Ross Vasta (Bonner, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I rise this morning to speak about an important local issue that I am currently working on in the Bonner electorate. Logan and Klumpp roads are notorious in the suburb of Upper Mount Gravatt, and local residents, schools and businesses are only too familiar with the heavy traffic congestion that builds daily on these two roads. At the intersection where these roads meet are two local schools—St Bernard’s Primary School and Clairvaux Mackillop College. Each weekday morning and afternoon this intersection becomes heavily congested as the peak hour traffic combines with hundreds of parents attempting to drop off and collect their children from school. This is an issue that has caused frustration and concern in the local community for some time now and it is an issue that needs addressing.

In recent months I have been meeting regularly with the Principal of Clairvaux Mackillop College, Ms Laura Keating, in relation to a project that proposes the development of a road that would cut behind the two schools and facilitate safe student drop-off zones. A road like this would enable parents to turn off Logan and Klumpp roads, thereby allowing a more easy flow of traffic along these main roads during peak hour times. The proposal has been well researched and engineered as the best possible solution to the problem that exists. It is, however, an expensive project and one that requires consultation and support from the local community. As the local member, I will be making every effort to assist the process and I am determined to find a way in which this project can be funded.

The current situation is a disaster waiting to happen. In addition to the heavy traffic, accidents are occurring on a regular basis. Upper Mount Gravatt locals would easily recall the tragic events that occurred some years ago when a student was run down and another killed by a vehicle outside St Bernard’s School. The principal of Clairvaux Mackillop College has described the vigilance with which she and fellow teachers supervise the students leaving the premises each afternoon. She shared her feelings of dread each time a horn blows or a car tyre screeches in fear that one of her students may have been seriously hurt or even killed.

The situation is unfortunately only going to get worse and, although this issue is not a federal matter as such, I believe that through the government’s flexible initiatives, such as the strategic Roads to Recovery program, the opportunity may exist to present the current problem and a community supported solution with the aim of securing funding. I understand that through the program local governments will be given the opportunity to apply for funding for projects such as this that would never be funded otherwise. Therefore, I can assure local residents and commuters that I will be encouraging the school communities involved to work with the Brisbane City Council to ensure that this problem and proposed solution are given the priority and attention that they deserve.