The City of Logan is one of the fastest growing cities in Queensland and with that comes new developments, new schools and an influx of new people, but residents are fed up saying roads and infrastructure aren’t equipped to handle the growth – with school zones being some of the worst for traffic jams.
Fed up with the delays, New Beith resident Bonnie MacRae recently started a petition to “pause development” in her area, in a bid to reach the “heart of the decision makers” to create a better plan for traffic flow.
“Our communities are growing rapidly, but the infrastructure hasn’t kept pace,” she said.
“We are witnessing an influx of new housing estates, yet the planning, transport, and education departments haven’t addressed the critical needs of existing residents.”
“This petition is intended to raise concern with the local and state bodies that approve the developments in the immediate region, to the community impact and risks associated with such large-scale developments, relating to safety and infrastructure demand.”
Ms MacRae said school zones are some of the worst areas affected with drivers taking unnecessary and dangerous risks to pass traffic jams.
“The ever-expanding traffic and insufficient public transport options have left our roads congested and our children stranded, sometimes waiting for buses that simply can’t make it through the traffic on time,” she said.
“Without immediate action to improve and expand the roadways, the safety of our children and all residents is at risk.”
Ms MacRae said a pause on development will allow time for a comprehensive review of existing plans.
“This pause will give us time to develop robust infrastructure, including expanding public transport systems and road networks, aligned with the needs of our growing communities,” she said.
Mayor Jon Raven said the Queensland Government, through Education Queensland, is responsible for managing school safety.
“We know that planning for schools lags growth, which puts pressure on roads that were never designed for that kind of facility and often means there is never enough parking for parents,” he said.
“As part of Council’s city-wide Parking Enforcement Plan 2023-2026, Council aims to help make school drop-off and pick-up times smoother and safer for local families through education and enforcement of parking regulation.”
Jimboomba mum, Beck Capuzzo said local Council and Government need to stop playing the blame game.
“They keep building and approving all these new estates but there are no new roads to get around, and every new house has a minimum of 2 to 3 cars, so what used to be 100 cars on the road has double or tripled,” she said.
“Something needs to be done.”
Mayor Jon Raven said “funding constraints limit what and when Council can deliver” when it comes to new infrastructure.
“We’re the fastest growing city in the state, with around 12,000 new residents choosing to move to Logan every year,” he said.
“We’re also home to two Queensland Government Priority Development Areas (PDAs) at Yarrabilba and Flagstone, which are exclusively approved and managed by Economic Development Queensland.”
“The challenge we face is delivering supporting infrastructure.”
Mayor Raven said Council is obligated to support the State’s PDAs with out-of-sequence infrastructure outside the PDA boundaries.
“Building this infrastructure means we have less funding available to support the growth in areas like Park Ridge and Logan Reserve which also want to see improvements to their road networks,” he said.
He said this is an “example of why Council should be solely responsible for planning development across the entire city.”
Ms MacRae’s ‘Change’ petition has now received over 1400 signatures, and she hopes local government will listen.
“I get business, I’m in it every day – money talks – but when the community speaks louder than the cash, maybe change will come.”
