprint.
That ” suburb ” is called “Shoreline” and it will add another 4,000 dwellings plus shopping centre traffic to Cleveland-Redland Bay Road.
Another 10,000 residents plus for Redland Bay, even more congestion and road accidents and road kill of our wildlife.
To top that off, there are two more large Fiteni housing estates currently going in at Collins Road and Boundary Road at Redland Bay.
There is also an unnecessary 7/11 petrol station being built on the Boundary Road two pronged intersection. That will make five petrol stations within a couple of kilometres of each other on Cleveland-Redland Bay Road.
And the majority of The Esplanade foreshore has been approved for apartment blocks by the Council.
The draft City Plan provides for “Emerging Communities” south of Victoria Point
And we still have Mayor Karen Williams’ Draft City Plan to come. That includes a massive housing development along Double Jump Road all the way across to Bunker Road and back to Kingfisher/Springacre Road. The new zoning is called “Emerging Communities”.
All this extra traffic will be feeding onto Cleveland-Redland Bay Road and all the back way to Victoria Point from Mt Cotton Road via Heinamann Road , making all those intersections more dangerous too.
How is any of this massive rapid population growth sustainable regarding roads, schools, high schools, health and hospital services, emergency fire/ambulance and police services?
Cleveland-Redland Bay Road south of Victoria Point
The Council is more than happy to rake in rates, yet we see no decent maintenance, let alone improved safer roads here between Redland Bay and Victoria Point. Where is all our rates money going?
The State Government is happy to take all that money from stamp duty sales of homes. Where is all that money going?
Certainly not into making our roads here in the Redlands safer.
I am aware that the current Queensland Labor Government and Shoreline have said that they are putting money towards ‘fixing’ the Giles Road intersection but it is only a temporary bandaid solution.
If Cleveland-Redland Bay Road is not upgraded to four lanes all the way, at least from Victoria Point to Shoreline, then there is no way that it can sustain the amount of population growth coming Redland Bay’s way.
Junita Grosvenor – 15 October 2017
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3 Comments
Not only is Cleveland-Redland Bay Rd needing urgent attention to make it safer, promised by Mayor during last local election campaign, with sign on road, stating ‘it will be fixed’ perhaps as next election draws closer? Crashes are happening on Finucane Rd too, but we don’t hear or read about them in news reports. Informed last Friday resident saw a bad crash at 4-way intersection Finucane/Old Cleveland/Moreton Bay Rds, Capalaba involving what was thought to be a truck/car overturned involving 2 vehicles. In recent times, there were two deaths at Windemere & Finucane Rds and we are seeing increasingly more floral posies on posts while driving through local areas.
It’s been a number of years but it makes me feel sad for the family who lost a loved one when a truck turned into flowing traffic from Willard Rd into Finucane Rd. crashing into 26-yr old motor cyclist with grieving family receiving no compensation because State govt claimed ‘Finucane Rd is an unsafe road’…LNP in its short term in office, blocked entry by having Transport Dept create a U-turn immediately below the Finucane/Elmhurst Sts intersection. Yet crashes continue as in recent times a semi-trailer jack-knifed while trying to stop hitting a car at the 4-way intersection but sadly, roof of car was sliced off and decapitated the 25-yr old female driver. But…do we hear about these tragic accidents? Adjacent to this site, units/houses by the hundreds are being built in Alex Hills/Capalaba area. Our local suburban roads were not built for the kinds of vehicles we see thundering along them today so accidents are bound to continue happening. My rates are as high as family who reside in Holland Park, a location near fast bus transport into City, best hospitals, parks, a much desired location, yet we continue in Redlands to have poor public transport, road and rail, where many families are forced into driving out of Redlands for work crawling today at a snail’s pace to leave during a.m. rush hour traffic. Infrastructure needs to catch up with development for safer motoring .. ASAP..
Both governing bodies, Williams’ Council and Qld State Government, completely ignore the REAL issues their constituents demand so, as I see it, there is only ONE way to get things changed and that’s at the ballot box.
Start by questioning all the candidates as to their intended solutions to the current problems!
Juanita well said your comments are exactly what some of us have been saying even before the 2006 Redlands Planning Scheme was approved. I heard on the grapevine that there were conditions in the Shoreline approval that an upgrade of Scenic and other roads leading into Cleveland Redland Bay Road were to be done as Stage 1 but they lobbied the state and council and the conditions has been withdrawn. There is no sewerage in Shoreline so they plan to truck the sewerage daily to Victoria point sewerage treatment plant. OMG where is the basic knowledge of these decision makers leaving this mess at the cost to the ratepayers. Instead of upgrading the road from Redland Bay to Victoria Point the plan by Council is to build a 4 land road along Springacre Road an ignore the problems to the east, how much will that cost the ratepayers and when does the state take responsibility for their road corridor through Victoria Point .